Schoonover Single Barrel Bourbon is bottled by Hard Truth Distillery in Nashville, Brown County, Indiana. It is named for Johan Schoonover, the first settler in Brown County. It is a sourced whiskey from Tennessee. Back in 2020, when the distillery was looking to put a product on the shelves, they were offered a chance to purchase several barrels of Tennessee distilled Bourbon. They were still a year or so away from having their sweet mash rye whiskey ready to bottle, so they purchased the barrels. It is a fine Bourbon and I am glad they bought the barrels. I picked up a bottle of this Bourbon on my visit to the distillery last month and Matt and I sat down and tasted it. Here are our tasting notes.
Schoonover Single Barrel Bourbon
Proof: 101.2
Age: Fourteen Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Very brandy-like with raisins, blackberries and raspberries, vanilla, a hint of nutmeg spice and oak wood.
- Matt: Puffed grain cereal, rosewater, rich oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Very brandy-like with blackberries, raspberries, French vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the fruit takes a back seat and the spice becomes a white, floral pepper and the oak comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and caramel and chocolate come out with oak and pepper spice.
- Matt: Dark fruit, marshmallows, cereal grain and oak wood. The dried cranberry gave it the flavor of Lucky Charms cereal and cardamom spice comes out in the flavor. The pecan brought out a very dark chocolate and gave it a thick mouth-feel and enhanced the oak wood.
Finish:
- Mike: Very long with sweet berries and a hint of spice and oak wood. The dried cranberry made the finish long and dry with oak and pepper spice. The pecan made the finish very long and dry with oak, pepper spice and lingering chocolate.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and lingering dark fruit. The dried cranberry made the finish sweeter with oak and dark fruit. The pecan made the finish very long and dry with oak wood and lingering chocolate.
I would pair this Bourbon with one of my favorite cigars, a My Father The Judge cigar. The chocolate in the smoke would pair well with the fruit and vanilla in the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller