Amador Whiskey Company - Double Barrel

Nose: The nose is light and slightly sweet, with hints of raisin and caramel, a little bit of brown sugar and possibly a hint of banana. Palate: It wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting, with a bit of acidity at first that quickly fades. Still, it does have a very nice mild sweetness. It has a caramel chewiness, but the mouthfeel isn’t that heavy. It falls somewhere between light and medium. The first sip gave way rather quickly to flavors of dark chocolate and/or cocoa, some vanilla and some fruitiness. The finish isn’t harsh, but has a little heat to it and some more “bourbon” sweetness. Not crazy, just a tad above “warming” and very pleasant. This one also tingled my tongue a little bit on the finish (mostly toward the back of the tongue, near the throat). Comments: There is an Amador Distillery, but this comes from the Amador Whiskey Company, a different beast, apparently. This clocks in at 86.8 proof. I think I paid somewhere in the low $40 range for this, maybe less? It is sourced in KY (not further identified) and it is finished in “Napa Valley Wine Barrels” (type not specified) in, well, Napa Valley (CA). The KY sourced juice is reportedly a “non-vintage barreling” “aged between 3 and 10 years” and the wine barrel finish is 6 months. Although I think you do get some of the wine flavor that this picked up in the finishing, it really isn’t overwhelming or even all that noteworthy. Maybe it adds to the sweetness? I found the flavors to be a little complex and hard to pin down. This would be a good one to sip when you felt like trying to figure out what is going on, flavor-wise. Worth the $? Hmmm….maybe, if you have a generous budget, but probably not, but it IS a good “Dollar Days” candidate. I honestly think I’ll have to try this one again in a few days because I feel like it has more potential than I’m picking up today. It is an easy drinker and certainly not offensive, but I think it might have more to it that I’m just not getting at the moment.