Abraham Bowman Sequential Series Bourbon Has A Lot Going On

The A. Smith Bowman Distillery, out of Virginia and owned by Buffalo Trace parent company Sazerac, is one with a lot of history to it. In 1934, following Prohibition, the Bowman family built what was then considered a modern distillery to make booze out of. It was moved in 1988 to its present location and continues to distill whiskey to this day. A lot of ingenuity goes on here, which is best reflected at the moment in its rather unique Abraham Bowman Sequential Series Bourbon.

The Abraham Bowman Sequential Series Bourbon, according to those behind it, is the latest in the distillery’s experimental whiskey line. It “explores how flavor profiles are affected when bourbon, first aged in new charred white oak barrels, is then finished in different kinds of used barrels for its final years, and also explores how the barrel entry proof affects the finish.”

The release is said to actually consist of two expressions, each finished in two different types of barrels. Here are more details on each directly from the distillery:

The first expression was aged for nine years in new charred white oak barrels before being transferred into barrels that had previously held bourbon for nine years. Half of those bourbon barrels were barreled at 125 proof and half were barreled at 115 proof, before finishing for three years and five months.

The second expression was aged for nine years in new charred white oak barrels before being transferred into barrels that had previously been used to age bourbon and port wine, and then were used to finish their Abraham Bowman Port Finish Bourbon, which went on to be named the 2016 World’s Best Bourbon by Whisky Magazine. Half of these fourth-use barrels were barreled at 125 proof and half were barreled at 115 proof before finishing for three years and five months.

For the bourbon from the second-use barrels Master Distiller, Brian Prewitt notes “vanilla, baked apples, and cherry, followed by sweet caramel that pleasantly dances in the nose,” and describes the taste as “smooth, sweet flavor reminiscent of brown sugar and toasted nuts with a light leathery tobacco note with brown spice lingering on the palate.”

For the fourth-use barrels, Prewitt notes “dried fruit and dark spices on the nose,” and describes a taste of “figs and vanilla followed by a medium mouthfeel that tops off with a slight peppery finish with subdued oak.”

Plans call for the Abraham Bowman Sequential Series Bourbon, the 16th in the experimental whiskey line, to be available initially in Virginia only, though other states may see some also this summer. These 375 ml bottles will price around $40 each, and the total age of this bourbon is 12 years and five months and bottled at 100 proof.