I can't claim to have tried a BTAC, Pappy, Michter's 20, or many of the world's top flight bourbons and ryes. Abraham Bowman American Oak is probably one of the most rare and comparable to those, of the limited releases I've ever tried. My buddy was able to win a bottle of this back in late 2024 and has graciously let me try it a few time, and I decided it was finally time to post a review of it. The Abraham Bowman product within A Smith Bowman's lineup is just about as limited of a release as the Cask Strength Bowman bottles. Abraham Bowman is used as an experimental product line that tries different barrel oak types, aging techniques, and mash bills. Most recently, Abraham Bowman has been releasing a subcategory, the Oak Series. Starting with French Oak, they've released American Oak and Hungarian Oak as well. There are several, older releases as well that I've never heard of prior to researching this line for this review. Some releases such as the Coffee Finished Bourbon, Fourth Use Barrel, and Gingerbread Cocoa Finished Bourbon stand out as some really unique offerings. These usually go up for a lottery for about a week and the winners need to go to the Bowman Distillery to pick up their lottery winning. A Smith Bowman is owned by Sazerac, meaning they’re a sister distillery of Buffalo Trace. The distillate comes from ‘a sister distillery’ (source: tour guide back in November 2024). However, the tour guide wouldn’t explicitly say whether or not it was BT. After a little research on old’ reliable, Google, it seems like it’s confirmed that the distillate comes from Buffalo Trace. Allegedly it’s neither Buffalo Trace’s mash bill #1 or #2, but is likely some mixture of the two. A Smith Bowman does distill the sourced distillate one more time in their own copper stills. A Smith Bowman uses Cumberland Cooperage, a cooperage that also supplies barrels to Buffalo Trace. Many claim to get a lot of similar notes when trying Bowman bourbons. With the distillery using the same juice and barrels, it makes sense why. MSRP: ~$80.00. It looks like this goes for over $1,000 online right now. Age Statement: 12 years old ABV: 67.5% (135 proof) Mash Bill: Likely some combination of Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill 1 & 2. If someone has more information I'd love to hear it. Nose: I first get a strong coffee/chocolate flavor after letting this pour rest for a few minutes in a Glencairn. A second time around offers a bit more complexity, adding a red fruit, specifically cherry. For 135 proof, not a lot of burn on the nose. Palate: Very strong flavors, not a ton of ethanol (just like the nose). The cherry turns into more of an apple, and the chocolate is amplified and mixed in with some brown sugar. Not as much coffee on the palate as the nose but it's still there. Finish: One of the longer lasting finishes I've had in a cask strength product. Incredibly long lasting finish. The flavor lasts forever and a sip of this really coats your mouth for a while. The finish contains a lot of the same flavors, a little barrel tannin, coffee coming back to the forefront, and a little more fruit. Overall, this is one of my favorite pours of all time. I kind of feel like this specific release of the Oak Series is as close to the Bowman Cask Strength that you can get. In fact, it's aged an additional 2 years compared to the CS release! This American Oak release is super rich, full of flavor, and at 135 proof, doesn't kill you with too much burn/ethanol. I will for sure be participating in any of the Bowman lotteries moving forward, hopefully I'll win a Cask Strength or future Abraham Bowman release one day! I'd rate this bottle as a 9 on the T8KE Scale. Has anyone tried some of the harder to find A Smith Bowman bottles, like the Cask Strength or other Abraham Bowman bottles? Curious to hear if those other releases are as good. Cheers! 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite 10 | Perfect | Perfect submitted by /u/PA_Whiskey_Reviews [link] [comments]
