Sunday, December 18, 2011

Exam-o-Dram - Abraham Bowman 18 year barrel strength bourbon

I posted recently about a group trip down to A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, VA. During the tour, Master Distiller Truman Cox brought out three bottles of Bowman bourbon; Bowman Brothers Small Batch, John J. Bowman Single Barrel and Abraham Bowman Limited Edition 18 year exhibiting a whopping 138.6 proof.

The Bowman Brothers was a nice pour but average overall and not very captivating. The John J. was more appealing and overall an above average bourbon and I ended up purchasing two bottles. The Abraham Bowman was fantastic. To quote a friend after trying it "Big, huge, sweet, delicious!!!"

The color is golden amber and in the glass is viscous producing slow, well placed legs. The nose is very inviting showing little heat, dark fruit, caramel, cooking spice (clove, cinnamon). What's lacking that I fully expected is a woody profile, at least in some fashion, but it's not there. For a bourbon this old, this is unusual.

The entry is big on flavor, showing minimal heat, no oak or woodiness at all which reinforces the nose. The mouthfeel is very nice, thick with a syrup quality showing flavors is caramel, spice, sweet fruits of plum, dark berries with some barrel char popping up at the back of the palate. The finish is long, long, long. Transitions on the back of the palate start with those dark fruits and moves on to dark chocolate like quality and then very slowly diminishes. At the very tail end, the barrel strength heat numbs the palate ever so slightly. A full two minutes after the last sip, the finish is still present.

If you let the bourbon sit in the glass for a period of time, say 20 mins or so, the spice and berry flavors come forward a bit and the nose opens up and exhibits age like an old leather bound book.

Truman was asked about the various provenance of Bowman bourbons and he succinctly stated "Kentucky". Well, that doesn't narrow it down very much. At 18 years old, this bourbon pre-dates the purchase of Bowman by Buffalo Trace so where this bourbon came from is a bit of a mystery. It could be Ancient Age but who knows where Bowman was sourcing their bourbon from in the early 1990's.

This bourbon is fantastic. At barrel strength, it's way too easy to drink right out of the bottle and it does handle water very well and right around 107 proof, it opens up very nicely exhibiting a flavor profile that includes burnt brown sugar and dark chocolate.

I know that The Party Source has done two barrel picks of the 18 year making both of those single barrels over this bourbon which is a small batch. If you're traveling through Virginia and near Fredericksburg, stop off a ASB and pick up a bottle or three.

24 comments:

  1. I have my "shopping list" saved at Party Source and this one along with the Rye are on it. Thinking I'll be pulling the trigger for a little "Merry Christmas to ME!" gift. Thanks for your recommendation.

    I was in DC last month and actually looked up where the distillery was located. It's right on the way to a customer I will see 1-2 times a year so I'm making a point to make that a stop on the drive down from DC area.

    Learning about stuff like this is what makes the internet awesome.

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  2. That's what's called "To me, From me" I would look at some of the reviews on the TPS Bowman selections (there were two) as the profiles are different. I don't have either one but I believe I read that one had more heat/spice than the other.

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  3. Yes, I read up on that and I think I'm going with their "No. 1" option over the "No. 5" for that very reason. Just trying to put together a mix case so I get the 5%...

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  4. So are the TPS offerings 18 years also? The one you tried was a blend of similar barrels? I'd like to buy a TPS offering but not sure if I should get barrel #1 or #5.

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  5. Ryan - the TPS offerings are 18 years old and single barrels. The bottle I write about above is a small batch. Which one you purchase is up to you. Some folks have said they like 5 better than 1 but taste is always subjective. Buy both to solve any indecision.

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  6. I'll take a swig of that. Just a swig though, so no taking advantage of me later.

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  7. Just out of curiosity, what does the 18 year cost at the distillery? I've been considering taking a group of friends down there, and I very much appreciated your review.

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  8. The 18 year at the distillery was $69.99 retail plus tax. IMO, it's a good price for the contents which is very tasty, barrel proof, and well aged.

