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Should You Pick Up the New Cask Strength Bourbon from Angel’s Envy?

Sam Slaughter
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angels envy
Angel's Envy/Facebook
To us, cask strength bourbons are great. They pack a punch (of both flavor and strength) and, because of their usual price points, make excellent gifts when you need to impress someone (or make up for something you did while drinking cask strength whiskey).

As with their previous cask strength limited releases, Angel’s Envy finished this year’s edition in port casks. Once the bourbon has aged on its own in new American Oak barrels, the Louisville-based distillery uses 60-gallon ruby port barrels that are made from French oak and imported from Portugal to finish the liquid for anywhere from three to six months (depending on the taste).

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In total throughout 2017, 10,000 bottles of the cask strength release were produced — a jump from the 8,000 produced last year.

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angels envy cask strength 2017

Appearance: Deep copper with a slight crimson hue.

Nose: Caramel corn and cinnamon spice are present up front, with hints of vanilla and raisin shortly thereafter. On the end there’s a little bit of wine sweetness that evokes the barrels this bourbon was finished in.

Palate: Much like the nose, caramel is one of the first and foremost flavors here, though here it is bolstered by some cassis notes. There is a nice amount of vanilla, too, with fruit flavors that end up resembling fruit cake. Clove and baking spice act as a nice balance to the sweeter notes. Some oaky tannins come through, with dark chocolate overtones near the end.

Finish: Dark chocolate and oak again to finish this out. The finish is long, smooth, and pleasantly tingles the gums.

Final Thoughts: The port wine sweetness blends well with the sweetness that comes from the bourbon. If you like the cask strength bourbon or the port cask-finished bourbon from Angel’s Envy, this is definitely one you need to try and get your hands on. The price may scare some people away — especially for a bourbon that is only around six or seven years old and sourced rather than made (though that will hopefully be changing soon now that Angel’s Envy has its own facility) — but if you’re looking to splurge a little, then this is one to splurge on.

Angel’s Envy Cask Strength 2017 is 62.25 percent ABV and retails for around $200 (though most online outlets are selling it for $400).

Feature image courtesy of Angel’s Envy/Facebook.

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Angel’s Envy Releases Special New Mizunara Cask Whiskey
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In celebration of the tenth anniversary of Angel's Envy's Founder's Day on August 19, the distillery released a new bourbon finished in Japanese Mizunara oak casks. This blend of four-year-old and nine-year-old whiskey spent an additional two years in these new charred oak casks, made from 200-year-old trees, during which it picked up a bouquet of floral notes including sandalwood, coffee, and a bit of smoke. "We chose this release for the tenth anniversary because my dad, having taken on several consulting roles in Japan during his career, always had a deep appreciation for the country and its distilling community," said cofounder and chief innovation officer Wes Henderson in a prepared statement. "This release, finished in Mizunara casks made from this rare, 200-year-old wood, felt fitting for such a special milestone for Angel’s Envy.”

This is a first for the distillery, and it really stands out in terms of flavor from its core range that is finished in port and rum barrels. "When we set out on this project, we knew where we wanted to end up, but we also knew we might not wind up there," said Henderson in a recent Zoom meeting. His son and production manager Kyle detailed the difficult and lengthy process of getting ahold of these barrels, which he said are extremely limited and tightly controlled by the Japanese government. It took about five years in total to procure them, and 18 months of that time was spent on a waiting list.

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