The Wiseman
American Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
90.8 proof
Kentucky Owl
$60 SRP
Please enjoy my Kentucky Owl Wiseman Bourbon Review!
Have you heard of The Wiseman Bourbon from Kentucky Owl? This bourbon is unique for the brand because it is produced and distilled by Kentucky Owl in collaboration with the Bardstown Bourbon Company. It’s a blend of Kentucky Owl 4 year old wheat and high rye bourbons, combined with 5 1/2 and 8 1/2 year old Kentucky sourced bourbons. It is also the first release under Master Blender John Rhea. The prior Kentucky Owl bourbons and ryes were produced by Dixon Dedman, who is no longer with the brand. Kentucky Owl is owned by the Stoli Group.
Tasting Notes
Let’s taste it:
🛏 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn
👉🏻Nose: Caramel, dark stone fruits, but also cherry Kool-Aid; baking spices, cinnamon, mild oak, light cocoa. Mild alcohol
👉🏻Taste: Caramel, tea, apple juice, light sugar sweetness but also some barrel char later on
👉🏻Finish: Black tea, some cinnamon; black pepper builds with oak and some dryness; moderate burn. Moderately long finish.
Wiseman Bourbon doesn’t taste and finish quite like it noses. It starts off with a fair amount of fruit and caramel, yet when returning to the nose after taking a sip, cinnamon becomes more evident. The taste is initially also a little sweet and fruity, but fairly rapidly develops stronger tea, black pepper, oak and dryness.
Summary
So what’s my final verdict? It’s a decent bourbon but the younger flavors seem to dominate. I am not sure of the percentages, but I would guess the lion’s share is the 4 years old bourbons with the 8 1/2 year old being in the minority. It will be interesting to see how it may change as it opens up. Needless to say, it’s quite a different bourbon than the prior Kentucky Owl releases, even Confiscated, although that’s not so far away in proof.
Are you a Kentucky Owl fan? Have you tried the Wiseman Bourbon? What did you think? Cheers!
I hope you enjoyed my Kentucky Owl Wiseman Bourbon Review! Would you like to learn about another bourbon from the Bardstown Bourbon Company? Read my Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series #4 Review!