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  9. Got my TPS shipment (aka Merry Xmas to me from me!) in last Friday and finally got around to giving the Abraham Bowman a shot last night. Thanks for recommending this one. It's great juice. First sip had some really rich, almost buttery notes to it that were incredibly different to me but they didn't stand out as much on the next sip. Lots of flavors dancing around here. The one thing I don't understand is why they call it "Virginia Whiskey" instead of "Virginia Bourbon" or just "Straight Bourbon". Is there something I'm missing? Nice packaging too. Looks good with the John J Bowman sitting next to it on the home bar.

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  10. Merry Christmas indeed.....nice picks. I'm not sure why Bowman calls it Virginia Whiskey; more likely marketing reasons, but then again....what do I know.

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  11. Thanks, Greg. Also got Ancient Ancient Age (plus a TPS private selection to compare because I love AAA), Redemption High Rye Bourbon, Temptation Bourbon, Riverboat Rye (total schwill but will mix it in an Old Fashioned), Town Branch (new one out of Lexington), Elmer T Lee, Jeffersons Rye, Johnny Drum, and a TPS Hancock's Presidential Reserve. Giddyup!

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  12. Steve, what barrel # did you select?

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  13. I was in Maryland yesterday and picked up a few bottles of the AB 18YO Small Batch. Great stuff!

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  14. I wanted the 5 but by the time I got around to placing my order it was gonzo so I ordered the #1. I'm glad it doesn't taste like #1

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  15. Nick - you are correct sir; it is great stuff. I think that Truman did a super job blending the small batch.

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  16. Steve - I'm not going to even ask how you know what #1 tastes like.....

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  17. I assume BT is the source of the Abraham Bowman (which I agree is terrific), because it was ASB buying new make from BT that eventually led to the acquisition. They haven't made anything from scratch since they closed Reston in 1986 and I never heard of them buying new make from anyone except BT.

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  18. I assumed the same Chuck but as I said, when asked, I got the generic answer from Truman. I'm ok with that because what it tastes like is infinitely more important than where it came from.

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  19. Touche, Greg. hahaha

    I thought I read somewhere that it was BT juice but maybe I'm just recalling Greg's previous post with Truman.

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  20. If you look at BT's website, www.greatbourbon.com, you'll find the A. Smith Bowman products listed there. So I'm guessing it's gotta be BT juice or why advertise it on their site? Plus with Truman's background it seems to make sense.

    One strange thing I noticed... The BT site also lists the Abraham Bowman as "Limited Edition, 90 proof, Virginia Straight Rye Whiskey". I noticed this on the TPS site too when I was putting together an order. They had Abraham Bowman bourbon (barrel #1 and #5) as well as a Abraham Bowman (no barrel #) that was listed in the rye section of the website but that was sold out by the time I got around to ordering. The A. Smith Bowman website lists Abraham Bowman as a "Virginia Limited Edition Whiskey" and adds "Small Batch". So, I'm guessing that there is both a limited edition rye as well as a bourbon? That they label it simple "Virginia Limited Edition Whiskey" on the bottle without any bourbon/rye indicator is confusing. My head hurts.

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  21. Steve, keep in mind that the 18 year old bourbon pre-dates the purchase my BT. As Chuck notes above, his belief is that it's BT and I have no reason to believe that's not the case. I was not impressed with the small batch bourbon nor was I impressed with the Rye. The Single Barrel and LE barrel strength on the other are quite nice.

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  22. According to http://www.ellenjaye.com/va_gentleman.htm - it's BT, and they have been using BT since 1990.

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  23. Hey Greg, Loving the blog. Haven't seen much coverage or notes of the Bowman bottles, but now I've got to pick one up. Happy world whisky day!

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  24. I have the Bowman rye done a couple years ago and I have another private barrel pick of Bowman coming in soon. I'll post tasting notes on the 14 once it arrives.

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