Toffee | Roasted peanuts | Baking spices | Light oak

Honey | Lemon | Sweet corn | Almond

Toffee | Browned butter | Crème brûlée | Rye spice | Peanut shell

Ghostwood Distilling Co. was founded by Lucas Perks, who began experimenting with whiskey in 2014 using a small copper still in his family’s barn in northern Illinois. The Belgrade, Montana-based distillery developed its own 4 grain mashbill with hard red wheat sourced from Droge Farms 20 minutes away. The brand’s first bourbon came to market in 2020 in distinctive black bottles featuring a white oak tree, with the company built around Perks’ “go beyond the firelight” philosophy and a desire to create a family-based whiskey brand. Ghostwood's bourbon recipe was developed and initially distilled by Perks, while the company does not clearly disclose whether its current bourbon is distilled in-house or sourced, but a 2021 competition listing identifies Dry Hills Distillery as a distilling partner.

In terms of taste, Ghostwood Blended Bourbon aims for an approachable, straightforward pour. Its aroma opens with gentle toffee, roasted peanuts, baking spice, and light oak that feel welcoming. Likewise, the palate features sweet honey and light lemon without a hard citrus edge. Sweet corn follows with a touch of almond. The finish brings back toffee, with browned butter adding earthiness, crème brûlée adding burnt-sugar creaminess, and rising rye spice and peanut shells.

With the flavors on the light side and its 90 proof not doing a lot to help add much intensity, it can be hard to fully parse the 4 grain mashbill. Those looking for a best-of-all-worlds style of 4 grain bourbon may come away disappointed. Yet those looking for a bourbon with much more honey, lemon, and toffee than typically found, will enjoy its pour. That could be the bourbon’s best play: a light, effortless sip with sweet flavors that go down easy.