John J Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon

I went to a bourbon tasting last night after finally finishing up my long, holiday work week. I tasted several new-to-me bourbons and ryes, and while this was more of a social gathering than an official tasting event I did jot down a few notes while trying to not look like a whiskey snob. I want to give a quick review of several of the ones I tried, but don't expect a thorough examination like I try to do with a lot of my reviews. Anyway, here we go... Bowman Distillery is native to Virginia and I believe they are now owned by Sazerac. Their normal bourbon is relatively popular here and they've gained more notoriety recently because they supply Hardywood Craft Brewery in Richmond with barrels for their infamous gingerbread stout. Bowman has actually started reclaiming the GBS beer barrels and refilling them, after the beer, with fresh bourbon. Thus, making gingerbread bourbon. It has become another monster all in itself around the holidays here in Va. Dammit, this review isn't a review but more of a history lesson. Apologies, but I ain't erasing all that typing. Anyway, on with a speedy critique of this single barrel: there's heavy, sweet corn on the nose along with hot, peppery oak. It also follows that same path on the palate, while being extremely hot and kind of harsh. You can tell this is cask strength for sure and I actually think that makes it slightly worse than the normal 80 proof version. All in all, Bowman is fine for mixing but drinking this neat is a bit of a chore. They could really use some refinement when it comes to blending. Oh yeah, avoid the hype train on the gingerbread version- that train left the station awhile ago and should never come back. Lol. Cheers, friends.