Apple juice | Caramel | Baking spices | Pie crust | Charred oak | Nutmeg | Nilla Wafer cookie

Creamy vanilla | Rye spice | Charred oak | Leather | Light burnt toast | Faint cinnamon

Rye spice | Vanilla frosting | Yellow cake | Green tea | Charred oak | Leather | Dry overall

New Era Whiskey Company was co-founded by Matt Hobbs and Zane Brammell, the latter of whom turned his single barrel club into a full-time business. The company’s first trio of whiskeys released in stores honors three of Kentucky’s natural landmarks. The three whiskeys are all single barrel cask strength whiskeys and consist of: Nature’s Crossing at Natural Bridge, Dark Wonders at Mammoth Cave, and Magic Moonbow at Cumberland Falls. For this release, New Era Whiskey is donating $3,000 to the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund.

"Dark Wonders At Mammoth Cave” is a classic Kentucky style bourbon with a twist when it comes to its flavor profile. It opens with a dose of apple juice and more traditional notes, along with a distinctive Nilla Wafer cookie scent. The midpoint pulls in creamy vanilla and spice notes along with more grounding charred oak and leather. These dry flavors pull into the finish, which highlights spice and charred oak along with intriguing notes of yellow cake and green tea. These come and go quickly however, leaving the finish to ride out on a dry ending.

There’s not much information provided by New Ear Whiskey Company on this specific single barrel, which, for $100, it would be nice to provide consumers with a little more information on what they’re purchasing. The resulting sip is good, and while the flavors are intriguing, they never elevate themselves to the boldness that one would hope for based on the whiskey’s proof.