Stillman’s Sonder Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years
47% ABV
$70
Website
We would like to thank Dancing Goat Distillery and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Producer Says:
The Dancing Goat team embarked on an eighteen-month journey—analysis, blending, reentry testing, gauging, finishing, re-blending, and regauging—to take the most choice barrels from their elusive aged stocks. Stillman’s Sonder is a whiskey that is polished and reimagined, crafted through generational knowledge and responsibility. From 2010 to 2016, distillation in Indiana included a series of large exploratory test runs and orphaned barrels. The Maas Family carefully collected these barrels in secret until their stocks grew and aged to a point where a 10+ year aged whiskey could be blended and produced with consistency and growth.
The 10-Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey utilizes both Andean and American oak aged barrels with texture and concentration pushed through several double oaked components. Spoon proofed in barrels at times with encouraged oxidation through short fills and vatting, this is a remarkably expressive bourbon crafted through extreme care and reflection.
TASTING NOTES
Aroma: Milk chocolate, ripe strawberry and chai tea with a curious hint of the outdoors like a forest stream in autumn.
Taste: Sweet cream and brown sugar touched with vanilla bean. Strawberry notes transform to a more structured sweet cardamom.
Finish: What starts as sweet meets a robust wall of oak and tannin. Chocolate and berry notes prevail with an inviting, long and pleasant finish.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich chocolate malt, vanilla, caramel, oak and a hint of black cherry.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, dark chocolate, vanilla, peanut brittle, nutmeg, strawberry and a hint of tobacco.
Finish: Moderately long with chocolate covered strawberries and oak.
Comments: Wow! I’ve had plenty of MGP bourbon (which is where this was distilled, although the finishing, re-barreling and blending was all done in Wisconsin), but this is some of the best by far. Strawberry is a note I rarely get (in fact only once before have I gotten that from a bourbon, and less than a handful of times in Scotch). The thick, richness of the nose and palate are a treat – and definitely a unique pour. While I’d love to see this with a bit more proof on it – this is one of the best new bourbon’s I’ve had in a while.
WOW! I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a riper pile of steaming bullsh_t than Dancing Goat’s explanation of the acquisition and making of this Bourbon. That first sentence in the second paragraph of their description is almost unintelligible. I suppose it’s a given that most NDP’s will use lots of ‘new descriptors’ and adjectives as a smoke screen, as well as to enhance the “curb appeal” of a new product. But, this just smells bad! It almost pushes me off of making the decision to lay out the not-insignificant cheddar asked. But, your description of the experience ‘in the glass’ makes it a closer call. It sounds from your analysis like a very nice pour.
I certainly thought it was really nice! And if you do buy one – I’ll volunteer to help you with it – HA!