A 100-proof Kentucky bourbon finished in imperial stout barrels with a touch of Brazilian Amburana wood brings together rich chocolate, warming spice, and a surprisingly balanced finish.
Stats
- Type: Finished Bourbon
- Age: 6-7 years
- Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
- Mashbills: 72% Corn │ 18% Rye │ 10% Malted Barley
- Origin: Angel’s Envy — Louisville, Kentucky
- Finish: First and Second fill Imperial Stout (Trellis Brewing) and Amburana
- Finishing Time: 6-24 months Stout, 1 month Amburana
- Blend Composition: around 99% Stout finished & 1% Amburana
- Release: Limited release, distillery exclusive
- MSRP: $54.99 / 375 mL (via Angel’s Envy)
Tasting Notes
- Nose: Classic Kentucky bourbon aromas meet a more pronounced cherry-chocolate torte character, with cocoa powder, brown sugar, and orange adding depth. A faint cinnamon note sits behind the chocolate, alongside a dry-grain quality that keeps the sweeter aromas from becoming one-dimensional.
- Palate: Creamy Tootsie Roll sweetness carries the stout’s chocolate character forward, followed by gentle citrus and a gradually building wave of cinnamon and ginger. The Amburana is noticeable, but rather than taking over, it adds warmth and complexity to the existing chocolate profile.
- Finish: Mild to moderate heat gives way to lingering Tootsie Roll sweetness, ginger, and subtle clove and cardamom. The chocolate and warming spice eventually settle into something reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate, making the finish the standout part of this pour.
Angel’s Envy takes a familiar Kentucky bourbon foundation and builds something more adventurous around it. This 100-proof release spends 6–24 months in first- and second-fill full imperial stout barrels before a brief Brazilian Amburana finish adds another layer of complexity. The result is a whiskey that moves from cherry chocolate and cocoa powder on the nose to creamy Tootsie Roll sweetness on the palate, finishing with cinnamon, ginger, and the lingering impression of Mexican hot chocolate.
What makes this blend especially interesting is its restraint. The Amburana is reportedly responsible for only about 1% of the final blend, yet its influence is unmistakable without overwhelming the bourbon or the stout character. For drinkers who have grown skeptical of heavily finished whiskey, or who associate Amburana exclusively with overpowering cinnamon, this is a compelling reminder that the right finishing component can contribute more than its percentage suggests.
Presentation
Angel’s Envy has one of the prettiest bottle designs regularly coming out of Kentucky, from its lowest-priced shelf offerings to the Cellar Collection and other special releases. I’ve always loved how the brand lets the whiskey’s own color take center stage, using gold accents, minimal but informative descriptors, and that unmistakable Angel’s Envy bottle to complete the look.
This release adds a few extra touches, including a “Distillery Only” tag at the top, that reinforce its special-release status without cluttering an already excellent design. It’s elegant, recognizable, and a great example of how to make a bottle feel premium without having to shout about it.
Distinctiveness
The stout finishing here delivers the familiar characteristics you’d expect, if perhaps a little better than average. The chocolate, cherry, and cocoa notes are enjoyable, but those alone aren’t what make this blend stand out. That distinction belongs to Owen’s mastery of the blend and his ability to incorporate Amburana without letting it overwhelm everything else in the glass.
Very few blenders can work with Amburana and keep its assertive cinnamon and baking spice in check. Here, that extra layer of spice takes both the stout influence and the underlying bourbon further, adding complexity to the chocolate-forward profile without pushing it into cloying sweetness. It’s a challenging combination that could easily have gone wrong, but the execution is what makes it special.
“It’s a challenging combination that could easily have gone wrong, but the execution is what makes it special.”
Transparency
Angel’s Envy provides the information that matters to whiskey enthusiasts: the relative proportions of the blend, the fact that the whiskey is overwhelmingly stout-finished bourbon with approximately 1% or less Amburana-finished whiskey, the general age, the finishing range, and even the brewery behind the stout barrels.
That’s more than enough to understand what went into the bottle and how those components contribute to the final profile. Beyond stepping inside Angel’s Envy and blending it by hand alongside Owen himself, I’m not sure what more you could reasonably ask for.
Value
At $54.99 for a 375 mL bottle, this is an expensive pour by volume. That’s effectively $110 for a standard 750 mL bottle, and 100 proof won’t appeal to everyone at that price. Still, the value proposition becomes more compelling when you consider the whiskey itself: a 6–7-year-old bourbon with up to two additional years of barrel finishing, potentially putting some of the whiskey at the equivalent of nine years of age.
Age alone doesn’t justify a price tag, but a unique, challenging blend that’s this well executed certainly helps. Add a beautiful bottle, a limited release, and a flavor profile that genuinely delivers something different, and the price starts to make sense for the right drinker. It’s going to price some people out, particularly those looking for more proof or volume for their money, but enthusiasts who appreciate thoughtful blending, distinctive finishing, and a well-made whiskey may find it worth the premium.
Buy if:
- You enjoy chocolate-forward bourbon with cherry and cocoa notes.
- You like stout-finished whiskey that retains a recognizable bourbon foundation.
- You’re curious about Amburana but prefer a measured application over an overwhelming cinnamon profile.
- You appreciate a layered, lingering finish with baking spice and dessert-like character.
Skip if:
- You prefer traditional, unadorned bourbon without finishing-barrel influence.
- You dislike chocolate-heavy or dessert-inspired whiskey profiles.
