PBMichiganWolverine
Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Amburana (Release 001)
Bourbon — USA
Reviewed
September 30, 2023 (edited November 11, 2023)
Amburana is the sexy new finishing this year. It’s a south american hardwood native to brazil , peru and Argentina. Like mizunara from Japan, this imparts a very unique flavor of nutmeg , cinnamon and cloves. My only experience with amburana was with a TRE Teeling one. That i felt was a marketing gimmick.
This one is not. But…being a bit wary, i bought a sample only, through a tasting kit. Its a blend of KY and IN bourbons, between 5-10 yr of age. Respectable enough.
So getting to the bottom line—- worth a bottle or stick with a sample?
Nose is all dessert. Apple cinnamon strudel. Im hoping this wont be overly sweet.
Taste…wow. Nutmeg, aplles. Cinnamon, ginger. All in a oastry dough. Like…pumpkin pie?!!! This is autumn in a glass.
Do yourself a favor—-buy this —-price is affordable and its right in tune with the season. I just bought a bottle…its probably the best bourbon ive had in months
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@PBMichiganWolverine just picked this up based upon your review.
@Anthology absolutely——I’ll take you up on that offer. In return, I can send over a few things as well. Will IM you on Discord
@PBMichiganWolverine I can find it in my neck of the woods (TW & KL have it). It’s called Bossa Nova. If you can’t find it, I’m prolly gonna grab a bottle and can save you a pour (you may add this to the list of pours I promised/saving for you) 😊
@Anthology i need to look up the Doc Swinson…haven’t seen it around here, but will search for it
@PBMichiganWolverine Nice review! I ordered a bottle after reading this. I recall seeing another interesting amburana cask finish release from Doc Swinson’s exploratory cask series. I’ve tried DS’s Alter Ego Triple cask (PX & Olo sherry + cognac casks), which was good, albeit nuanced. Some argue it’s at same level or even better than Joseph Magnus triple cask. Not sure I would go that far but it does suggest that DS know their stuff around cask finishing and blending. They also primarily use MGP juice for their blends, which brings another dimension. All that to say that an SBS between the Barrell & DS amburanas may be in order….and I’m all for it!
@pkingmartin the price especially makes it enticing. Honestly, Barrel is one of those that’s between “ good” to “wow”. Can’t go wrong
@PBMichiganWolverine Dang, first @jdriip gave this a glowing review and now with yours, I might have to buy a bottle or two of this one. Sounds perfect for the upcoming fall season.