Isaac Bowman Straight Bourbon Finished in Port Barrels

Some mapley smell, very very good taste and body.

Rating: 13/23 N: Leathery spice. A bit light, but nice. A little bit of that oloroso oil and faint touches of blackberry mixed with mild vanilla. Mild black pepper. Faint nice corn sweetness. This is a nice, decadent, mature nose. P: Spicy, peppery, moderate and light caramel, leather, a bit of oil. Very very faint hints of blackberry and plentiful vanilla. This is a nice, decadent nose, with some mature elements that make me think of Joseph Magnus. Possible faint hints of licorice. Lots of vanilla, spices, and leather. Decadent. A bit of clean water minerality, but it's mostly full and decadent. F: Vanilla, licorice, sweet water, lingering spices, leather. Maybe faint light caramel. - Conclusion - I'm really impressed by this! My first Bowman experience wasn't bad, but it wasn't that impressive. This is really good. It's like budget Joesph Magnus, which is a heck of a compliment. That leather flavor is so decadent and so hard to find. Belle Meade Cask Strength (19/23) is more rich and full than this, with plenty of more spices, but it doesn't have the same leather decadence and maturity. This is lighter and mellower, but it's sort of more hedonistic anyway. The more I compare them though, the more the minerality and lightness in this hit me though. They even hit me when I try this alongside Evan Williams 1783 (11/23). Actually, Russell's Reserve 10 (16/23) tastes fuller and more mature than this does. I'm very much enjoying the Russell's, but at the same time I'm loving the leather here. I'm feeling like this is a case of a great port finish on a mediocre bourbon. At the same time, this tastes more mature and complex than Uncle Nearest 1856 (15/23) does. This is an interesting one. This lacks the malty sweetness of the Uncle Nearest 1856 and has some more sulphur, but this is still quite good in comparison. I'm sure that this is surpassing an 11, but I don't think that it is reaching a 16, unfortunately. I was initially very impressed by this, but the more I sip it alongside other drams, the more I find this lacking. There's a fair amount of sulphur here that I didn't pick up at first. It's a bit off-putting, but it doesn't initially detract too much. The more I taste though, the more confident I become that even a 15 is a bit of a stretch for this. So it's in the 12 to 14 range. Side by side, Highland Park 12 (12/23) (weird choice to compare, but it felt right somehow) is more rich and complex, but has way more sulphur than this does. It's a tough comparison. Bringing Highland Park 16 Wings Of The Eagle (17/23) into the picture here, the sulphur here isn't all that extreme. Actually, the Wings Of The Eagle is a little higher in sulphur and I don't even think of it as sulphuric. This lacks the malty decadent sweetness, but it isn't at all as sulphuric and weird. I think it's pretty clear that this doesn't rise to the level of a 16, but it doesn't fall to the level of a 12 either. It's tough to position this one, but I'm thinking of a 14. I wanted to give it at least a 15 to match the Uncle Nearest, but I'm just finding this to be too generically acceptable without excelling for it to be quite a 15. I could believe a 15, but it certainly isn't a 16. Unfortunately, I liked this a lot at the beginning, but it gradually degraded, revealing serious flaws that I had to account for. If it weren't for that sulphur, I'd like this a lot better. I think that that needs to land on a 14. There's a lot to like here, but it's also flawed. Coming back to this, there's just an awful lot of lightness and minerality going on. I don't find it to be vastly superior to Evan Williams Bottled In Bond (11/23), nor do I find it to be on the level of Russell's Reserve 10. It's either a 13 or 14. I'm thinking a 13 because of that disappointing lightness. I really just wish that a bolder, sweeter spirit had been finished in the port casks. Thanks to @Milliardo for this sample. I had a lot of fun trying it :)

They make some great stuff at this distillery. Maybe I’m just not a fan of port barrel finishes in general.