- You find cinnamon, ginger, and baking spice distracting in a bourbon.
- You want a bottle with a straightforward, easy-drinking profile rather than one that evolves across the sip.
Behind the Finish: More Than a Whiskey Experiment
The Behind the Finish experience surrounding this pour added another dimension to the whiskey itself. At Trellis Brewery, the stout is connected to a process that emphasizes local grains from Kentucky and Indiana and captures carbon dioxide produced by the yeast, delivering beer directly from the tank. That attention to the brewing process helped frame the stout not merely as a finishing vessel, but as a product with its own character and story.
The Amburana component has a story of its own. The inspiration came from Against the Grain Brewery, which was described during the experience as an early American adopter of Amburana in brewing. Its barrel-aged stout success in 2015 helped inspire the use of stout barrels for this project. What began as an idea took approximately two years to develop, with the bourbon initially filled into barrels, dumped, and then rebarreled in stout casks before the brief Amburana finishing component entered the picture.
The accompanying Retta’s Sundae by Retta’s Scoops brought that barrel-and-grain concept onto the plate. Built around ice cream made from roasted grains, it echoed the toasting of a barrel and layered in peach curd, crumble, malt transformed into caramel, brewers’ malt whipped into cream, freeze-dried corn, and a cherry. The concept was to explore the flavors of grain and barrel through dessert rather than defaulting to the usual chocolate-chip-cookie approach. A Manhattan riff featuring toasted coconut extended the experience into cocktails, too (which we were kindly greeted at the door with).
Taken together, the whiskey, stout, dessert, and cocktail made for a more complete exploration of the ingredients behind the bottle. It was a reminder that finishing whiskey can be more compelling when the process begins with a thoughtful flavor idea rather than simply searching for another barrel to put bourbon into.
Verdict: A Rare Case of Stout and Amburana Working Together
Angel’s Envy’s Stout and Amburana Finished bourbon delivers a genuinely enjoyable combination of rich chocolate, cherry, and warming spice. The nose starts in familiar Kentucky bourbon territory before the stout barrels push the profile toward cocoa powder and cherry chocolate torte. On the palate, creamy Tootsie Roll sweetness gives way to citrus, cinnamon, and ginger, while the finish brings everything together in a lingering Mexican hot chocolate impression.
The most impressive part is how well the blend handles the Amburana. Even at a reported fraction of the final recipe, its influence is clear, particularly in the finish, but it never drowns out the stout or turns the whiskey into a one-note spice bomb. That balance makes this more than a novelty for people who enjoy unusual finishing experiments. It also offers a thoughtful counterpoint to the idea that Amburana inevitably overwhelms a blend.
Owen deserves credit for bringing these components together in a way that challenges expectations around both stout-finished bourbon and Amburana. The finish is the highlight, the chocolate profile is satisfying without being entirely predictable, and the overall result feels deliberately constructed. I’d like to see how the retail presentation and price measure up, but based on the whiskey in the glass, this is a strong showing.
Bourbon Bishop Bottom Line:
A rich, chocolate-forward stout-finished bourbon with just enough Amburana to turn its lingering finish into a memorable Mexican hot chocolate experience.
For those who prefer numbers, here’s the full score breakdown:
- Nose: 4.5 / 7
- Palate: 4.5 / 7
- Finish: 5.25 / 7
- Presentation: 6.25 / 7
- Distinctiveness: 5.5 / 7
- Transparency: 7 / 7
- Value: 5.25 / 7
Bourbon Bishop Rating: 5.46 / 7 – Divine
Top-shelf. Must-buy for fans of the style.
| Score | Descriptor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 | Hell No | Drain pour. Seriously undrinkable. |
| 1.1–2 | Purgatory | Bad, but could be worse. Only in extreme cases. |
| 2.1–3 | Only Earthly | Just okay. Best used as a mixer. |
| 3.1–4 | Bliss | Passable to Good sipper. Works well in cocktails. |
| 4.1–5 | Angelic | Good to great. Often high value for the price. |
| 5.1–6 | Divine | Top-shelf. Must-buy for fans of the style. |
| 6.1–7 | Holy Heaven | Out-of-this-world. A true unicorn. |
Disclosure: This bottle and experience was provided to me free of charge for review. All opinions are my own.
About Angel’s Envy
Founded in Louisville, Kentucky, Angel’s Envy has built its reputation around thoughtful barrel finishing and a willingness to explore what happens when traditional bourbon meets something unexpected. Best known for its port-finished bourbon, the brand has developed a portfolio that balances familiar Kentucky whiskey foundations with distinctive finishing techniques, from wine casks to more experimental barrel influences. What makes Angel’s Envy particularly compelling is its ability to make these releases approachable without sacrificing the craftsmanship and attention to detail that whiskey enthusiasts appreciate.
A big part of that creative direction comes from Owen Martin, Master Distiller, whose work reflects a genuine interest in blending, experimentation, and pushing the boundaries of what finished bourbon can be. Rather than treating finishing as a novelty or simply another marketing hook, Owen approaches it as an opportunity to build something intentional, using different barrel influences to complement and elevate the whiskey underneath. His willingness to experiment while maintaining balance and drinkability is exactly what makes releases like this Stout and Amburana Finished Bourbon worth paying attention to. Angel’s Envy has the resources and experience to explore ambitious ideas, but it’s the people behind the blending who make those ideas work.
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