The True Story whiskey brand is being brought to market through the newly formed Saga Spirits Group. Spearheaded by Wes Henderson, formerly of Angel’s Envy, the new brand follows in the same footsteps as what Wes is best known for: finished whiskey. Additionally, like how Wes’ father brought him over to Angel’s Envy when it was first formed, Wes has brought on his six sons to help guide the brand.

‍‍For the brand's finished bourbon product, the company sourced 5 to 6 year old bourbon and finished it for up to an additional 6 months in white moscatel casks. Moscatel is a type of fortified wine that is rarely used to finish whiskey.

‍‍The initial release of True Story comes in a finished bourbon and a finished rye format, with the rye being finished in Brazilian amburana barrels. These initial releases are labeled as Volume 1 and Volume 2, with the implied assumption that future volumes will follow.

There’s no denying the finishing aspect of this bourbon, as it makes itself readily apparent from the moment you lift the glass to your nose. Grounding scents of grape skin, sawdust, and ground nutmeg waft out to greet you. An earthy bouquet of scents follows in the form of mushrooms, along with the feeling of walking into a produce stand right after the vegetables have been misted. Inhaling deeper presents scents reminiscent of a more classic youthful bourbon, but these scents play the part of a minor supporting character compared to the rest of the aroma. It’s undoubtedly a unique opening, however, it comes across as more muddled than not.

Similar to the nose, the palate is solidly influenced by the time the bourbon spent in the moscatel casks. A light tannic oak note is present, along with dull cinnamon stock. A dab of brown sugar tries to overcome vegetative and white peppercorn notes. Plain dried apple mixes with the spice to wrap up the midpoint. Overall, it’s a unique troupe of flavors that come together, but their overall delivery, like the nose, comes across as not putting their best foot forward.

The peppercorn spice carries over as green peppercorn kicks things off. Dry cinnamon and brown sugar add slight intrigue, while dry oak adds more backstory. Light white grape and green apple notes are present for a moment before the finish settles on grape and dry charred oak notes. Unlike the nose and palate, this combination is more effectively delivered and ends the sip on a good note.

True Story Bourbon, along with its rye counterpart, stands out on the shelf, and it’s not just because they’re both finished. What instantly strikes you about this brand is the fact that they come in opaque hexagonal bottles. White for the rye and black for the bourbon. The brand states that “the sleek, minimalist bottle design stands out on a back bar, allowing the quality of the spirit to speak for itself.” While they certainly stand out, it’s a bold choice considering the fact that this is a non-age-stated sourced bourbon with little information disclosed about it besides the type of barrel it was finished in. Adding to the fact that consumers can’t even see the whiskey they’re buying doesn’t exactly provide a layer of confidence.

Moving on to the actual whiskey, it’s clear that the Henderson family is trying to have lightning strike twice when it comes to attaching their name to a whiskey brand. Like Angle’s Envy, which at its time of launch combined sourced whiskey with rarely used port and rum barrels to finish their bourbon and rye, True Story latches on to a similar theme. Of the two whiskeys, the bourbon showcases white moscatel casks, which are rarely used.

It’s clear throughout the entire sip the impact that the finishing barrels have on the whiskey. The finished wine barrels impart a very noticeable earthy flavor from start to finish, which overwhelms the base bourbon at times. Bourbon drinkers who are looking for balance won’t find it here. Instead, their attention will be directed toward dissecting a rarely used finishing barrel and the flavors it brings. Credit needs to be given to the brand for trying something new both in the bottle design and the finishing barrel used, however, due to the Henderson name, I was surprised to see that this wasn’t as balanced for a finished bourbon as the family has come to be known for. With that being said, the brand's “volume” theme suggests each volume may be a unique one-off batch, so experimentation may be the name of the game here.

With a stated MSRP of $60 (although being sold for $55 on the brand's website at the time of this review), True Story Bourbon is positioned to be accessible to consumers. It's refreshing to see a new brand come to market at a price that isn't $100 or more, especially given the fact that the brand could have tried to come in priced higher based on the Henderson family backstory or its innovative approach to its packaging. Combine this with the fact that the brand is using an oft-found finishing barrel, and, on the surface, you'd think this would be a great value.

Yet what counts the most is the actual whiskey in the bottle. In the sense of True Story Bourbon Volume 1, the sip has a hard time standing out in a sea of well-finished bourbons. Taking that into account, its MSRP of $60 is more aligned to what it should be, no more, no less.

It's human nature to stick to what you know and are good at. In the case of the Henderson family, they've excelled at crafting well-rounded finished whiskey. In a similar fashion to how Angel's Envy was started, the family chose to use sourced bourbon from Kentucky and finish it in a unique finishing barrel. However, since Angel's Envy started, this has become a much more common practice for new and established brands alike.

True Story Volume 1 presents itself with a lot of intrigue right from the start. The opaque hexagonal black bottle stands out amongst a sea of familiar bottles on shelves. The use of white moscatel barrels is something that consumers probably aren't familiar with, which further piques curiosity. While the lack of age or distillery source certainly adds mystery, it’s also something that consumers have come to expect to be disclosed more often than not nowadays.

At the end of the day, the only thing that counts is the bourbon in the bottle, and in this case, True Story Bourbon Volume 1 struggles to stand out. That same intriguing black bottle masks a lighter colored whiskey, which delivers a muddled sip. It's clearly influenced by the finishing barrels, but instead of the base bourbon complementing these flavors, it's completely drowned out for the most part. When it does peek through, it tends to be lacking in stature and could use more time in its own initial barrel to age longer. Given the fact that Lincoln Henderson's name still adores Angel's Envy bottles, consumers will view True Story Bourbon with more of a critical eye. I'm curious to see how the brand evolves as they refine Volume 1 and what future Volumes may hold, but in the meantime, it's hard not to call this release anything but average.