Fighting Cock 6y with Dan, Goran, Ryan & Davey

Fighting Cock 6y Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Really, how could we not.

This amazingly-named bourbon comes to us from Heaven Hill Distillery by way of the SAQ in Sherbrooke.  We’ve previously tried the Elijah Craig 12y from Heaven Hill, a review that suffered from the lack of much information online. Heaven Hill’s brand-specific web presence is pretty sparse.

What there is mentions that it starts with a blended mash of rye, corn and barley. The rest, however, is pretty terrible:

Through award-winning packaging and point-of-sale, and a unique and irreverent marketing campaign, Fighting Cock appeals to both male Gen X-ers and serious Bourbon lovers alike.

Uh… so a quick Google of “fighting cock wins award” only finds stories about a pub in the UK called Fighting Cocks winning an award for responsible pub management before getting into super-weird porn, so it’s not immediately obvious which award this picture of a chicken won. And let’s parse that second phrase for a second:

1. “unique and irreverent” is a pretty thin euphemism for “dick joke”,
2. male “Gen X-ers” are I guess not serious bourbon lovers, who all had the good sense to avoid being born between 1960 & 1975, and
3. I’m not sure how female Gen X-ers are supposed to take this, at all.

I mean, *I* definitely bought it because it was a reasonably-priced bourbon at 51.5% that was ALSO a dick joke, but I have to write about what I drink. Compulsively, apparently. Here’s what we thought:

colour
Dan – dried sap
Simon – burnt umber
Goran – dark caramel, amber
Ryan – mahogany
Davey – Kraft caramel candy

nose
Dan – leather, sweet American tabacco, dry wood
Simon – charred wood, no corn, caramel, sugar, cream
Goran – butter, caramel, hay, enjoyably cinnamon-less
Ryan – creamy, wood chips
Davey – doesn’t burn the nostrils, smooth

neat
Dan – big burn, piney sweet, wood
Simon – slightly sharp, burn (overproof)
Goran – well channeled burn, corn comes through, dry bourbon, more butter than sweet
Ryan – woody, slight pine, berry/tart sweetness
Davey – cooling

finish
Dan – slowly sweet caramel
Simon – caramel smoke
Goran – butter, corn, long finish
Ryan – surprisingly smooth
Davey – relaxing

splash
Dan – buttery wood sweetness
Simon – not better
Goran – even at 52% not necessary
Ryan – n/a
Davey – menthol/caramel

Fighting Cock 6y Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 51.5% 750ml – $33.75 – Kentucky

Try it? Yeah. Buy it? Only if you’re not a Gen-X woman, I guess.