Brandy-soaked cherries | Raspberry | Heavily charred oak | Vanilla | Punchy

Dark chocolate covered strawberry | Vanilla extract | Burnt Caramel | Leans sweet

Barrel tannins | Barrel char | Dry oak | Dark chocolate | Cocoa powder | Black pepper | Grain | Nutty | Chewy

Rising Tide Spirits is a new non-distiller producer spearheaded by Ed Bley, the former Spirits & Beer Manager at the Cork ‘N Bottle retail store in Crescent Spring, Kentucky. We’ve seen this move from retail private selection managers before, but Bley is the most high-profile one yet. Of course, if you’re not familiar with his name, his involvement will mean little, and what he’s offering from his new company is what matters most.

Sourcing a total of 11 barrels of 10, 11, and 13 year old bourbons from an undisclosed West Virginia distillery is instantly eye-catching. There aren’t many West Virginia distilleries, let alone ones that have been around for 13+ years, and used a pot still to distill wheated bourbon. So guessing who this is from isn’t hard.

With that out of the way, Old Stubborn Straight Wheated Bourbon’s color gives away how you should expect this whiskey to smell and taste. The bourbon opens with a big brandy-soaked cherry scent that has faint hits of cough-syrup punchiness. Raspberries are also present before thick heavy charred oak and vanilla are introduced. Overall the aroma is heavy-handed and can be punchy and even sharp at times. The palate brings out the bourbon’s pot still origin the most, as it's full-bodied and packed with bold flavors. Dark chocolate covered strawberries are at the forefront, with vanilla extract and burnt caramel rounding it out. The finish is a mixed bag depending on your tastes. Upfront, it is full of barrel tannins, barrel char, and dry oak. Beyond that though, you’re treated to dark chocolate and cocoa powder before black pepper spice rolls in.

Adding together that this bourbon is pot still produced, wheated, and high aged, the result is a whiskey that will likely be an acquired taste for many. This isn’t a Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon or William Larue Weller replacement many will probably hope for. It’s far from it actually, as it has more in common with characteristics found in Kings County Distillery whiskeys. Big, bold, chewy, and in Old Stubbon’s case, barrel tannins and char overpower the later part of the sip. It’s pricey, but it’s hard to call its sip anything other than memorable.