Perhaps best known for highly aged Armagnac, Vermont-based Bhakta Spirits has gradually diversified to bottlings beyond brandy, ranging from rum to rye (often blended with brandy varieties or finished in brandy casks). Their latest whiskey is the third in their single vintage bourbon series, a Tennessee bourbon aged 12 years and 10 months finished in — very on brand — a variety of Armagnac casks from the company’s 1970s and 1980s vintages.

This particular vintage — Bhakta 2011 Bourbon — was distilled in 2011 from a mashbill of 84 percent corn, 8 percent rye, and 8 percent malted barley. (Contrast that with the 2013 vintage, released in 2023, which came from a 99 percent corn mashbill.) According to the brand, the release is composed of 11 total Armagnac barrels; one assumes they’re blended in some capacity. It’s bottled at 111 proof and carries an MSRP of $149. Let’s dive in.

Bhakta 2011 Bourbon Review

Even with the Armagnac finish, the early nose is undeniably Tennessee whiskey of a certain pedigree. (The mashbill and aroma heavily point toward George Dickel/Cascade Hollow.) Roasted and salted peanuts, saltwater taffy, semi-sweet baking chocolate, Butterfingers, and smoked pecans waft out of the glass in generally even proportions; there’s not an intensely dominant note, though those roasted peanuts come awfully close.

The first sip hits hard with peanut butter fudge, almost to an uncanny degree. It’s sweet and nutty, with just the slightest touch of salt. Dark chocolate and dusted cocoa eventually join in. While the mouthfeel isn’t particularly viscous — and perhaps a touch thinner than some of Bhakta’s other cask-finished releases — it’s silky enough to linger at the corners of the mouth, which extends the peanut butter palate from front to back. Oak comes later on, along with Medjool dates and dried apricots for a welcome, fruity element that pairs well with the residual peanut butter.

Nutty flavors recede on the finish, replaced by more dusted cocoa, toasted meringue, and candied orange rind. Some residual minerality sticks around longer than I expected, which puts a tiny damper on an otherwise fascinating dram. It comes so close to something really great. I’ll keep tinkering with some dilution to see if that elevates the composite.

111 proof.

B+ / $149 / bhaktaspirits.com

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