First Sip
I grabbed this bottle in Lexington over the weekend for about seventy-five bucks, which already felt like a win. First time I had it was back in the summer at the Rackhouse Tavern. I had it as the closer on a little flight I was working on, and it was absolutely the right move. Best of the bunch, no question. Sometimes things taste better in the glow of a good night out and a friendly bar, then fall flat when you get them home. Not this one. Popped it open in my own kitchen and it still danced. Big flavor, warm without socks-on-carpet static, and the finish just kept on. If you’ve been curious about amburana, this is a strong case for why folks keep talking about it.
The Pour
In the glass, it’s straight-up amber, like a good jar of sorghum catching afternoon light. The legs move slow and sticky, which tracks once you take a sip because this has some heft to it. Full bodied and oily. That 110 proof sets you up to expect a little punch, but it doesn’t swing wild. It strolls in confident and put together.
Quick housekeeping for the nerds like me. This is RD1’s Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon, finished with Brazilian amburana wood. Aged a touch over four years before they do the finishing. RD1 says their cooperage honeycomb drills the amburana staves so there’s more wood-to-whiskey contact, then they insert those staves into the barrel. That lines up with what’s in the glass. The finish isn’t shy. It shows up fast, and it shows up loud, but in a way that still feels like bourbon first.
Nose
First whiff is fresh and perfumy. Not like your Aunt Dot’s Sunday perfume. More like walking into a kitchen where someone’s been simmering apple cider with a cinnamon stick and maybe a sprinkle of nutmeg. There’s a light floral thing weaving in and out, just a soft lift, not potpourri. I get apple cider most of all, a little vanilla sweetness, and that baking-spice cabinet ready to tumble out. Oak sits back at first. No smoke to speak of. If you’re used to big caramel and toasted barrel right away, this one flips the script and leads with spice and fruit.
Palate
On the tongue it’s apple pie city. More apple cobbler if you care to argue, with that cinnamon brown sugar crumble and some buttery richness. The amburana does its amburana thing, which for me reads like cinnamon first, then nutmeg and clove. It is bursting with flavor, and the mouthfeel is thick and oily. You can about chew it. I pick up a ginger snap note halfway through the sip that keeps it lively. Sweetness stays friendly without going sticky. If you’re sensitive to spice, know this leans that way, but it never turns hot or mean. Heat is pretty well behaved for 110 proof. It warms you up, doesn’t burn you down.
RD1’s site talks about peaches and apricots. I don’t get a basket of stone fruit here, but I do catch a soft hint of something peachy when I add a tiny drip of water. Mostly though, this feels like a fall dessert table in a glass. Plenty of spice, a good hit of apple, and the grain never elbows its way to the front. Oak starts to check in toward the back half, reminding you this is still bourbon, not a cinnamon roll liqueur. No nuttiness worth mentioning, and absolutely no smoke. Just honest-to-goodness spice and fruit riding a big body.
Finish
Long and rich. The cinnamon keeps marching, and finally the oak walks up and tips its hat at the end. It fades slow, warm as a quilt, and hangs around long enough that you can look off the back porch and think about another pour without feeling rushed. There’s a nice little tug of dry oak late that reins in the sweets and keeps the whole thing from turning syrupy. Balance is better than you’d expect from something this amped up on baking spice. It’s dialed in, not chaotic.
The Verdict
I’ll shoot you straight. Amburana finishes are not everybody’s cup of tea. When they’re heavy-handed, they can smell like a spice candle snuck into your whiskey. This bottle doesn’t do that. It leans hard into cinnamon and apple, sure, but it keeps enough bourbon backbone to feel honest. For the price I paid, this is a grin-inducing buy. Drinks easy for the proof, throws flavor like it’s trying to impress your in-laws, and the finish goes on and on.
Couple notes if you like to keep score at home. RD1’s been stacking medals all over the place with this one. Gold at San Francisco in 2024, a double gold and Top 6 finalist for American Whiskey of the Year at the New Orleans Spirits Competition, more hardware from New York and Whiskies of the World. That doesn’t make it taste better, but it does tell you I’m not out here on a limb by myself. And their honeycombed stave approach, per their site, seems to be the secret sauce for why the amburana character shows up quick but still plays nice.
Who should buy it? If you like your bourbon with big baking spice, a little perfumed lift, and a long warm hug of a finish, this is squarely in your wheelhouse. If you live for heavy char, deep oak, or smoky notes, you may find this too pretty and polite. For me, it scratches a very specific itch. It’s a perfect closer for a flight, just like that first night at Rackhouse, and a killer porch pour when you want something that tastes like the holidays without the stress of cooking them.
Bottom line, I’d keep this on my shelf without blinking. It’s delicious in every way that matters to me, and it does the amburana thing about as right as I’ve had it. If you see it around seventy-five bucks, don’t overthink it. Grab it, pour two fingers, and let the cinnamon and apple run their laps. You’ll be smiling before the glass hits empty.
