John J. Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon Review

Boone Hilleary is our guest blogger today with his John J. Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon review. As with our other Help Wanted applicants we ask that you share your thoughts on his post in the comments as well as online where you can find Boone at @hillearyville.

Living in Louisville makes it easy to develop the mindset that local is better. We excel at homegrown restaurants, arts, and bourbon. Here a bourbon lover can audition a different Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey weekly and never run out of options. While many bars and liquor stores do carry “foreign” whiskies, the focus here is the in-state product. Like genteel pagans, we extoll the virtues of the water, soil, and air that form the soul of our favorite son. As said in these parts…if it ain’t Kentucky, it ain’t bourbon.

I fell victim to this snobbery; after 20 years I’d insulated my curiosity by focusing first on the Kentucky in “Kentucky’s native spirit”. So when I received a bottle of John J. Bowman for Christmas it went to the back of the queue like it was a Dickel or a Jameson. However, when I uncorked it weeks later and took time to dissect and appreciate this Virginia product, I had an epiphany of sorts- great bourbon doesn’t have to be from Kentucky!

JJB is the perfect jumping off point for any sojourn to discover great non-Kentucky bourbons. If there is any brand that is more almost Kentucky than JJB, I would be surprised. A double-distillate is sourced from parent company’s (Sazerac) Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, KY before being distilled a 3rd time in Virginia. Then it’s barreled in American Oak char #3 and aged upright in a brick building not far from the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay. Although similar in latitude to Kentucky, JJB is different in that it is influenced by the sea air and less-volatile temperature swings the brick building yields. In another twist, the bottle’s namesake, John J. Bowman, was an important Kentucky frontiersman and the great, great uncle of the distillery’s founder, Abraham Smith Bowman. Finally, before it became a state in 1792, Kentucky was a county of the Commonwealth of Virginia. John J. Bowman Single Barrel is the tidewater cousin any Kentuckian would be proud to know.

BOTTLE DETAILS

Name: John J. Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon

Proof: 100 proof / 50% ABV

Age: NAS – No Age Statement

Year: 2016

BOONE'S NOTES

How I Drank It: Neat and on the Rocks

Nose: Caramel and sweet corn, a little pepper.  Notes of oak.

Taste: Caramel, baking spices, biscuit.  No ego here- very soft and buttery.  Fantastic viscosity at this proof.

The Burn: Initially tamer than most 100s, I suspect wheat is featured in the mash bill.  But a sturdy finish belies that gentle beginning and lasts just long enough to force a comparison to the forward profile.  Like Weller Antique, but dialed down a notch.

Neat, Splash or Rocks: JJB will appeal to both neat and rocks drinkers. This 100-proofer doesn’t need to be tamed.  Because it relies on that finish to really shine, hold the water please.

Share With: “I have a friend who…” swears the only bourbon worth passing their lips is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.  If this Virginian doesn’t make that drinker a believer, nothing will.

Worth The Price: I paid $52 in Louisville.  Without an age statement this is certainly more expensive than other bourbons in its class.  JJB competes here though, so I would call it a special occasion bottle.

Bottle, Bar or Bust: Bottle.  You’re not likely to find JJB in a bar unless you’re lucky enough to have a bourbon bar nearby or you live in the Bluegrass or D.C. area.  JJB is a carefully-crafted bourbon that I particularly recommend to devotees of BT and its bottlings.  This distant relative is a solid performer.