Vanilla frosting | Citrus | Blackberry | Stewed apple

Brown sugar | Crème brûlée | Cinnamon & white pepper mix | Cherry cola | Apricot

Allspice | Vanilla extract | Seasoned oak

Onyx & Amber launched in April 2025 in Denver, Colorado, by Benjamin Rosen, growing out of his decade-plus involvement with the Colorado Bourbon & Rye Collectors group, which conducted more than 150 single barrel selections and raised over $500,000 for charity. The company works out of the former Rising Sun Distillery and focuses on sourcing whiskey and aging/finishing it almost entirely in Colorado. Though people may be quick to cite the area's high altitude as their differentiating factor, the company instead emphasizes the effects of Colorado's dry climate and dramatic barometric-pressure swings, which they say drive greater interaction between the whiskey and oak and produce a “richer, more viscous, more concentrated product than the same distillate aged anywhere else.”

This is the second collaboration blend from Bill and Dara Zeir, the husband-wife team behind the YouTube channel The Average Drinker. It’s an 8 barrel blend featuring Kentucky and Indiana distillate aged in Colorado. The whiskey is quite approachable with a noticeable light airiness to it. Flavors lean into the sweet side with vanilla frosting, brown sugar, crème brûlée, vanilla extract, and even a subtle cherry cola note at the midpoint. Fruit notes add further sweetness, but also depth with citrus and blackberry on the nose and apricot on the backend of the palate. Spice layers into the whiskey in various forms, but never defines it.

If your palate leans towards sweet, approachable, yet still flavorful blends, this one is for you. It pulls just far enough away from the classic bourbon flavor profile to make it interesting, but its overall light airiness favors easy drinking territory over pure memorability.

The bourbon in review is bottle number 643 of 1,000 from blend number 02.