Review: Filibuster Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon 5 Years Old

Virginia’s Filibuster has been producing craft spirits for years, maturing to the point where it has finally released its own bonded bourbon offering. This five year old whiskey is made from local Shenandoah Valley grains (corn, rye, barley; no proportions stated) and water, with 12 barrels produced in total.

Soft and supple, this is a lively expression from Filibuster that will instantly fool any drinker convinced that craft spirits must be harsh and immature. The nose is pretty with notes of buttered toast, caramel corn, and almond, with hints of barrel char in the mix. A palate of sesame oil and milk chocolate moves slowly into notes of lime leaf and some expressed orange peel character, eventually allowing some rye spice and more barrel char to creep into the picture. The finish sees a touch of gritty heat, but nothing unmanageable, with more citrus and toasty rye in the mix. There’s a menthol note very late in the game that offers a subtly soothing quality to some of the racier elements, though there’s nothing in this whiskey that ever comes across as overwhelming. And in this case, that’s just fine.

All told it’s a great little whiskey from start to finish, and it’s definitely a solid buy at this price.

100 proof. Reviewed: Batch #2022-001.

A- / $60 / filibusterbourbon.com

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