RD One Bourbon Finished with Brazilian Amburana Wood

Smells like the green apple instant oatmeal packs. From there it tastes exactly like it smells. The first sip will be a surprise of flavor and proof but then second sip your mouth will adjust and it get even better. This an amazing finished whiskey. Highly recommend!

Round 2 with RD One, this time tasting the finished whiskey that specifically brought me into the distillery after looking at the website regarding the new RD One released products. I have driven dozens of miles, one way, just to sample BEER that was aged/finished in amburana barrels, but have never seen a spirit aged in amburana barrels, let alone finished in/with it. Different from the French oak/maple barrel finished versions, this one utilizes a small amount of short amburana honeycomb wood pieces, which are placed in the fully aged barrels for 8-12 weeks, if memory serves correctly for the timeline. Although I do wish the distillery would make a rye whiskey, the choice to finish a rye bourbon with amburana was the right one, considering the extreme cinnamon and dry earthiness from the amburana pairs well with younger, sweet corn and the small amount of rye as more of a "jump starter." The color is deep golden, but doesn't cross into any territory I would consider "brown." A small scent of wet cinnamon can be smelled from a distance, but only with a draft of wind or air, and isn't crazy potent or overpowering. Up close, the nose is powerfully full of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other baking spices, and perhaps even a bit of maple; the image of spiced pancakes with a cinnamon honey butter and fresh maple syrup is definitely not that far off. The sweetness is definitely dialed back, and there's an almost fruity sourness somewhere in the background, like the tartness from a green apple. Repeated smelling brings out a small note of the young, raw corn. The initial flavor is slow to build, but does crescendo into a hot, medium-full body, with the rye flavor dominating enough to forget this is a bourbon at all. Remembering that the rye content here is actually quite low, I begin focusing more on the amburana notes, which really highlights the wet cinnamon, as if it has already been steeped in some tea. Before I can dig any deeper, the ethanol really starts to sneak up, which was unexpected given that it was barely present on the nose. There's some sugary, almost candied citrus notes present as well, but the finish is undeniably hot and full of rye-like notes that have been sweetened by the corn content; ending up with an almost doughy, cinnamon-roll-like flavor. Whether you're an amburana wood fan or not, it's hard to disagree regarding this being one of the most unique wood finished whiskeys of all time, at least in my experience. You'd be extremely challenged to find another amburana barrel finished whiskey, including all the hyper small distilleries, just because people seem to be afraid to utilize the potent flavor profile of said wood. Even for me, this is still such a powerful amburana flavor profile, which is shocking for just the short finishing time and amount of wood used. As I was struggling to think how an entire bottle of this whiskey would be used, I asked the distillery bartender to provide a small sample of both this product and the maple finished barrel mixed together, which very quickly and easily secured purchase of both bottles, and my personal recommendation.