Raspberry | Cranberry | Milk chocolate | Wafer

Pomegranate | Blood orange | Grilled apricot | Spiced cake | Sweet grape

Molasses | Thick seasoned oak | Stewed cranberry | Plum | Mild dry oak

Ampersand is a new line of spirits from Foley Family Wines & Spirits. Spearheaded by Master Distiller Chip Tate, Ampersand’s initial three bottle release sees the company present two blends and a finished whiskey. Bottled at Minden Mill Distillery in Nevada, Ampersand Opimus is a sourced 15 year old Kentucky bourbon finished in Tokaji casks for 9 months.

You rarely see high aged Kentucky bourbons finished. Few would risk an unfortunate outcome. The decision to finish this bourbon in Tokaji casks is bold, but also puts it in a category all its own. Given the amount of 15 year old bourbons on the market the last year and a half, this could presumably be “Buff-Turkey” bourbon; the short period of time Buffalo Trace helped distill for Wild Turkey. The Tokaji finishing makes it hard to fully discern, and the whiskey is also much more red-fruit-forward and has an extra heavy oak component. Yet it’s these flavors that make it such an interesting pour. Dark red fruits dominate the bourbon - ranging from raspberry and cranberry on the nose, pomegranate, blood orange, apricot, and grape on the palate, to stewed cranberry and plum on the finish. It’s quite sweet, but robust, especially when combined with its thick oak component.  Despite how sweet the majority of the sip is, dry oak lingers after the sip.

Given how much 15 year old bourbon has been on the market lately, especially how much high proof “Buff-Turkey” bottles like this one sell for from non-distiller producers, Ampersand Opimus’ $150 price point is surprising and welcomed. I wouldn’t expect Tate to simply bottle a sourced whiskey at this point in his career. Taking the gamble on finishing this bourbon in Tokaji casks must have come with some trepidation on his part, but Tate has always been a gambler, playing by his own rules. As the three bottle inaugural release of Ampersand has shown, high risk can result in high reward.