Abraham Bowman Whiskey Limited Edition Gingerbread Beer Finished Bourbon

This limited release offering tastes like it was made for the fall season, with hints of gingerbread spice, cinnamon and clove. They used Bowman Bourbon barrels that held booze for a solid 8 years before emptying and passing them along to Hardywood Brewery, who then aged their award-winning Gingerbread Stout for 12 weeks. Finally, early in 2013 the barrels came back to Bowman and were filled with the bourbon that you will enjoy, like a crisp fall day, if you're lucky enough to score a limited edition bottle.

The whiskey itself is fun stuff. Hot up front, it settles down to reveal ample spiciness, gingerbread character to be sure, with plenty of cinnamon and cloves. The sweetness emerges — comes on strong, really — in the finish, offering caramel apple (emphasis on the caramel) notes with touches of sawdust at the very end. While surprisingly young at heart and in structure, there’s still plenty of “old soul” character here to recommend it. 90 proof.