For part 14 of the finished whiskies series I am taking a look at a different type finishing with Oak and Eden’s Bourbon and Brew. The folks over there were kind enough to send me a bottle so I won’t be giving a score.
Bourbon and Brew is a 2 year old MGP bourbon that has a French Oak spiral in the bottle to finish it. In this case the spiral was soaked in cold brew coffee from West Oak, an awesome coffee spot in Denton Texas. Cold brew coffee and bourbon are two of my favorite beverages so I was cautiously optimistic despite the young age.
I received the bottle about a month ago but held off on reviewing it to give the spiral time to do whatever it was going to do. I’ve also saved a bit of whiskey from close to when I opened it to blind against it later on to see how much the spiral actually does.
Oak and Eden Bourbon and Brew
Age: 2 years
Abv: 90 proof
Neat
Nose: Roasted coffee, corn bread, vanilla and a bit of caramel
Taste: Slightly bitter with black coffee and oak followed by sweet vanilla, allspice and hints of chocolate. Surprisingly thick mouthfeel for the proof
Finish: Medium to long finish that was surprisingly similar to a mocha with coffee, chocolate and vanilla notes
Conclusion
To start off it definitely does what is says on the tin with bourbon and coffee notes clearly present though the bourbon notes are more prevalent than the coffee ones. The youth mostly comes off on the nose while the coffee influence was prevalent throughout. It is a little bitter between the young bourbon and black coffee but not in an off putting way, assuming you like black coffee. If you’re the kind of person to tip a nip of whiskey into a cup of coffee this is basically just the other way around of that!
Overall I liked this though I think starting with an older base spirit would be a nice step up.
TL;DR: Nice coffee notes don’t overpower the bourbon, the young base spirit still shows but not as much as I expected
You can also follow me on Instagram(@atxbourbon) or reddit to keep up with these reviews and my other whiskey-centric adventures.