Oak & Eden Bourbon & Spire - Toasted Oak

So I was thinking that the whole “spire in the bottle” thing was pretty gimmicky, but then I had a taste of the “Bourbon and Vine” expression and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t pretty good, (will review it when I get my hands on a full bottle) so I decided to try the rest of the line. Nose is definitely oaky in a “furniture store” kind of way, along with cinnamon, pear, and waaaay too much ethanol for a 90 proof whiskey. On the palate it’s youthful and bright with cornbread, honey, baking spices, the pear from the nose, and pepper. Flavors are kind of brassy and not really well integrated. Finish is where I believe the whole “toasted spire” comes into play as there are some creme brûlée burnt sugar notes combined with a subtler oak note that’s pretty nice overall, albeit extremely short. Mouthfeel is plain ol’ medium bodied with no real defining characteristics. I found this to be less enjoyable than the Bourbon and Vine, but it’s…not bad. And that’s probably the best I can say for this one. At $45, it’s neither a deal nor a ripoff, but far from a rebuy for me.

Part of a virtual tasting with Oak & Eden Batch B079 Nose - Burnt caramel, charred oak, toasted marshmallow, light black pepper, toffee, dry cinnamon, and medium ethanol. Palate - Brown sugar, maple candy, light caramel, sweet oak, light clove, light allspice, and light ethanol. Finish is medium with toasted oak, cinnamon, rye spice, caramel candy, and little to no ethanol burn. Honestly I'm kind of shocked how much I like this one. It still seems like an unnecessary gimmick that would be less consistent than double barreling, but this drinks much richer than 90 proof. I think they got really good MGP barrels because they claim they're only 3-4 years old.

Tasted this neat, and with one single ice cube; this bourbon, in my opinion, tastes better with ice. Slightly sweet, oily mouth feel, with your typical caramel and vanilla tasting notes, followed by raisins(?) on the mid pallate. Maybe a little cinnamon. Finish is medium, and fairly smooth, with the ice. I'm not good at recognizing aromas, so I don't have any notes in respect to that. Overall, this is an excellent daily drinker, considering I got my bottle at $40 msrp. Almost reminds me if the excellent Makers 46.

Relatively soft throughout, bordering on thin, but with some lingering spice at the finish. Oak is the only real full flavor/smell. Caramel, oak, red hots, pear, mint, blackberry, honey, charcoal, rye, and chocolate form a soft, but nice, nose. Oak dominates on the palate, with char, cinnamon, caramel, blackberry cobbler and a fairly heavy dose of milk chocolate. Finishes oaky and peppery. I think it’s good, but if this were richer it would be much better.

Bought at Martin’s on Main and Cleveland. Color is nice and dark amber. Nose is sweet carmel with vanilla notes, but does have a young peppercorn/slight mint smell. Taste is really sweet carmel and vanilla with a small, sweet lingering smoky oak aftertaste. The toasted oak spiral in the bottle is an interesting asthetic touch. Overall, not sure the spiraled oak makes up for the rather flat and uneventful whiskey inside

The aroma immediately takes you to a campfire surrounded by friends, that smoky comfort is present throughout. The nose has light caramel and honey. The toasted spire (which I thought was a gimmick) adds a beautiful oak flavor. A smooth and sweet flavored body. A finish that leaves smoke and buttery caramel on the tounge. Leaves quickly, making you yearn for another sip. Top notch wiskey