Background

Just like Friday was my first time reviewing Frey Ranch, this is my first time reviewing anything from Angel’s Envy which means… FUN (if oftentimes commonly known) FACTS! Citing my sources here, the indispensable book “Bourbon” by Clay Risen.

• Founded in 2010 by father son duo Lincoln and Wes Henderson. Side note, a lot of these distilleries just really must love their families much more than I do. I like my family fine, they are nice people. Would I want to start a super cash intensive business with my family that would require me to work with them in high stress situations? Absolutely not.

• Anyways! Their first release came a year later in 2011 with their ruby port finished bourbon. If you’re doing the very simple math between founded in 2010 and released in 2011, you undoubtedly have realized that yes, it was sourced to start.

• 2012 marked the first cask strength release, and then sadly Lincoln Henderson passed away in 2013.

• Basically from the jump Angel’s Envy goes gangbusters. Just five years from inception (again sorry for the math, so if you’re a few glasses in and reading this - that’s 2015), they sell to Bacardi.

• While they broke ground on their downtown Louisville distillery in 2016, I'm sure all that sweet, sweet rum cash didnt hurt as they opened the first full-production distillery and visitor's center in Downtown Louisville in 2016.

OK! Our comparison point today is the OG (though, no longer sourced) Angel’s Envy Bourbon and Jack Rose’s new “All-Natural” pick. Why All-Natural? Well, the Jack Rose team tries to get all of their picks at Cask Strength. The rub with Angel’s Envy, as you might assume, is that they only release their Cask Strength release once a year. It comes in this big beautiful wood box, costs a bunch… a whole production really. Presumably it’s because they don't want to undercut that release that they proof all of their picks down to 110. Jack Rose, however, was able to get them to pull samples all at or under 110 proof. Meaning this pick actually is cask strength Angel’s Envy. Time to try these both out and get to it!

Angel’s Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels (NAS, 86.6 Proof)

Nose: Strawberries, buttercream frosting, vanilla wafer cookies. It’s sweet yet pretty delicate and unassuming up front.

Palate: It’s basically “name a Strawberry dessert.” Strawberry macarons maybe? Just overwhelmingly this strawberry/delicate red fruit sweet treat. It drinks a little thin, but honestly not as much as I would except given the proof. It is cloyingly sweet though.

Finish: It’s nothing if not consistent! Strawberry, hints of vanilla, some hints barrel spices but it definitely leaves you with little doubt there was a dessert wine finish involved.

Sub-par (4/10)

Overall: It’s just sweet to the point of being saccharin for me. But honestly, I don't think I am the market for this, and it’s possible or even likely that many reading this are not either, and that’s ok! This seems like it could function more as a gateway offering to someone currently sipping the occasional ~$20 bottle and wanting to splurge a little on something different. It’s hard to write that and not sound snobbish, but I sincerely don't mean that as a backhanded compliment. It’s an effective mass market showcase for finished whiskey.

Angel’s Envy “All-Natural” Jack Rose Selection (NAS, 108.6 Proof)

Nose: Strawberry jelly (I have to cop to this being Jack Rose’s note on the bottle as well), lightly toasted marshmallows, creme brulee.

Palate: Strawberry rhubarb pie, complete with the crust. It’s juicy, very approachable and has a slight syrupy texture. I was recently at dinner with a friend who noted he doesnt like fruit pies, but he does like the “goo” the fruit is in, just not the fruit itself (it’s a hot fruit thing, apparently). Anyways, “fruit pie goo” is my note here.

Finish: Toasted oak, cinnamon sugar, root beer? I’m getting a little hint of a sassafras note here that’s lingering. Kind of like those root beer barrel candies.

Very Good to Great (6.5/10)

Overall: Still sweet, but clocking in at cask strength it’s balanced out nicely by those toasty notes. I’ll forewarn that this is dangerously drinkable. Speaking from experiences you’ll absentmindedly log two to three glasses of this without really noticing. And there’s a comfort and competence to none of the notes appearing out of place. It’s just consistently enjoyable.