Lincoln Henderson was one of my Bourbon heroes, so when he and his son, Wes, started Angel’s Envy, I knew it would be a good product. Lincoln was a believer that a finished whiskey should not be dominated by the finishing barrel. The finishing should provide flavors that complement the whiskey and not dominate it. They created a finished Bourbon with just a hint of Ruby Port wine that complemented the Bourbon nicely with a little fruitiness from the wine barrel, but still with a Bourbon forward flavor.
They have expanded their finishing programs with a rum barrel-finished rye and with some special release bottles of other finishes. This is one of their special release bottles. I was gifted this bottle by some friends (Thank you, John and Carlene) and Matt and I decided to taste it for the blog.
We always open special bottles, especially when they are gifts. If we never open a gifted bottle, then I think that would be a slight to the person or persons who gifted the bottle. Whiskey is for drinking and the memories created by opening the gifted bottle are more valuable to me than any price it might be worth in the future, so open those special bottles given to you by friends.
Angel’s Envy Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel and dried fruit – raisins and dates, with a little oak. Not a complicated nose, but very pleasant.
- Matt: Reminiscent of sweet vermouth with vanilla and raisins.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, raisins and dates with notes of black pepper and oak. When tasted with a dried cranberry, the fruitiness comes forward and the black pepper slips into the background. When tasted with a pecan, the oak and black pepper dominate the flavor.
- Matt: Lots of caramel with some black pepper and a hint of dates. The dried cranberry brought out a hint of strawberries and cayenne pepper. The pecan made the whiskey dominated by the pepper spice – cayenne and black peppers.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and black pepper with a little lingering fruit. The dried cranberry made the finish shorter and sweeter without much spice and only a little oak with some lingering vanilla. The pecan made the finish very spicy with black and cayenne pepper notes dominating the flavor.
- Matt: Medium long with lots of black pepper and oak tannins. The dried cranberry made it sweeter with lingering caramel and hints of cayenne pepper. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with oak and pepper spices with a hint of caramel.
I would pair this whiskey with a cigar with lots of sweet caramel flavor. I always found that the Padron 1926 Serie cigars have a rich caramel note that borders on butterscotch in their smoke and I think this would pair perfectly with this whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller