Dark chocolate | Coffee beans | Fig | Plum | Vanilla extract | Brandy | Dark & bold

Brady soaked concord grapes | Black cherry | Vanilla extract

Walnut | Prune | Black currant | Touch of oak

As 22 Salute Spirits & Coffee puts it, their products come “With a purpose.” That purpose is drawing attention to the average 22 veterans we lose to suicide every day. Because many of these vets and first responders don’t have access to mental health care, many cases go untreated and they don’t receive the care that they need. For every sale of the veteran made spirits and coffee products the company makes, they donate a portion of their profits to The Veterans Connection, a nonprofit focused on veteran and first responder mental health and suicide prevention.

I give all involved credit, not simply because of their noble cause, but because they chose to offer a unique product to inspire people to take notice of said cause. Made in small batches, the bourbon is infused with the natural sweetness extracted from Mission figs and Madagascar vanilla beans. The result is a whiskey that doesn’t taste artificially flavored, hits the important 80 proof threshold, and offers a taste unlike anything else on the market. Although this is at the expense of being able to be labeled a straight bourbon.

The whiskey opens with a dark and brooding aroma filled with dark chocolate, coffee beans, fig, plum, vanilla extract, and brandy. The palate and finish are much more simple by comparison, but no less potent. The palate opens with a delightful brandy soaked concord grapes note before transitioning to black cherry and vanilla extract. The finish starts with a potent walnut note, before black cherry and prune return. There’s a touch of oak too, but it struggles to fully exert itself and I would have liked to have tasted it a bit more throughout. The flavor profile should be rather approachable for most (though I’m sure it won't be for everyone) and it drinks more intensely than the proof suggests. It’s currently limited to only 150 bottles, but I can see the company possibly releasing it again or even changing its infusion components. Overall it was quite a surprise and I can see a lot of people enjoying it as an after dinner pour.