Chocolate mousse | Confectioners' sugar | Tree bark | Cinnamon paste | Grits

Barrel-aged maple syrup | Pudding spice | Stewed red fruit

Amaretto chocolate | Burnt oak | Fire-roasted chestnut | Seasoned oak | Lingering oak tannins

Two Souls Spirits is an independent bottler headed by James Estrada and Karen Gentry. Known as “The Whiskey Doctor,” Estrada has written for Bourbon Sippers and co-hosts the Whiskey Uncut Podcast. “Roads End” was distilled by J. Henry and Sons distillery in Dane, Wisconsin, about 87 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The J. Henry farm was established in 1946 and they began distilling bourbon with the farm’s heirloom grains in 2008.

The one-two punch of red corn and wheat featured in this bourbon is impossible to ignore. “Road’s End” is a bold pour: thick, brash and even daunting at times. It asks a lot of the drinker, mainly, “Are you up for a challenge?”

The bourbon’s aroma begins in a sweet place with chocolate mousse and confectioners' sugar leading. With a hint of what’s to come, tree bark, grits, and cinnamon paste enter, and ground the aroma. The palate dishes up barrel-aged maple syrup against pudding spice, and stewed fruits to potent effect. The finish is where things get interesting. The dark and stormy finish begins with slightly bitter amaretto chocolate with burnt oak and offers light smoke that’s more burnt than charred. Fire-roasted chestnuts and seasoned oak further layer on with a lingering oak tannins overstaying their welcome.

Two Souls J. Henry & Sons 8 Year Bourbon “Road’s End” is not a pushover, resulting in a bourbon that asks a lot of its drinker. It tastes much older than its age statement suggests and drinks more like a Texas bourbon than a Wisconsin one. The extra cold climate definitely asserted its influence in unexpected ways on its red corn and wheat mashbill, resulting in a bourbon that has no problem pushing back.