Smoke Wagon Bourbon Bundle // Set of 3 // 750 ml Each

Located in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas, Smoke Wagon takes its name from old west slang for the 1873 Colt single action army revolver or "the gun that won the west." The logo stamped in wax consists of two crossed Smoke Wagons over the state of Nevada. Below it is their motto and a quote from Seneca, "bibamus moriendum est." The literal translation is "drink, for we must die" but the meaning is more along the lines of, drink and enjoy today because we won't be around forever. We can only assume Seneca meant to drink responsibly, of course.

Straight Bourbon Whiskey is an affordable everyday bourbon that had that unique and unmistakable Smoke Wagon flavor, consisting of delicate sweet notes with a rye spice finish. Barrels with their same high rye mash bill were racked on the top two floors of the warehouse and never rotated. The higher the floor ,the hotter it gets in the summer, causing more expansion and more movement into the wood. Because it's not chill filtered, these combined aspects create a bourbon that is rich and creamy beyond its years. Never rotating the barrels ensures there are no harsh tannin flavors and the high rye mash bill adds a delightfully spicy and nutty finish.

Tasting Notes
— Nose: Honey, toasted nuts and with some oak and heat.
— Taste: Creamy mouthfeel with initial rich sweet notes of honey and caramel on the tip of the tongue followed by nuts, oak, and pepper spice that starts on the sides of your tongue. The nuttiness and oak fade as pepper spice from the rye takes over the entirety of your pallet.
— Finish: Creamy sweetness that coats followed by once again by oak and a pepper spice that lingers.

Small Batch Bourbon is aged in the heart of a century-old brick warehouse. To ensure a unique and consistent flavor, barrels are hand selected to create a perfect blend that is smooth and at the same time bold and intense. Released in 2016, the goal was to create a unique, great tasting, high rye bourbon. The problem is that rye ages much faster than corn. So what to do? Find the perfect blend. They combined younger vintages that have big rye spice flavor with older vintages with the smoothness and sweet notes that can only be achieved by many years of oak aging. The younger vintages maintain the bold spiciness of the rye, cut down on the tannins, and keep it fruit forward. The older vintage brings in a creamy mouth feel with sweet aromas and taste notes that only appear over time from aging in a barrel.

Tasting Notes
— Nose: Balanced oak nose with hints of fruit and dried apricots.
— Palate: Initial sweet notes on the front of the tongue. Well balanced mouth feel with spicy notes including white pepper on the middle and back of the tongue from the younger vintage and high rye mash bill. Good balance of sweet and oak flavors including hints of caramel (from the #4 charred barrels, caramelized wood sugar), fruit flavor and rye spice.
— Finish: Smooth with no alcohol burn even at 100 proof.

Accolades
2021, 2019, 2017, and 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Gold Medal Winner

Smoke Wagon's Uncut Unfiltered Bourbon takes the same vintage blending philosophy they used to create their small batch, except this time the goal was to create high proof bourbon that tasted its best neat. No water added because none is needed. Blending vintages of the high rye mash bill to achieve this flavor profile at 115-116 plus proof was a very rewarding challenge. There is a delicate balance between creamy mouthfeel, tannins, and sugars that comes into play that makes the end result magical. Older vintages have more evaporation which means a higher concentration of fats and sugars per ounce which gives them a nice creamy mouthfeel as well as caramel and honey goodness. They also have more tannins because alcohol has been in contact with the wood for longer. A lot of what some perceive as alcohol burn is actually a harshness due to tannins. This can counterbalance the benefit gained by the high concentration of lipid esters insulating your pallet from alcohol heat. There needs to be enough of the older bourbon for the oak flavors and mouthfeel, but also some younger ones to cut back on the tannins and bring in some delicate fruit and caramel flavors.

Accolades
2021, 2020 and 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Double Gold Winner