Analyzing Amburana! Seelbach's 9 Year Bourbon and r/bourbon Rare Character Rye Review

Background

Amburana- so hot right now. Rather than spend a ton of time regurgitating info I definitely didn't Google right before writing this, I’m going to point you to a veritable expert on the subject. Jessica-Ann of H&A Barrel Management recently put out this incredibly informative video together with Novo Fogo (a distillery in Brazil making cachaças) to provide some context on sourcing amburana barrels.

I first encountered amburana with Boss Hog VII, which blew my mind with its baked cinnamon notes. Since that release, amburana has only trended upwards in popularity, and I’m curious to see how it influences these two particular offerings. We have two completely different base whiskies to review, one a 5 year MGP rye, and the other a 9 year MGP bourbon (99/1 mashbill). Let’s get ready to amburumble!

Seelbach’s 9 Year Straight Bourbon Finished in Amburana Barrels (9 Years, 110 Proof)

Nose: Cinnamon apple, cinnamon sugar, gingerbread

Palate: Fresh baked gingerbread, cinnamon again, caramel apples

Finish: Allspice, anise, apple wood. Sweet, a little spice, just right and medium length.

Great (7/10)

Overall: Compared to the Rare Character, the finish comes across as much more mild. What I suspect is that the 99/1 mashbill of the base bourbon is providing a nice sweet counterbalance to the baking spice nature of the amburana. It makes for a more harmonious sip in my opinion.

Rare Character R/Bourbon Straight Rye Finished in Amburana Barrels (5 Years, 114.68 Proof)

Nose: Banana nut bread, cinnamon rolls. Great baked goods-centric nose.

Palate: Pumpkin bread (complete with the requisite cinnamon), cloves, and the occasional mint.

Finish: Big Red gum, black pepper, and then it leaves an almost dry but gummy after taste that I can't quite figure out.

Good (5/10)

Overall: This had me until the finish, at which point I felt that it threw the sip out of balance with the overwhelming amount of spice and somewhat off putting aftertaste. Great nose, great palate- if you like a big, bombastic amount of spice then this may really be your cup of tea, it’s just not mine honestly.

Last but not least, ranking scale and some examples:

1 | Disgusting: Town Branch Single Barrel Reserve

2 | Poor: Black Maple Hill Oregon Straight Bourbon Whiskey

3 | Bad: Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel

4 | Sub-par: Blue Run High Rye Bourbon

5 | Good: Four Roses Small Batch Select

6 | Very Good: E.H. Taylor Straight Rye

7 | Great: Wilderness Trail 8 Year BiB

8 | Excellent: Stagg Jr Batch 17

9 | Incredible: A Smith Bowman Cask Strength (Batch 1)

10 | Perfect: George T Stagg 2020