Old Fourth Distillery Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon

Barrel 38 for the 2020 release Sample: Rested open bottle below neck pour. (double) Nose: Rich brown sugar is the opener, a bit of candy oranges and corn, very burn and ethanol free for 100 proof. Really nothing but the sweet notes and just a hint of tell tale vanilin making it a very rum like nose. It's no surprise at all the front is loaded with the brown sugar, very strong, the vanilla crosses over to the ethanol and certainly a noticeable burn nothing bad nothing harsh again absolutely nothing you wouldnt fully expect at 100 proof in the way of heat. That heat tails into a nice red hots cinnamon finish, fairly pleasant. The trailer also includes a hint of leather and old spice and wood nibs, just enough to remind you this is indeed a mid aged not a well aged product. It would be interesting to see what a 2nd finish adding an additional 2 -4 years of age would bring, I can imagine that being a really special dram. The bottle is certainly a gaudy work of art, not bad looking at all but a bit too "art deco" for my own personal taste, this clearly has nothing to do with the contents and would only really matter for collectors. I like what Old Fourth has done with the barrels they procured from MGP and as Swahillie reminded me not a lot of startups bother to take the time and care to go full Bottle and Bond on their maiden outing. It's easy to see why some folks from Georgia might over value this but all the same it's a nice bottle that isn't terribly unaffordable and useful for a number of occasions,

Starts harsh, quickly turns sweet with strong caramel notes