Raspberry | Milk chocolate | Honey | Nutmeg | A touch floral

Butterscotch | Raspberry | Brown sugar | Pecan | Shortbread | Light smoke & anise

Orange marmalade | Baking chocolate | Seasoned oak | Seared mint | Light clove | Slightly dry & mildly astringent

Thirteenth Colony Distilleries (also known as 13th Colony) is a craft operation based in Americus, Georgia, founded in 2009. What began as a group of friends and family crafting spirits as holiday gifts eventually evolved into a commercial venture. Taking its name from Georgia's history as the final original American Colony, the company has since grown into the state's oldest operating distillery since the Prohibition era. They do distill their own bourbon, but to keep up with the demand of certain brand lines, they continue to source barrels. They buy them at a relatively young age and age them in Georgia's temperate climate, which they argue has a significant impact on the bourbon's resulting flavor profile.

Buying barrels of bourbon from a distillery and aging them elsewhere can often result in the bourbon tasting wildly different. The extent to which it changes can always be debated, but climate always plays a role in how a bourbon ages in a barrel. Though 13th Colony 2026 Cask Strength Southern Bourbon was sourced from an Indiana distillery, it features more unique qualities than you might suspect it would.

It starts with the bourbon's aroma. Raspberry, milk chocolate, and honey are the main pillars, and they prove to be up to the task. The palate is varied, with butterscotch, raspberry, brown sugar, pecan, shortbread, and a touch of smoke and anise providing a nice range of flavors. The orange marmalade note in the finish against rich baking chocolate is the standout, though. A hefty amount of seasoned, charred oak, a touch of seared mint, and a small pop of clove follow this.

13th Colony 2026 Cask Strength Southern Bourbon doesn't immediately jump out at you, but there is more going on than meets the eye. All of its flavors are well-balanced, allowing them to have near-equal say. It's a sip that rewards those who spend time with it. Though that gets it only so far, it's clear that this isn't simply another Indiana-sourced bourbon on the surface. Although its price feels high for what it ultimately offers, there's just enough going on to keep things interesting for those who dive in.