St. Augustine Florida Straight Bourbon

I visited this distillery a few months after they opened by chance while staying in St. Augustine. I remember they had only vodka and gin at the time because the whiskey had “a long time to finish”. The long time was apparently not long enough. I was gifted this bottle by a friend whom I was supposed to meet up with but the hurricane this summer destroyed the Bahamas and wasn’t sure it it wanted to hit FL or not so we never got to meet up so as a sign to remember we never got to go, he bought me this bottle. Cool story, now time to review. The smell is somewhat a fresh wood smell. New oak smell, sawdust with a hint of alcohol. First sip is hot with a bite of alcohol that is not pleasing. This is only aged for three years and it certainly shows could probably spend a little more time mellowing out before being barreled. After the first sip and initial hot bite you get a raisin, molasses taste that lingers for a small amount of time. I wish I could have gotten behind this one as the gin they make at this distillery is amazing but their standard straight bourbon just didn’t live up to my expectations. I will certainly stop at the distillery next time I go to the city though and see what the operation looks like after a few years of being open.

A rich, Bourbon Whiskey by St. Augustine Distillery in Florida crafted with a mash bill of 60% Florida corn, 22% barley, and 18% Florida wheat, and aged a minimum of three years in American white oak barrels. It has an aromatic birth with notes of grains, wood, fruits, nuts, herbs & spices; while a full & rich life adds notes of cherry-vanilla ice cream, marshmallow, toffee & sage; that led to a slightly creamy & woody death of medium length with notes of oak, dark chocolate, cinnamon, Brazil nut, banana leaf, tobacco & leather. May 2024

This bourbon solidifies the fact that the only really good bourbons cone from Kentucky. This tastes more like a wheat whiskey than boubon. I was thinking about adding a bottle to my collection, but the price does not equal the quality. I was at the distillery and they wanted $60. There are plenty of better bottles than this for half the price!

This one has a bit of an odd nose and taste. The high malt barley and wheat content create a bread taste and smell that dominates the palate. Is sweet with lots of bread notes and a bit of alcohol burn. Just not really developing a like for this one. I feel it is overpriced for the quality.

Only aged three years & it shows. Very Smokey taste with a weird finish I can’t put to words. It’s like gnawing on campfire wood. Very strong almost like whiskey and it’s really not a high proof. This is the second bourbon I’ve tried from this company & while I liked The Saint this is crap.

Needs more time in the barrel. The flavor is not off putting per se. 2 plus more years and it likely would be a winner. One note sweet. No wood flavor. No depth of flavor at all. Thin. Absolutely no finish.