Stewed apples | Charred oak | Cinnamon | Roasted sweet corn | Earthy

Dried fruits | Fruit cake | Burnt caramel | Sweet leaning that turns savory

Charred oak | Molasses | Vanilla bean | Roasted corn | Leather | Light smoke | Earthy | Medium-long length

BlackFork Distillery gets its name from its 400-acre ranch, BlackFork Land & Cattle Company, a sixth-generation family farm in far eastern South Dakota, 90 miles north of Sioux Falls, with the name representing the wild American Pronghorn and its forked black horns. The distillery uses a range of native varietals of South Dakota-grown corn and, like “The Black Queen,” often introduces elements of smoke during production.

“The Black Queen” features applewood-smoked corn in its mashbill, which gives the bourbon less of a smoky taste and more of a roasted, earthy one. The aroma is rich with stewed apples, charred oak, cinnamon, and roasted sweet corn. The palate offers a range of dried fruits, burnt caramel, and fruit cake, and it is sweet-leaning. Its earthy-tasting finish features charred oak with molasses, vanilla bean, roasted corn, leather, and light smoke.

According to Two Souls, BlackFork doesn’t release this mashbill as a single barrel under its own label, so this is an example of its purest form. I could see how this would deepen the blend it was used in, and this bourbon is nicely textured and a very interesting pour. It might not be for everyone as it is far removed from traditional Kentucky-tasting bourbon. But for an enjoyable, somewhat challenging change of pace, “The Black Queen” is precisely what you expect from a distillery from South Dakota: wholly original.

The bottle in review is number 47 out of 205