Raisin | Burnt caramel | Cocoa | Toffee | Malt steeped tea

Burnt brown sugar | Aged leather | Toasted walnut | Dense, peppery seasoned oak | Dark chocolate | Coffee bean | Unique

Black pepper | Tobacco | Leather | Raisin | Mixed nuts | Vanilla custard

Located in Cambridge, Wisconsin, Dancing Goat Distillery has a wide-ranging portfolio of spirits, including Beren's Old Fashioned Brandy, Dancing Goat Presents, Death's Door Gin, Limousin Rye, and others. Headed by father and son Tom and Nick Maas, with Tom serving as a visionary brand builder and Nick at the still and blending table. The name Stillman’s Sonder pays tribute to Tom’s father, Duane Maas, who began working as a stillman in the 1950s. “‘Stillman’ speaks to patience, process, and precision, while ‘Sonder’ captures the awareness that every individual carries a life as vivid and complex as your own. Together, the name reflects a whiskey rooted in intention and connection.”

The company’s latest brand launch focuses on experimental barrels acquired from MGP. The company states that “from 2010 to 2016, distillation at MGP in Indiana included a series of large exploratory test runs which resulted in a number of unused barrels.”

Stillman’s Sonder 10 Year Bourbon was “aged in both Andean and American Oak barrels with texture and concentration pushed through several double-oaked components. Barrels were spoon proofed at times with encouraged oxidation through short fills and vatting before bottling at 94 proof,” according to the company.  

This is a fascinating bourbon. It has a gripping oak flavor profile, but it’s unlike the gripping oak you get from high aged bourbons, Texas bourbons, or bourbons aged in small barrels. Instead, it has an intense peppery, seasoned oak undertone that permeates throughout the entire sip and somehow satisfies the unfamiliar. Scents of raisin, leather, and cocoa (which transitions to dark chocolate) find lines through the bourbon. Tobacco, toffee, burnt brown sugar, and toasted walnut notes, along with an unusual coffee bean note, are found at the midpoint. And the finish brings further depth, adding black pepper and vanilla custard.

Stillman’s Sonder 10 Year Bourbon can be summarized in one word: unique. If you like oak-centric pours and want to try something different, it's simple: grab one immediately. It’s not a perfect bourbon, but it is executed really well, and it won’t taste like anything else on your shelf.