DISCLAIMER: The Sample for this review was provided by the manufacturer. All ideas and opinions in this post are entirely my own. I do not accept any money for these reviews.
Color: Golden Toffee
Nose: Sweet Corn, Vanilla, Brown Sugar, Apple, Spice, and Light Oak
Taste: Sweet corn, Honey, Spice and Oak
Finish: Smooth and Oaky
Score:
Rick- Did Not Care for it.
Sam- 7.0/10.0
Overall- 7.0/10.0
For the first time, Rick and I were split on a bourbon! I thought it was decent, he didn’t care for it. This particular Bourbon comes from A. Smith Bowman, a Virginia based distillery. They use a triple distillation to achieve what might be the smoothest Bourbon I have ever tried.A little history from their website before we get to the review;
A Smith Bowman bought the Sunset Hills estate farm in 1927 and opened up a dairy and granary. The farm was so abundant that he needed a use for the excess grain from his fields. In 1935, after the repeal of prohibition in the state of Virginia, he built and licensed the distillery. His sons maintained that tradition, continuing to feed the distillers grains to the dairy cattle, which were known to be the most contented cows in Virginia.
In response to the rising real estate prices and property taxes of Northern Virginia, in 1988 the distillery was moved to the current location in Spotsylvania County near the city of Fredericksburg, 60 miles away from the original location.
The nose is the best part of this bourbon it is excellent. It has all the right characteristics of a great bourbon. The sweet fruit, brown sugar, corn and Vanilla really rush up to greet the nose. It smells divine. The oak and spice are background notes that lend a bit of a darker side to an otherwise very sunny bourbon.
I wasn’t very impressed the first time I tried this. I decided to give it another try and see if it got any better while writing this review. The good news is that it did.The first time I tried it, it was one of 5 that we were reviewing. I wasn’t impressed at all. On its’ own though, it is decent. I definitely recommend drinking this straight. Water or ice will kill it. The sweet fruity note is balanced out by the spice and oak.
The finish, is the worst part for me. I like smooth bourbon, but this one is so smooth it is as if I am swallowing water. There’s no burn, no bite just a slight hit of oak and then it is gone. This is a 90 proof bourbon, where’s the bite?
This is one I would recommend to someone that doesn’t like the whisk(e)y burn. It has a great nose, decent mouth feel, but the triple distillation makes it way to smooth for this reviewer. I wouldn’t pass up a glass, but I wouldn’t go looking for it either. I heard they make a cask strength Rye that is awesome. Maybe I’ll go looking for that next. Try it for yourself. and let me know what you think.
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Until Next Time,
Whiskey And Whisky For The Everyday Man 