1792 Series (11 of 12): Port Finish Fun story: Due to Latin dance, I was geeking out about wine-finished bourbons with the owner of a wine bar. You with me so far? Good. I told him I wanted to try finishing 1792 small batch in a small barrel (5 L) with some wine that would do a good job amplifying the fruity notes, which for me are cherry, fruit punch, and watermelon. We tried his Cabernet and his “custom red”, and while both were good, neither one quite balanced sweet and dry correctly for my needs. Then he said: “It’s a shame I don’t have my port right now. That sounds like exactly what you’re looking for.” Then I realized: 1792 figured this out way before I did. Of course it should be a port. That seemed to be the perfect finish for the flavor amp I was wanting to do. Needless to say: I went in a different direction for my project, and when I was able to get my hands on one of these, I was eager to find out if the end result lived up to the promise of the blueprint. Nose is cherries, plums, grapes, sugar. Tomato. Body is rich with grape, raisin, prunes. Some cherry. Apricot. Bit of almond. Finish has almonds and more cherry. A bit of the 1792 fruit punch sneaks in there. Very thick feeling, very sugary. Very low burn as well, which is impressive with the port influence. This is a heavier finish, but it’s well done. I was a bit skeptical at first, because in some ways it reminds me more of a Cabernet finish. It has a Prichard Hill vibe going on. However, I compared this to some of my favorite port finished bourbons (Angel’s Envy, Isaac Bowman, AE Cask Strength) and only the cask strength could come close in quality. And those comparisons put this whiskey in an awkward spot when it comes to value. The way they married the fruit punch flavor with the port is truly special. Possibly best in class stuff. But it’s still not worth what you’d have to pay to get a bottle these days. It’s a delicious bourbon that I hope your friend has and is willing to share. Seriously looking forward to the next on-deck: 1792 225th Anniversary