Stellum Black Equinox Blend #1
Cask Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies
58.63% ABV
$100
Website
We would like to thank Stellum Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says
This inaugural release of the Stellum Black Specialty Equinox was created using Stellum Bourbon. We slowly layered in rare sets of bourbon barrels, step by step, until the evening of the Vernal Equinox, when the blend was completed in honor of the changing seasons.
TASTING NOTES
Appearance: Golden amber.
Nose: Beautifully subdued nose gently opens up to ripe cantaloupe and the perfume of fresh cut grass. After it aerates, notes of sugar maple and toffee hit the senses with a distant kiss of wood spice and white pepper.
Palate: Dried apricot and honey immediately find their way into view. This unfolds into Saigon cinnamon and bruleed orange before slowly making its way to subtle notes of grapefruit and jasmine.
Finish: Finish is extremely long and slowly developed. The back-end jasmine blooms and bursts into rich notes of sorghum and wood tannin before finally dissipating into beautiful dark chocolate.
WITH 3 DROPS OF WATER: The water brings about the riper, more fruit forward qualities of the whiskey and really highlights the floral aspects that were merely an undertone before. And moves the heat from the alcohol from the back of the tongue to the cheekbones.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich, dark chocolate, musty oak, toffee, subtle vanilla, hint of coffee and spices.
Palate: Viscous mouthfeel with caramel, toasted orange zest, honey, cinnamon and grapefruit.
Finish: Long, warm and slowly drying with oak, citrus spice and dark chocolate.
Comments: A delightful, spicy bourbon with a great mouthfeel and finish that lingers long after. Grapefruit is one of those notes I don’t get too often in whiskey (and less so in bourbon), which is a nice twist. A bit of water brings out some fruit on the nose with peaches and apricot, and thickens the mouthfeel even more with adding apricot and turning up the orange notes.