This Bourbon is made by the ASW Distillery in Atlanta, Georgia. The distillery was founded by Jim Chasteen and Charlie Thompson and their Master Distiller is Justin Manglitz. I had heard good things about their whiskey so I bought this bottle online. It is Bourbon Whiskey refinished with hand-harvested charred oak staves. I liked it but Matt thought it was a bit too smokey for his taste. Here are our tasting notes.
Fiddler Georgia Heartwood Single Barrel Wheat Recipe Bourbon
Proof: 116
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, wild berries, baking spices, smoke and oak.
- Matt: Strong oak and firewood smoke, caramel and not much else.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, blackberries, cinnamon, smoke and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the cinnamon is enhanced. Tasted with a pecan and it becomes very smoky with a hint of chocolate added to the mix.
- Matt: Caramel, burnt peanuts wood smoke and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the caramel. The pecan enhanced the oak and smoke.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak wood, smoke, cinnamon and lingering caramel. The dried cranberry made the finish a bit one dimensional with oak wood and smoke with just a hint of cinnamon. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood smoke and a hint of dark chocolate.
- Matt: Long with lots of oak wood. The dried cranberry added burnt peanuts to the finish. The pecan made the finish long and very dry with oak wood and burnt peanuts.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that has a lot of tobacco and vanilla in the smoke. I would reach for a NUB Habano cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller