Whiskey Review: Bowman Brothers Small Batch Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey

We’ve reviewed whiskey from all across the United States, but never from the Commonwealth of Virginia before. Which seems to be an oversight on my part — I spent my first years out of college living in Northern Virginia, working in DC for a government contractor and spending my free time volunteering as an EMT with Fairfax County Fire & Rescue. All of those activities would point towards some level of alcohol consumption, and yet I’d never tried anything from Virginia before. Today that changes, as we’re giving this small batch bourbon from Bowman Brothers a shot.

History

The story of the Bowman Brothers Distillery begins in 1927 when Abram Smith Bowman purchased a huge (multiple thousands of acre) farm named Sunset Hills in Fairfax County with the intention of opening a dairy farm and producing grain. Things went a little too well, however, and the farm produced more grain than could be sold on the market at the time. So like many other farmers in a similar situation in 1934, he decided to take his excess grain and open a distillery — the only legal distillery in the state of Virginia between the end of prohibition and the 1950’s.

With the assistance of his two sons, Abram Smith Jr. and DeLong, the distillery produced its inaugural batch of Virginia Gentleman whiskey which was first bottled in 1937. Business was good, thanks especially to the fact that the facility was located just north of the railroad on the Sunset Hills Farm, which gave it quick access to imported raw materials and could easily export the finished whiskey.

While the distillery is named Bowman Brothers, and was indeed opened with the help of a pair of those brothers, the name actually is intended to pay homage to an earlier set of Bowman brothers who served together in the American Revolution. John J., Abraham, Joseph, and Isaac Bowman all were Virginia militia officers during the American Revolutionary War, the descendants of whom were the ones to first run whiskey through the facility.

With the population growth of the Northern Virginia area, the massive farm simply offered too great an opportunity as a piece of real estate and it was sold off piece by piece. In 1960, a large chunk of the farm was sold to Robert Simon who used it to found the town of Reston, Virginia. The remainder of the farm including the distillery was sold in 1988, and the distillery was relocated to a former industrial manufacturing plant near Fredericksburg.

In 2003, the distillery was sold to the Sazerac company, who invested heavily in the facility and shifted production towards small batch and niche products.

Product

• Learn More: What Is Bourbon Whiskey?

This is a straight bourbon whiskey, which means the majority of the mash bill needs to be made from corn. In this case, the distillery uses non-GMO corn along with malted barley and rye that are imported, milled into smaller pieces, cooked, and fermented to create a mildly alcoholic liquid.

From there, the alcoholic liquid is placed into one of two copper pot stills at the facility (lovingly named “Mary” and “George” after the parents of the Bowman brothers) where it is distilled to selectively capture the desired elements and concentrate the alcohol in the liquid. This process is repeated three times to get the right concentration of alcohol for this bourbon, and results in a raw white whiskey that is then placed into charred new oak barrels for a period of no less than four years.

Once properly matured, the whiskey is proofed down and bottled for sale.

Packaging

There are some interesting and different choices about the design of this bottle of whiskey, and I think it works well for what they are trying to accomplish.

Generally, the bottle has a very square cross section, with a flat front and back. The sides are curved like the sides of a violin, bowing outwards and then back towards the neck. Up top there’s a medium length neck that is capped with a wood and cork stopper.

On the front of the bottle, the labeling is minimal. The brand information is painted onto the bottle in muted tones, almost looking like it was etched into the glass. The specific variety is noted as a paper label at the bottom of the bottle.

On the back, there’s a double sided label, and this is where things are kinda neat. The “normal” side of the label on the back of the bottle has the usual boring legal information, but the reverse side — where the glue would go — has an illustrated portrait of the eponymous Bowman brothers printed onto it. It’s a nice touch that gives you something interesting to look at other than a boring label, and I think it’s a smart call for this size and shape of a bottle.

Neat

This looks absolutely delicious in the glass. The color on this whiskey is hitting that rusty orange tone perfectly, and in the afternoon sun it looks like an irresistibly inviting glass of liquor.

