Review: Bhakta Bourbon 2005
Leave it to Bhakta Spirits to craft a complex story behind a complex dram. At nearly 20 years old, Vermont-based brand’s latest bourbon release has plenty of tales to tell. (And a lengthy aging pedigree to go with it.)
Bhakta Bourbon 2005 was initially distilled in Tennessee from a mash of 84 percent corn, 8 percent rye, and 8 percent malted barley. (While the source is technically undisclosed, the mash, age, and profile suggest Dickel/Cascade Hollow.) The first section of its aging cycle took place in Tennessee and Indiana. It was then transported to Scotland and rebarreled in unpeated Scotch casks, where it aged for a few years in a former Rolls-Royce factory. The whiskey then made its way to Vermont, where Raj Bhakta and his team finished it in casks that formerly held their 1975 vintage Armagnac.
It’s squarely positioned as a luxury offering, with just 555 bottles produced at $1,000 each. It’s bottled at a cask strength 107.4 proof. Bhakta coined the release “The Elijah Prophecy” after his fifth child, born earlier in 2024.
Let’s see how it tastes!
Earthy, smoky, and lightly citrus-forward, the early nose smells like orange chocolate infused with campfire embers. The cocoa eventually recedes, revealing roasted/toasted nuts: almonds, peanut skins, pecans. It’s reminiscent of classic Dickel nuttiness without conveying the profile exactly, with far more almond than peanut at the core. Shea butter and dried bergamot join with continued — but not overpowering — smokiness after a few more minutes, with any additional aromas coalescing around them.
Liquid smoke and light minerality kick things off at first sip, followed by smoked maple syrup, slivered almonds, and a hint of toasted rye bread. Burnt orange peel adds a bitter element to provide some welcome contrast with the syrup. The nut influence is present but dialed back compared to the nose, closer to a drop of pecan bitters than actual pecans. And there’s oak aplenty, deeply toasted, the bourbon’s sweetness never decoupled from a more tannic element. Fans of smoked old fashioneds may find a lot to grab onto here.
The smoke teeters on dominating both the nose and palate without quite tipping over. That’s a boon on the finish, which is incredibly lengthy and evolving. Though the Scotch casks used here were unpeated, the initial finish reminds me of a smoke-forward Islay. About five seconds after swallowing, lingering flavors transition to dark brandy, then finally back to the underlying Tennessee bourbon: mineral, tannic, nutty, and sweet.
A fun, complex sipper — and one that certainly stands apart on the bourbon flavor spectrum.
107.4 proof.
A- / $1000 / bhaktaspirits.com
Bhakta Bourbon 2005
$1000
