Review #3: 2019 Angel's Envy Cask Strength: Bourbon

Score: 8.7 / 10

Distillery: Louisville

Type: Barrel-Finished Kentucky Straight

2019 Angel’s Envy Cask Strength

I waited in line at a rare whiskey event to get a bottle, this is not the one I chose. A while back a local store in Denver did a rare allocated whiskey release and scheduled it for 4pm on a Tuesday. Naturally my whiskey friend and I said, let's go, so we took a few hours of PTO and showed up at 12pm that day. We were 11th and 12th in line - no one knew what they would have. We killed the time by taking to other like minded whiskey aficionados in line and met some great people. 4 o'clock rolls around and the line starts moving.

Their rare releases are actually rare and priced well. The first few bottles go as expected: EH Taylor Amaranth Grain of the Gods, Thomas H Handy, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. My time comes and there is a bottle of Old Fitzgerald 13 starring me right in the eye so I snatch it and walk to check out. In order to do so you have to walk down some stairs and past the line where I smiled and waved and showed some friends what I got. Even better I had a $20 store credit which was applied to the bottle so I was as happy as could be.

Then my girlfriend called me. She originally had an interview but it got rescheduled so she was near that back of the line. She was texting me in a panic of what to get when it was her turn so I told her either the Angel's Envy Cask Strength or a Michter's Toasted Barrel (if available). She snagged the Angel's Envy and we split the cost. I was thrilled to get two rare bottles and share them with my girlfriend! That was a few months ago but last night I revisited the bottle for this whiskey review:

Whiskey Review:

Nose: ripe peach, black tea, ethanol, heavy whipping cream, sugar

Palate: lightly bitter, big burst of black tea, honey, apple, cinnamon. Starts of very oily and fades into a lingering cinnamon and black pepper spice. Very tannic and dries the mouth out. Intensely present citrus/fruity note when swishing between my teeth.

Finish: lingers and dries out the mouth.

I found this to be a delicious pour and will enjoy another soon. As a side note the wooden box and presentation of the bottle are both exceptionally well done. The wood is smooth, heavy and artistically inscribed. The bottle is unique and aesthetically appealing. This bottle was $199 which is a steep price to pay – the opportunity cost of getting another great bottle is on my mind when considering this one, but I would still recommend it. Each Angel's Envy Cask Strength comes with a card describing the whiskey and they do a great job describing the nose and palate.

Score 8.7

Notes: Availability: Not very common. However, if this is what you are searching for, when you find it it likely won't be marked up very much (MSRP = $200). If you wait in a line you can be middle of the pack and still easily get this bottle.

I found this to be a delicious pour and will enjoy another soon. As a side note the wooden box and presentation of the bottle are both exceptionally well done. The wood is smooth, heavy and artistically inscribed. The bottle is unique and aesthetically appealing. This bottle was $199 which is a steep price to pay – the opportunity cost of getting another great bottle is on my mind when considering this one, but I would still recommend it. Each Angel's Envy Cask Strength comes with a card describing the whiskey and they do a great job describing the nose and palate.

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)