Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Amburana Barrell Craft Spirits

Amburana casks are challenging to work with, as they impart strong cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and vanilla spice notes. True blending expertise is required to enhance the bourbon with Amburana and maintain balance. The Barrell Craft Spirits blending team created a bourbon blend of two mash bills with different char levels finished in Amburana casks. A vatting of individual casks without finishing was layered in to add depth, richness and complexity, ensuring the bourbon shines through first and foremost.

Rather than working with cubes, spirals, staves, or other oak alternatives like many producers, Barrell Craft Spirits’ Chief Whiskey Scientist Tripp Stimson sourced true 53-gallon barrels made from sustainably harvested amburana wood to finish bourbon. It took a full year of R&D to hone in on the right timing and conditions that would create just the right balance of flavor concentration, layering in those heady tropical spice notes without losing the delicious flavor of the bourbon itself.

The wood’s strong impact within a short time frame demands a level of expertise that goes far beyond just filling it with bourbon, waiting a few months, and then bottling. Barrell Craft Spirits’ approach involves the delicate art of blending and small adjustments to proof, temperature, and other conditions that allow the amburana contribution to shine while complementing the natural attributes of the bourbon, rather than overpowering it.

FLAVOR NOTES: An intense baking spice character centered around cinnamon fills every nook and cranny of the tasting experience. It’s a veil through which one experiences the aromas of chocolate, walnut, and toasted sourdough. The palate also has a narrative driven by cinnamon and spicy ginger beer with cameos from marmalade, tarragon, and hefeweizen. A healthy splash of water foregrounds passionfruit, goldenrod, and honeycomb.