Review #13: Bowman Brothers Small Batch: Bourbon

Score: 7.9 / 10

Distillery: A. Smith Bowman

Type: Virginia Straight

For this review I sat down with my girlfriend and we have combined our notes for the review. We decided to review the Bowman Brothers Small Batch because we found it this weekend and picked it up for $28 at a local Total Wine (great price considering I was seeing it for $45-50+ when it first hit shelves in Colorado). Bowman Brothers is a combination of Buffalo Trace's recipe #1 & #2 which is distilled then shipped to Virginia where it is re-distilled and aged. Take a mix of arguably one of the best distilleries and best whiskey brands, what's the worst that can happen? Whiskey was served neat in a Glencairn glass. From there we wrote our own separate notes about the nose, palate and finish followed by a discussion at the end.

Whiskey Review:

Nose: cream, sugar (fun dip candy), oak, caramel apple, lemon zest, tinge of ethanol

Palate: light, somewhat thin, big burst of brown sugar, vanilla and cherry. Lemony upfront with a hint of citrus that fades out into oak.

Finish: lemon, pepper and oak tingle the tongue. Mildly tannic with heavy oak and wood notes that can be found lingering long after on the cheeks and lips.

Score: 7.9

Scale:

S+ Sensational - The Pinnacle (9.5+)

A - AXEceptional (astounding) (9-9.5)

B - bravo (step aBove average) (8-8.9)

C - competent (7-7.9)

D - disappointing (6-6.9)

F - flush it down the toilet (fail) (5.9 below)

Notes: Availability? Common. If this review resonated with you, head out and grab a bottle at any medium or large size liquor store.

I think this is an interesting bottle and it was fun to try it. I think its a good buy at $28 and it is an enjoyable/almost session-able whiskey. It feels a little light and thin for my liking, but does offer some great flavors. Rose found that it offered a lot of lemon/citrus throughout.