Coming off that glass are some sweeter and lighter aromas than usual. I’m getting notes of brown sugar, vanilla, baked apple, orange peel, and a little bit of baked bread — all things that would be expected in a bourbon, but it’s a more chill and velvety kind of vibe than I’d expect from a bourbon. This style of whisky usually likes to be brash and in your face, but the aroma here is much more mellow and relaxed.

That chill vibe translates deliciously into the flavor profile. This is smooth and enjoyable with notes of brown sugar, vanilla, baking spices, baked apple, a hint of black pepper, and a slight twist of orange peel bringing this all together and making for an eminently sippable spirit. There’s no roughness or unpleasantness, just a really delicious sip of whiskey. On the finish, I get mostly brown sugar but with some nice added tones of dark chocolate and coffee.

On Ice

Sipping this bourbon neat was a bit of a meandering path, with some interesting characters as flavors along the way. Adding ice to the drink has cut out some of the more extraneous flavors, reducing the complexity a bit, but I think the whiskey still makes for a pretty enjoyable experience.

What’s left in the glass are three primary flavors: brown sugar, baking spices, and a surprising hint of sarsaparilla. (Yeah, as in the stuff you’d used to make root beer.) There’s a spicy and slightly aromatic note mixed into the flavor profile that is intriguing and delicious, and I’m all about it.

Normally, bourbon on the rocks can be a bit boring. But this threw a curveball at that stereotype, in a good way.

Cocktail (Old Fashioned)

An old fashioned usually goes one of two ways: either it’s a dark, brooding kind of a cocktail, or a sweet and ridiculous kind of affair. This is on the darker side of the equation (especially thanks to the added sarsaparilla that we saw when taken on the rocks), but it doesn’t dive as deeply into the darker and richer elements that we’ve seen with other more heavily aged spirits.

The result is a cocktail that is pleasantly drinkable. There’s enough sweetness to balance the bitters, but not so much that it becomes like a piece of candy. And there’s some darkness and richness here, but not so much that you feel like you need some eyeliner and black cargo pants to go along with how dark it tastes. It threads the needle nicely between those extremes.

Fizz (Mule)

This kind of mule is something that I really enjoy sipping on a warm summer’s day. The sweetness in the bourbon is nicely balancing the bitterness and brightness of the ginger beer and lime juice, making for something that has just a bit of a bite to it while still being delicious and enjoyable. It’s a refreshing cocktail that works perfectly by the pool.

What this is lacking, however, is some texture or uniqueness on the finish. I would have loved to see a bit more rye in the mix to add some black pepper spice, something to take this from a completely silky smooth experience to one with a little bit of interesting complexity. It’s still good, but this could be so much better.

Overall Rating

Bourbon from a copper pot still is an interesting prospect. This is a style of whiskey that was designed to be ripped through a column still in large quantities, and which has a predominantly heads-y quality to it as a stylistic norm. You’d expect some notes of solvents or lighter alcohols in here, but the fact that this was batch distilled in a pot still means the distillers were able to take a more careful and considered approach, which resulted in a smoother and richer flavor profile.

All of which clearly shows in the finished product. The flavor profile here is smooth and delicious, with plenty of richness and complexity to keep you entertained. But when taken neat, I could see the missing hint of an aromatic lift that the additional heads-y components could have added. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on the flavor profile you want — and if you just want a silky smooth bourbon, then this is your ticket.

If I could change one thing, I think I’d add more rye grains to the mix. I’m usually a high-rye kind of bourbon guy anyway, and I’d love to see a version of this that really embraces more of the black pepper and apple components. Then again, even as-is, this didn’t disappoint in a single cocktail or preparation.

All reviews are evaluated within the context of their specific spirit classification as specified above. Click here to check out similar spirits we have reviewed.

Overall Rating: 4/5
Smooth and flavorful, with notes of brown sugar, baking spices, baked apples, and a hint of orange peel.