Honeycomb | Vanilla cream | Toasted marshmallow | Lemon | Floral

Barrel-aged honey | Brown sugar | Apple streusel pie | Allspice

Butterscotch | Clover honey | Cinnamon spice | Rye spice | Black pepper | Sweet oak

Shortbarrell Bourbon is a passion project turned company from friends and founders Adam Dorfman, Clinton Dugan, and Patrick Lemmond. Starting in 2015, the group selected over 350 barrels in the following 5 years, and in 2021, decided to formally launch the Shortbarrel brand. Based out of Norcross, Georgia, the company expanded into Atlanta proper with the purchase of Old Fourth Distillery in 2023. Originally established in 2014, Old Fourth Distillery was Atlanta’s first legal distillery since 1906.

Shortbarrel currently has two honey-finished whiskeys: Afterswarm: Georgia Wildflower and Afterswarm II: Meadowform. The process is the same to create both, but the honey used differs. For Meadowswarm, Meadowfoam honey is used, which is a gourmet honey made by bees that pollinate the flowers of the meadowfoam plant, native to the Pacific Northwest. This particular honey is known for its dessert-like flavor profile, particularly marshmallow, vanilla, butterscotch, and an overall candy-like sweetness. Given how Shortbarrel The Afterswarm II: Meadowfoam tastes, those flavors are spot on and very appealing to those who prefer sweet whiskey. It makes you wonder why more honey-finished whiskeys don’t use Meadowfoam honey finishing barrels.

The base rye blend is from Green River Distilling Co. and Ross & Squibb Distillery (MGP), that’s been aged 6 to 13 years. Then, new oak barrels from Kelvin Cooperage are “conditioned” with Meadowfoam honey. Once the oak has had enough time to become saturated with honey, they are emptied and filled with rye and finished for 12 months.

The whiskey’s cloudy complexion should give you a hint about what you’re in for. Upon taking a sip, you’ll instantly notice how sweet it is, but also how savory and peppery it is. Honey is found throughout the sip, but it never crosses the line of tasting like pure honey as many honey-finished whiskeys do. It’s actually quite surprising how well integrated the honey is with the base flavors of the rye. This cohesive structure should not be overlooked, as it takes what would otherwise be a good tasting honey-finished whiskey and elevates it to a great tasting one. Its dessert-like flavor profile, combined with a spicy finish, creates a whiskey with dimension and pop, resulting in an impressive end result.