Toffee | Raspberry | Fig | Chocolate puff pastry | Seasoned oak | Aged oak

Sweet aged oak | Black cherry | Plum | Chocolate ganache | Walnut

Musty aged oak | Raspberry | Cacao nibs | Roasted coffee beans | Dry oak | Gentle oak tannins

Pure Antique 20 Year is part of the Preservation Distillery portfolio, which includes Very Olde St. Nick, Rare Perfection, Wattie Boone & Sons, and Cowboy Little Barrel. Like other brands in the company’s portfolio, very little information is provided on this bottle except that it was sourced from Tennessee, and it definitely gives off notes of high aged George Dickel bourbon. But don’t let that deter you, because Pure Antique 20 Year is a truly enjoyable pour.

It starts with toffee, raspberry, and fig, before a potent chocolate puff pasty scent comes in and dominates the aroma. The palate begins with aged oak, but soon offers black cherry, plum, chocolate ganache, and walnut. The finish features big musty oak notes out of the gate, with raspberry, cacao nibs, and roasted coffee bean soon after. It is then capped off with dry oak, gentle oak tannins, and more lingering aged oak.

Given that we were somewhat let down by the promise of an 18 year old Pure Antique, and that this might be from a certain well-known Tennessee distillery (though that is not confirmed), it's hard to get overly excited about this bourbon on paper, especially for its price. But its layering of flavors, spearheaded by chocolate and aged oak throughout, makes for a really engaging sip. The more you sip, the more Tennessee you can taste from it, but high aged Tennessee bourbon can be every bit as good as high aged Kentucky bourbon - and that’s proven here. Bottled at cask strength is a nice touch, which should be expected considering its price, but that isn’t always a given nowadays. With so few 20 year old bourbons on the market and the other recent one, also priced at $900, a new market baseline has been created, but we’ll see in time if it sticks.