Abraham Smith Bowman Distillery is the oldest continuously operating distillery in Virginia. Owned by Sazerac, it's a sister distillery to some of the biggest names (and biggest producers) in bourbon and American whiskey: Barton 1792 and Buffalo Trace.

The Bowman Distillery is one of the more intriguing setups in whiskey. There are on-site fermentation tanks and stills, and yet not all of the distillate used comes from their own fermenters or stills.

An oft-repeated refrain about Bowman is that they take Buffalo Trace distillate - mashbill one, a high-rye bourbon recipe - and bring it to Virginia to age to their own specifications. Tasting blind, there is a clear similarity in the core flavors, and a story repeated that often with that consistency must have a kernel of truth to it.

Fortunately, master distiller Brian Prewitt cleared the air on Bourbon Pursuit (Episode 244). Prewitt stated that while Bowman's distillate is trucked in from Kentucky, it is not in fact the mashbill one recipe nor is it what one would call "white dog". Instead, it is a high-wine.

High-wines are the step after low-wines, so let's unpack this a bit. After grains are mashed and fermented, the wash is distilled for the first time. If you were a brewer, you might stop right here with an ABV around 8-10%, with the yeast having given you all the alcohol content you need. If you're a distiller, you run the wash through a still.

The resulting liquid is a low-wine, around the ABV% of a strong fortified wine (30% give or take 5% either way). A pot still will produce a lower-ABV distillate after the first run, closer to the 20% mark. At this point, the solids are removed from the mix and often given back to farmers as animal feed. Any alcohol not distilled off the solids is treated and used elsewhere.

The remaining alcohol and water solution is then distilled a second time, resulting in the high-wine. The high-wines range anywhere from 50-80% ABV depending on still type. A high-efficiency column still - such as those at Buffalo Trace - can reach above 80%.

Bourbon producers wouldn't do so since anything above 160 proof (i.e. >80% ABV) is considered a light whiskey when aged, but the capability is there. Bourbon and American whiskey distillate can be distilled up to 160 proof without triggering the "light" designation.

Back to Bowman: the high-wines Prewitt and the team are importing from Buffalo Trace are, according to them, a unique recipe. Therefore it isn't Buffalo Trace's mashbill one (high-rye) or mashbill two (low-rye). And so, despite bourbon armchair investigators' insistence, we must take Prewitt at his word. it may be a Buffalo Trace-distilled high-wine, but it's not Buffalo Trace's high-wine.

So - is this a Kentucky bourbon or Virginia bourbon? The answer lies in the aging. While distilled in Kentucky, the entire maturation and aging takes place in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Therefore, Bowman can legally call their bourbon Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey. If it were aged for even one second in another state, US law prohibits the "straight" designation.

*Palletized barrels at A. Smith Bowman Distillery.*

In another oddity, A. Smith Bowman ages their whiskey in pallet style rather than in traditional Kentucky-style rickhouses. Palletized aging is more common in smaller distilleries of which, to be honest, Bowman is still one. Total production doesn't warrant a giant rickhouse like the ones that dot the Kentucky countryside.

Another consideration is that those rickhouses are millions of dollars apiece. Since Sazerac owns Bowman, cost isn't really a barrier. Given that backing, it's clear that palletized aging is a conscious choice, not just one of convenience or necessity.

Aging a barrel on its head is more space-efficient, but comes with risks. On its head, the barrel is more likely to leak, and since they're packed more tightly there is less airflow between the barrels. Less airflow = less evaporation of either water or alcohol. Assuming a 125 entry proof (what Buffalo Trace and Barton 1792 use) the bourbon should be about 132-134, give or take a few proof points.

Add in that these barrels were aged "at the lowest levels of the warehouse," according to Bowman. How this whiskey got to over 140 proof is a mystery - it shouldn't have had a high enough temperature swing or enough airflow to allow for that much water evaporation, and low-altitude aging further reduces that swing.

Compare, for example, Jack Daniel's Coy Hill High Proof, which was aged for 9+ years at the top of the distillery's 9-story warehouses on top of Coy Hill. Those barrels were released at proofs between 137 and 148.3 which, given the altitude, rickhouse construction, and heat, is reasonable (and awesome).

I want to ask Mr. Prewitt what happened with these barrels. To be clear, it's a damn fine whiskey. I 100% agree with my friends over at The Bourbon Culture that this is an easy substitute for 2021's missing George T. Stagg Buffalo Trace Antique Collection release.

With this as a yearly release, A. Smith Bowman Distillery lays down the gauntlet for high-proof bourbon whiskies. If George T. Stagg continues to stumble, Bowman Cask Strength will be there to take its place. I can't wait for the sequel.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey: Specs

Classification: Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Origin: High Wines Distilled at Buffalo Trace

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Proof: 141.1 (70.55% ABV)

Age: 10 Years

Location: Virginia

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey Price: $100

Official Website

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Brand new pennies.

Nose: Brown sugar on fire. Lots of proof, yet still less than expected. Fig Newtons, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks, leather, dry tobacco, hints of cherry cordials and dark chocolate. Quite Buffalo Trace-esque, but differences poke out around the edges.

Palate: Cherry-forward and hot, but in such a good way. Coating cola syrup, bitter chocolate, and astringency. Mouthfeel is filling and prickly, amping the heat up under the tongue. Did I mention this was coating? Red fruits, nectarines, and Bellinis open up towards the end before dark chocolate roars back in.

Finish: Lava cake with dark cherry sauce. How your mouth feels after eating an extra-fudgy brownie. Long - so, so long.

Overall: Damn - that is incredible. Fruity, chocolaty, all the notes expected from something close to a mashbill one from Buffalo Trace kicked up several notches. A hell of a bottle if it weren’t $1000 on secondary.

Final Rating: 8.1

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Has promise but needs work

1-3 | Let’s have a conversation