Seasoned oak | Caramel | Malted milk balls | Baking spices

Leather | Oak | Tobacco | Cigar box | Toffee | Robust with a spicy backbone

Gripping spice | Charred oak | Light leather | Marshmallow sweetness | Long | Dry towards the end with lingering spice

Stellum Black Bourbon Equinox Blend #1 is part of the company's new line of specialty blends. According to the company’s press release, “this inaugural release of the Equinox Blend was created using Stellum Bourbon. The team slowly layered in rare sets of bourbon barrels, step by step, until the evening of the Vernal Equinox, when the blend was completed in honor of the changing seasons and bottled at cask strength.”

Equinox Blend #1 is a very straightforward affair, with a focus on spice, oak, and leather notes. The result is a flavor profile that feels like a very traditional “Kentucky-style” bourbon, and if I didn’t know there were also components from Indiana and Tennessee in the blend I would have guessed it originated entirely from Kentucky. Crafted by the same team behind Barrell Craft Spirits and easily some of the best blenders in the industry, it’s not surprising that the bourbon is so cohesive it doesn’t seem like a blend at all. Those who enjoy a robust yet traditional spice-focused bourbon will find a lot to love with Equinox Blend #1.