RD One Bourbon Finished with Brazilian Amburana Wood

Round 2 with RD One, this time tasting the finished whiskey that specifically brought me into the distillery after looking at the website regarding the new RD One released products. I have driven dozens of miles, one way, just to sample BEER that was aged/finished in amburana barrels, but have never seen a spirit aged in amburana barrels, let alone finished in/with it. Different from the French oak/maple barrel finished versions, this one utilizes a small amount of short amburana honeycomb wood pieces, which are placed in the fully aged barrels for 8-12 weeks, if memory serves correctly for the timeline. Although I do wish the distillery would make a rye whiskey, the choice to finish a rye bourbon with amburana was the right one, considering the extreme cinnamon and dry earthiness from the amburana pairs well with younger, sweet corn and the small amount of rye as more of a "jump starter." The color is deep golden, but doesn't cross into any territory I would consider "brown." A small scent of wet cinnamon can be smelled from a distance, but only with a draft of wind or air, and isn't crazy potent or overpowering. Up close, the nose is powerfully full of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other baking spices, and perhaps even a bit of maple; the image of spiced pancakes with a cinnamon honey butter and fresh maple syrup is definitely not that far off. The sweetness is definitely dialed back, and there's an almost fruity sourness somewhere in the background, like the tartness from a green apple. Repeated smelling brings out a small note of the young, raw corn. The initial flavor is slow to build, but does crescendo into a hot, medium-full body, with the rye flavor dominating enough to forget this is a bourbon at all. Remembering that the rye content here is actually quite low, I begin focusing more on the amburana notes, which really highlights the wet cinnamon, as if it has already been steeped in some tea. Before I can dig any deeper, the ethanol really starts to sneak up, which was unexpected given that it was barely present on the nose. There's some sugary, almost candied citrus notes present as well, but the finish is undeniably hot and full of rye-like notes that have been sweetened by the corn content; ending up with an almost doughy, cinnamon-roll-like flavor. Whether you're an amburana wood fan or not, it's hard to disagree regarding this being one of the most unique wood finished whiskeys of all time, at least in my experience. You'd be extremely challenged to find another amburana barrel finished whiskey, including all the hyper small distilleries, just because people seem to be afraid to utilize the potent flavor profile of said wood. Even for me, this is still such a powerful amburana flavor profile, which is shocking for just the short finishing time and amount of wood used. As I was struggling to think how an entire bottle of this whiskey would be used, I asked the distillery bartender to provide a small sample of both this product and the maple finished barrel mixed together, which very quickly and easily secured purchase of both bottles, and my personal recommendation.

Taste was neat in gleancairn, let sit out for about 15 minutes. Nose - Wow! Initial reaction was no way this is a straight bourbon whiskey, comes across as a flavored whiskey. STRONG cinnamon, apple, oatmeal, and vanilla; little bit of smokiness, raisin, pine. Think cinnamon roll with vanilla icing topped with raisins and cinnamon stewed apples or apple cinnamon oatmeal mixed with cinnamon toast crunch milk. This is maybe the most prominent nose that distinctly reminds me of a specific food flavor profile. Palate - dead on with the nose, apple, cinnamon, vanilla, rasins, mid palate does go slightly herbal/woodsy with a pine note, gets a touch waxy but very slight, rolls into a spiced cookie and then back comes the apple and cinnamon. Not much heat, if anything almost a ginger spice quality to it mixed with sugar and cinnamon. Finish - short, but its apple cinnamon oatmeal, balanced, not drying, do get a touch of the waxiness but for me its not detracting from anything I can just tell that its there, but not zapping any flavors. This is a knock it out the park fantastic bourbon. Don’t imagine this is going to be kept secret long. I’ve seen this run from $55-$69 and at that price unbelievable steal in todays bourbon market. I could easily see this becoming an allocated bourbon. The nose is outstanding and the palate a flavor bomb, finish is short but the other two make up for it. Yes this is a buy and buy again because it’s probably going to be hard to find soon.

Feels appropriate to state up front that I've had ~3 amburana-aged pours prior to this pour, and have had some hits, as well as dreadful misses... The nose on this pour is truly unique and oh-so-inviting. It is a melange of two breakfast cereals from my youth - Apple Jacks and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Aside from this, there's some cider-y notes, vanilla, brown sugar, and a nice dose of ethanol that creeps in over time. While the nose is the star here, the flavor is no slough off, bringing some of the apple jack/cereal-like creaminess, plenty of cinnamon spice, more raw, red apple, and then Quaker brown sugar oatmeal. It is bourbon...and the base seems quite nice, but this is one where the finishing is what it is all about...for better for worse. Oh, to that end, I could certainly knock this whiskey for the finish...it is short and lacks gusto. I thoroughly enjoyed this whiskey...to the extent that I felt it would be an appropriate first rate for an amburana-finished pour. This exceeded any expectations I had for a $55 bottle, and I would love to stock this bottle for years, both for personal enjoyment, but also to get a 'wow' out of newer whiskey drinkers. This being said, I fully understand some might find this an abomination. To each their own, but for me, this has a place on the shelf

Aroma - apples, cinnamon, vanilla, slight toasted marshmallow. Reminds me of “Fall” in a glass. Very spicy yet there is a ton of sweetness coming through as well. Taste - Cinnamon toast crunch with the milk. Theres a lot of heat coming through as well that really dominates the finish. Overall - This is unique. Great change of palate beverage. But I don’t like sipping on more than just 1 glass. It loses its appeal fast. The first glass, sitting around a fire as the weather turns a bit cooler, it is nice and inviting. Bit once I got into the second pour, I realized that I wasn’t enjoying it as much. The alcohol felt like it was coming through a bit harsh. Worth a purchase? Yes - if you like to have something completely different and show how crazy whiskey can be to your guests. But this is a heavy hitter on the spice profile so if you are looking for a more traditional whiskey then it would be a hard pass.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Light-medium amber. Nose: The Cinnamon Toast Crunch note that people talk about is unmistakable here. It's all I can pick up, but not necessarily a bad thing. Palate: More of the same, with the cinnamon dialed up a bit, but it's still the dominant note. Finish: Very warm, but falls off quickly, leaving behind a slightly less warm, and different, finish. Splash: A sweeter clove note appears with the cinnamon dialed down slightly. Overall: 9/10 - This is my first amburana finished bourbon, and I was hesitant to try it based on what I'd heard. This is a divisive pour, people either love it or hate it. Perhaps I'll find another that I like better, but for now I can see myself sipping this quite often.

NEAT NOSE - Apples and Cinnamon with some vanilla. “Apple Jacks” or an Apple Cinnamon Nutri-grain Bar PALATE - Apples and Cinnamon FINISH - Doesn’t last long, but very pleasant. OVERALL - I thought people were exagerrating when they said this smelled and tasted like Apple Jacks, but they weren’t lying! I even had my wife smell it and she immediately said it tasted like apples and cinnamon. For the price and proof, this is an excellent value. Speaking of the proof, this honestly goes down like a 90 proof, not 110. Definite buy and something I’d like to keep on the shelf.