Brother’s Bond is a whiskey company founded by Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. They are the latest actors that have wanted to get into the whiskey industry. Their whiskeys are good whiskeys, so it is more than a prestige whiskey company. They are sourcing their whiskey, but they have good enough palates that they have picked decent whiskeys for their brand. They sent me some of their bottles to review and Matt and I sat down and tasted them. Here are our tasting notes.
Brother’s Bond Four Grain Bourbon
Proof: 80
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, marshmallows and oak wood. A very simple nose.
- Matt: Lemon cheesecake, oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Thin mouth feel, vanilla, baking spices and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and lemon zest comes out. Tasted with a pecan and caramel and apricots come forward.
- Matt: Vanilla and oak wood. The dried cranberry added a cheesecake flavor. The pecan brought out caramel.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and white pepper. The dried cranberry added some lingering lemon zest. The pecan added lingering vanilla.
- Matt: Medium long with oak, pepper and lingering lemon zest. The dried cranberry enhanced the lemon. The pecan made the finish longer with lingering vanilla.
Brother’s Bond Original Cask Strength Bourbon
Proof: 114.1
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, pears, white pepper and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, corn, dates and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, pears, lemon zest, cinnamon, ginger and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the ginger spice. The pecan enhanced the vanilla and added white pepper spice.
- Matt: Caramel, corn, dates, cardamom and oak wood. The dried cranberry added some ginger spice. The pecan added a note of dark chocolate.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak, cinnamon and lingering lemon zest. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with lots of ginger spice. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak and pepper spice.
- Matt: Medium long with oak, cardamom and lingering caramel. The dried cranberry added ginger spice. The pecan made the finish long with oak, leather, ginger and chocolate.
Brother’s Bond American Blended Rye
Proof: 95
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, wild berries, and oak.
- Matt: Rye grass, orange zest, vanilla and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, raspberries, white pepper and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the pepper spice. The pecan brought out lemon zest and cinnamon.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, orange zest, cardamom and oak wood. The dried cranberry made the orange taste of orange sherbet. The pecan added caramel to the mix.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and white pepper. The dried cranberry added some lingering raspberry to the finish. The pecan made the finish longer with oak and lemon zest.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and cardamom. The dried cranberry added rye grass and lingering orange sherbet. The pecan made the finish long with oak, rye and lingering orange zest.
I would pair these whiskeys with a cigar that has lots of vanilla and cedar spice in the smoke. I would reach for a NUB Habano cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller