Angel's Envy

[sailor22]

As Bruce mentioned very well above, it depends on what you like to drink. These finished whiskies like AE give an extra element that some may find not to their liking. At first, I was nonplused on the finished bourbons that were coming out, but they really have grown on me. I think when they are done right, and I think AE is done right, they give a wonderful addition to the mouthfeel of the whiskey by "oiling or thickening" it up. They seem to have more body. But, it's tricky business to keep the finishing as just that...finishing. They can easily get out of balance.

As an interesting side note, when we were speaking on possible options to Heaven Hill for an SB.Com bottle of HHSS, we were originally not very interested in the cognac finished product option that they offered (and we ultimately selected), because finished whiskies can be polarizing, as we're seeing in this thread. But, after trying the initial samples, we were immediately floored by how gorgeous a whiskey it was. Perfect integration and balance. Of course as we've seen, the response has been overwhelmingly super positive on it.

Personally, I like the finished bourbon and rye movement. I think it opens up a very nice alternative for whiskey drinkers. And, Angel's Envy is a good whiskey in that finished bourbon family, IMO.

[smokinjoe]

I was with you completely until the very last sentence. As an example of how much YMMV, my take on AE is very different than yours. To my palate it's a mediocre whiskey with a heavy handed finish added. Unbalanced to the sweet side with little burn or complexity and almost no finish it is a popular beginners pour. Or a pour for those times your not in the mood for Bourbon and would prefer a sweet cocktail. Very different than the SB.com bottle which is richly complex and balanced.

[squire]

An easy way to find out without buying an entire bottle is take a Bourbon you like and add a drop of port, Cognac, Cointreau, Chambord or whatever and drink the results.

[MyOldKyDram]

I've more or less enjoyed every finished bourbon I've had, honestly. Keep meaning to pick up the Beam Spanish Brandy (yes I know it's not an actual finish), and may have to do that soonish.

[squire]

That's a good example of what I was saying, Beam may be inspiring some micros to try that.

[BTshorty]

Was introduced to AE for the first time at a liquor store where I was filling up my cart (as usual) and the

salesman asked if I'd like to sample something. I,of course, obliged. He didn't tell me what he gave me, but just

let me savor it for a bit. The more it sat on my tongue, the more I liked it. Ended up buying it and have enjoyed

it since. $40 a little high, but enjoyable !

[dSculptor]

Was introduced to AE for the first time at a liquor store where I was filling up my cart (as usual) and the

salesman asked if I'd like to sample something. I,of course, obliged. He didn't tell me what he gave me, but just

let me savor it for a bit. The more it sat on my tongue, the more I liked it. Ended up buying it and have enjoyed

it since. $40 a little high, but enjoyable !

A little high? That's definitely a bottom shelfer for you!

[BTshorty]

Funny stuff, brother !!

[black mamba]

Just yesterday I had the pleasure of being invited to a tasting to help select my friend's LS select bottling of Angel's Envy. Very interesting. Naturally I asked plenty of questions to start off. Turns out the whisky is from a mash of 72 corn, 18 rye and 10 barley malt (sound familiar, Old Forester fans?). Also, the master distiller and selector of barrels was Lincoln Henderson, who was the master distiller at B-F for many, many years. The whisky is aged for about 5 years in charred oak, before around 4 months in the port finishing barrels. For the selection tasting, they had 3 bottles, all the same except for the amount of time in the port barrels. Selection A was about 4 weeks, B was about 2 months, and C was their standard release with about 4 months in port barrels, all after the 5 years in oak.

The color and nose was substantially different between the 3 selections. A, with the least time in port barrels, was spicey, straw colored and very bourbon-like. B was slightly sweeter, rounder, and had a grainy nose somewhat like Irish whiskey, with a little darker, bronze coloration. Selection C, the standard release Angel's Envy, was noticeably darker, sweeter and rounder. We played with several combinations of the 3 selections until finally picking a blend of 60% A (spicey, rye forward), 10% B (for a slight grainy influence) and 30% C to give the rounder berry finish that Angel's Envy is known for. All four of us doing the selection, with two of us experienced whiskey drinkers and the other two primarily wine drinkers, agreed that this blend was the best. I found it interesting reading some of the previous posts in this thread that the port finished rye was more highly favored, because our blend also accentuated the rye aspect of the younger whisky to "stand up" to the sweetness of the standard 4 months in port barrels release.

Having gone through this process, I would say the occassional or inexperienced bourbon drinker would like the standard release very much, but for someone who likes a more "in your face" spirit, a store selected bottle might be preferable. Hopefully you could taste first to be sure. Proof of all the 3 selections and our finished blend was 86.6 pf.

Edited February 26, 2014 by black mamba

[BourbonJoe]

Just had the one finished in Caribbean Rum Barrels. It was very unique and tasted like Grandmom's apple pie with a healthy dose of cinnamon.

Joe

[Ejmharris]

Just had the one finished in Caribbean Rum Barrels. It was very unique and tasted like Grandmom's apple pie with a healthy dose of cinnamon.

Joe

Joe, was it a bourbon finished in the rum barrels. I know they are doing the rye m those barrels but didn't know they did a bourbon in one.

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[wadewood]

Turns out the whisky is from a mash of 72 corn, 18 rye and 10 barley malt (sound familiar, Old Forester fans?).

[Quantum]

I think Wes was just messing with him once he realized how anal retentive Wade is, and saw him looking over each AE bottle with a copy of the TTB labeling guidelines.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Quantum