Sourced from 11-year-old bourbon and finished in “ex-Sherry rum” casks the Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 – “Kelvin Collaboration” is the first bourbon, or any whisk(e)y at all I know of, that’s been aged this way. Can you think of anyone who has used a sherry cask that was then used to age rum to then finish a whiskey? If you do, let me know in the comments.
Though, to be clear, sherry-aged rum isn’t wholly rare. Quite a few rum brands do a sherry aging or finishing in everything from PX to Oloroso. Ron Diplomatico, Facundo, Ron Zacapa and Brugal just to name a few. It’s the subsequent aging whisk(e)y I’ve not encountered till now.
The question is… what it a success? We’ll find out in the bourbon review below.
Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 – “Kelvin Collaboration” Review: Details and Tasting Notes
We located and purchased over 100 barrels of Kentucky Straight Bourbon ranging from 5 to 11 years old. And wanting to make a splash with our first release, we chose 14 of our oldest and most flavorful barrels of 11-year-old whiskey and combined them into our secondary Ex-sherry rum casks and let them age. We tasted them regularly, being careful to not let the barrel finish overwhelm the bourbon that is already excellent. When Bill was comfortable with the finish, we dumped them at barrel proof into our bottles and out the door they went. We dubbed the batch, aptly, “The Kelvin Collaboration.”
Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: USA, Kentucky
Distiller: Various
Mash Bill: 74% corn, 18% rye, 8% malted barley
Cask: New Charred Oak, ex-Sherry Rum
Age: 11 Years
ABV: 61.7%
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Batch: 1
Bottles: 1,732
Price: $200
Tasting Notes
EYE
Ruddy oak
NOSE
Oak, cherry heavy dark fruit, spice, leather and touches of pepper and citrus.
PALATE
Sherry, cocoa, spice, citrus, vanilla taffy, oak, brown sugar and a bit of bubblegum.
FINISH
Long -> Dark fruit, oak, spice fades to caramel and bubblegum.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Decent balance, med-full body and a light syrup feel.
Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 – “Kelvin Collaboration” Review: Overall and Score
Smells great, tastes… alright. The Aroma is a solid “old bourbon” profile with some slight winey notes that start low and show more as it opens; Palate is warm an inviting, but lacks the velvety depth of the aroma with a bubblegum note that starts light and gets stronger as it opens; Finish starts out bold and fades to a light bubblegum note.
Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 – “Kelvin Collaboration” is a decent bourbon with some interesting notes. Being a finished bourbon I to compared it in a side-by-side with the CA Belle Meade (sherry finish) from last week. The differences were more than subtle.
All around the Belle Meade was a bigger, darker and more complex, yet balanced, whiskey. Still, I enjoyed this Four Gate Bourbon Kelvin Collaboration sample enough that it’s no longer with us, so there’s that.
SCORE: 86/100 (B)
*Disclosure: This Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 – “Kelvin Collaboration” sample was graciously sent to me by the company for the purposes of this review. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 - Kelvin Collaboration Review 200
- Nose - 89
- Palate - 86
- Finish - 86
- Balance, Body & Feel - 86
Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 - "Kelvin Collaboration" Review Summary
Four Gate Bourbon Batch 1 – “Kelvin Collaboration” is a fun and interesting whiskey that doesn’t fully connect, but is a fascinating experiment.
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