John J. Bowman Single Barrel

Single Barrel Bourbon • 10 Year • 100 Proof

Hello guys, Toni B here, and NYC is absolutely buzzing with the ⚽ World Cup, especially Times Square.

I went to a game last Thursday between 🇪🇨 Ecuador and 🇩🇪 Germany, and man, what a game. I've been to a lot of sports games, but being at a World Cup, the energy is something else. (I was even able to buy one of Ecuador's jerseys outside the stadium. I like rooting for the underdog lol.)

It was also crazy because 🇪🇨 Ecuador needed to win, something that seemed impossible, as 🇩🇪 Germany is a top contender. They were down 0-1, but they flipped it and won 2-1.

That atmosphere... I got splashed with beer, hugged by random Ecuadorians who were crying once the game was over. It was something else. Happy for them.

Still hoping I can snag some tickets for the 🏆⚽ World Cup Final, but currently the cheapest ones are over $11K 🤯.

Anyways, today I'm going to review the John J. Bowman Single Barrel. The MSRP is around $55.00, it's 100 proof, and I couldn't find the exact barrel age, but some Redditors say it's around 9 to 10 years.

What I find interesting is that a lot of people compare John J. Bowman to Blanton's Single Barrel. Some even say it tastes the same or better. 🤷‍♂️

I like the bottle and the little metal neck tag that says "Barrel Select."

I also like that while you're drinking the bottle, you can see John J. Bowman looking through a spyglass.

I've been drinking this bottle already for a few days, so this isn't a fresh bottle review. I wanted to mention that because sometimes reviewing a bottle right after opening it versus a few days later can make a big difference, as oxidation can change the taste.

On the aroma... this guy is as fruity as it can get, but you get a lot of apple with a bit of cherry. The oak is really not aggressive at all. It's really light and gets overwhelmed by the apple.

It reminds me of some kind of apple dessert. I just can't pinpoint exactly which one, but it's inviting as hell.

If you get it at an angle, there's barely any ethanol at all unless you take a huge whiff.

I can already tell this is going to be oily just by swirling it and watching how slowly it runs down the Glencairn glass.

On the taste, you get tons of baked apple. It goes down smooth and is as oily as I thought, not dry at all.

I actually get more grape than cherry on the palate, even though on the aroma I pick up more cherry. (Sometimes I feel like I get confused between apple, cherry, and grape lol.)

As the baked apple fades, you get some sugar and vanilla. You barely feel the ethanol, and it just has a nice warmth as it goes down.

On the finish, it doesn't feel dry at all. It's not too short, but it's not too long either. I'd say it's more of a medium finish. Those nice flavors stay with you for a while, and as they slowly fade, you start picking up even more flavors. It's nice!

It's a great bottle, but I honestly think the finish could be better. The more I drank it, the more I felt the finish wasn't as impressive as some others. It's still solid, but I just like a little more heat and spice on my finish.

Still, this bottle feels more expensive to my rookie palate than a lot of those much more expensive allocated bottles.

But do I think it's better than regular Blanton's Single Barrel?

When it comes to price and allocation? Hell yeah.

As for the taste, I can't really say because I haven't done a blind taste test yet. That's the only way to be 100% fair.

I'll try to grab a bottle next week and do a blind taste test. I really enjoy those blind taste test reviews that some Redditors post. To be honest, they're my favorite ones to read.

But that's my review. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

I'm going to go watch 🇨🇴 Colombia vs. 🇵🇹 Portugal now (Let's go Colombia!!!) I'll try not to finish this bottle so I can do a blind taste test against Blanton's Single Barrel next week.

This is Toni B, and I'm out, guys.