The Great Jones Distillery is in Manhattan, New York. It is the city’s first distillery since Prohibition and is only a few years old. They source their whiskey from the Black Dirt Distillery in New York.  This Bourbon was finished in Cabernet Franc barrels from the Wolfer Estate Winery. Rosemary purchased a bottle the other day and Matt and I sat down to taste it. Here are our tasting notes.

Great Jones Wolfer Estate Bourbon Finished in Cabernet Franc Red Wine Casks

Proof: 88

Age: No Age Statement

Nose:

  • Mike: Vanilla and fruit –raisins and figs, baking spices and oak wood.
  • Matt: Caramel and brown sugar, cherry and oak wood.

Taste:

  • Mike: Vanilla, raisins, figs, cinnamon and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla is stronger and the cinnamon steps down a couple of notches. Tasted with a pecan and the oak wood is enhanced.
  • Matt: Caramel, cherry, grape and oak wood. The dried cranberry added some lime zest and brown sugar notes. The pecan added tobacco and chocolate notes.

Finish:

  • Mike: Medium long with oak wood, cinnamon and lingering raisin sweetness. The dried cranberry made the finish shorter but unchanged. The pecan made the finish long and dry with lots of oak wood.
  • Matt: Medium long with oak and caramel. The dried cranberry made the finish shorter. The pecan brought out notes of chocolate and oak.

I would pair this whiskey with a NUB Maduro cigar. I think the vanilla and tobacco of the smoke would pair well with the vanilla and spice of the whiskey.

Photos courtesy of Rosemary Miller