One thing the Virginia-based A. Smith Bowman distillery is known for is its series of limited edition whiskies named after Abraham Bowman, the commander of the 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolutionary War. Each edition is different, depending upon the whims of master distiller Brian Prewitt. The latest offering from his whiskey workshop is an aged vanilla-infused bottling available only in Virginia.
Known as the Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Vanilla Bean Infused Whiskey, this 90 proof bottling infused barrels of the distillery’s A. Smith Bowman bourbon with chopped up Madagascar vanilla beans in October, 2012. According to the distillery these beans “were added at various levels and tasted every ten weeks to observe how their flavor interacted with the bourbon as it aged. After a little over two years, all of the barrels were married together” into a final product that all total has seen seven years and six months in the barrel.
“This marriage was a bit challenging to get it to come out just right,” said Prewitt in a statement. “While the Abraham releases are experimental, we always want to make sure they exceed our expectations and those of our fans’. With some careful marrying of the various barrels in this experiment, we were able to make the flavor, mouth feel, and color exactly in line with what we were hoping for in this release.”
Tasting notes for this release from A. Smith Bowman speak of a whiskey that is
Beautiful copper color. Sweet vanilla, candied nuts, toffee, hints of maple, and dried fruit in the aroma. Sweet oak, vanilla, and dark spice in the flavor with a long, lingering finish.
Pricing for around $70 a bottle, it is the last release from the distillery in 2014 for its Abraham Bowman line.
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