Virgil Kaine Ginger-Infused Bourbon

What do we have here? Ginger-infused bourbon. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it wrong to call it bourbon if it has added flavoring or is that still okay as long as the ABV remains above 40% (but I’m thinking that only means you have to call it liqueur if it drops below 40). I dunno, I don’t drink much American bourbon these days. I love scotch, scotchy scot....err, never mind. This is Virgil Kane Ginger Bourbon and this sample was sent to my friend, Pranay. Apparently he’s like the Mikey from the old Life cereal commercials- as in, he will try anything. But I doubt he likes this. Lol, I’m rambling... This “liquid” is dark gold and makes oily, fast charging legs down the taster. The nose surely smells of ginger- too much ginger, actually. Candied sugar, overly sweet vanilla and fresh Barrel oak. Like newly, chopped oak. Giving it a few minutes for the chunks of sugar to dissolve and you’ll get some hay and grassy notes, but it’s mostly ginger and sugar. I’m joking- there were no actual chunks in my beverage. The palate is way too sweet: candied corn and ginger dominate and it’s really, really smooth and could use some bite. Artificial cinnamon or a boost from the ABV could help this stuff- I don’t think it would save it, but surely help. The finish is short and sweet with lingering, you guessed it- ginger. Overall, I’m not sure this should be classified as anything other than alcohol-infused ginger candy. I would imagine this would work better if it was turned into a gel and injected into a mint-flavored gum or chewy candy. It would even make a decent cough suppressant. If you buy this stuff I’d at least pour it over ice before consuming it. Neat is NOT the way to drink this stuff. Thanks for the pour, @PBMichiganWolverine, but I can only muster a 1.75-2 star score. Cheers.

I’ve never heard of ginger infused bourbon before, but I knew that they went together because of how delicious a Kentucky mule is. Bourbon, ginger beer, mint and ice served in a copper mug, what’s not to like? So when I got a sample from @PBMichiganWolverine of this flavored whiskey (once you add anything other than water to a bourbon it’s no longer a bourbon) my interest was piqued. Bottled at 40% ABV, most certainly chill filtered and I would guess this is natural color (bourbon + ginger) of amber. The nose is super sweet candied ginger. Wow that’s a lot of ginger. So dominant and overpowering that it doesn’t leave room for much else. There are other flavors hidden in there like caramelized banana with sugar on top. The bourbon notes start to come through but it’s all so muddled that it’s nearly impossible to pick out anything else there. Then the cinnamon comes in. Spicy sweet cinnamon, like Red Hots candy. A small hit of oak but really this is a big pile of ginger with cinnamon and sugar piled on top of it. After a while some rye and corn come through, but it’s too little too late. The palate is incredibly sweet, saccharine even. Candied ginger with extra sugar. Cinnamon and sugar, Red Hots. Flat ginger beer and banana. Too sweet to enjoy neat for more than just a couple sips. A light bodied mouthfeel that is syrupy, oily, sugary and mouth coating. The finish is medium length, sugary ginger syrup and some cinnamon. This whisky is to ginger what Fireball is to cinnamon, even though there is plenty of cinnamon here. I can’t recommend this for anything other than cocktails and even then I’m not sure where it would be best used. At over $30 this is a hard pass when you can get a cheap bourbon and some ginger beer and make a great Kentucky mule and still have separate bourbon and ginger beer should you want each by itself. Buy it if you’re adventurous and have a crazy sweet tooth, other wise steer clear. Cheers

This was an impulse buy based on reminiscing about my first girlfriend, we’ll call her “K”. I was 19. Yes. 19! A real late bloomer. But in my defense, I was a Chemical Engineering major, with two minors: physics and political science. And on academic scholarship, so I had to keep a 3.0 GPA. I literally lived in the library...and I might’ve spotted a few of our better halves there, but I didn’t know I was allowed to engage in conversation. Anyway...back to K and this bourbon. K was a born and bred Kentucky gal. Her idea of fun involved bourbon and guns. Sometimes both together which made interesting date nights. One day, while introducing her to chai, a piece of my ginger I was slicing accidentally flew into her coffee mug of cheap bottom tier bourbon. And that Reese’s peanut butter cup moment led to her always taking a slice of ginger with her bourbon. She might have been ahead of her time, in retrospect. Hence, this $30 purchase was made in honor of K. If you like bourbon cocktails, this might be right up your alley. For me, it’s overly sweet. All sugar and ginger...almost like ginger ale minus the carbonation. I honestly believe that if it weren’t so sweet, I really would’ve loved it. The ginger brings a certain zing to the table that’s complemented by the vanilla of the bourbon. But all that sweetness just spoils it for me. Then again, if you prefer sweet cocktails, you can’t go wrong. Here’s to you K...you might not have introduced me to bourbon, but you did manage to get me out of the library, and I forever had you drink bourbon with a slice of ginger.

Spicy ginger is very apparent and up front. Sweet as well but not bad. Super easy drinker.