John J Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon

Very smooth

Nose of rose, strawberry, leather and candy, palate of a touch of vanilla, oak and a touch of sweetness, long finish with no burn and continued sweetness.

All but confirmed to be from Buffalo Trace’s mashbill #1 before being shipped off to a Virginia for aging. With BT products being hard to find in my area, I decided to give this a whirl. On the nose getting cherry, toffee, a woody note that is more like old wood furniture/varnish than oak barrel, and a hint of leather. There’s also some musty corn aroma that stumped me at first (popcorn? Corn on the cob?) until it hit me; it’s masa. As in what tamales are made from. Complete absence of ethanol makes you want to keep huffing. Simple, but oh-so-inviting. Palate opens with caramel, vanilla, and toffee, morphing into black cherry in the mid-palate. Not the most complex, but there is richness here. Can definitely taste the BT mashbill, as there are some definite similarities in flavor to EH Taylor Small Batch. Surprisingly long and dry finish featuring a big baking spice (cinnamon and ginger) bloom, oak, and pepper. Mouthfeel has sufficient weight and oiliness to it and matches the flavor profile very well. This is a fine bourbon with no major flaws but doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel either. Definitely in the realm of “traditional bourbon character”. At $53 (which is what I paid), I don’t know how I feel about it as I can think of better options I can get for the price and cheaper hundred proofers that I enjoy just as much, leaving this in sort of a limbo zone. If you can find it under $45, I would say it falls into the realm of a sure buy. Just misses a 4.0.