Isaac Bowman Bourbon Port Barrel Finished

The bourbon is fully matured first in new charred American oak — as US law requires for bourbon — and then transferred into barrels that previously held port for a second, shorter maturation. The whiskey draws out the port soaked into the staves, which adds dark stone fruit, raisin and a rounder sweetness on top of the base bourbon. our guide to finished bourbon explains what the second barrel does across every cask type.

A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, Virginia — one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries in the country and part of the Sazerac family. The Bowman line is named for the four Bowman brothers who served as officers in the Revolutionary War; Isaac Bowman is the port-finished expression in that range. The distillate begins in Kentucky and is redistilled and matured in Virginia. Our explainer on how bourbon is made covers the production steps behind that.

Cherry and dried fig from the port barrel sit over a soft caramel-and-vanilla bourbon base. It is noticeably sweeter and fruitier than a standard Kentucky bourbon but stops well short of dessert-wine territory — the grain is still clearly legible underneath, which is the mark of a finish doing real work rather than covering something up. The finish is medium-length with a faint tannic grip.

It is bottled at 92 proof, which is a sensible place for a finished whiskey: enough weight to carry the added sweetness without turning hot. Drink it neat first. One large cube works well and will pull the fruit forward slightly as it dilutes. It does not need water the way a barrel proof bottle does — see our barrel proof primer for that comparison.

It is close to the ideal starting point. Port is the most approachable finish in the category and this is one of the least expensive well-made examples on the shelf, so the cost of finding out whether you like the style is low. Breckenridge Port Cask Finish Bourbon Whiskey ($68.09) is the natural next step — the same finish applied to a higher-rye base, so you can taste how the underlying whiskey changes the result.

Pour an actual tawny port next to it. Four minutes of side-by-side tasting will tell you exactly which flavors came from the second barrel. Delaforce Porto 20 Year Old Tawny ($42.09) is an affordable, honest reference point, and the rest of the Port collection has more. For food, it is very good with pecan pie, dark chocolate or an aged hard cheese. Browse the Bourbon collection for more finished bottles.