Table Of Contents

The Details

Rating 96
Style
American Whiskey
Whiskey
Produced In Virginia
United States
ABV 69.85%
Availability Limited
Price $100.00 
Reviewed By
Reviewed 2025-03-04

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Review

Located in Spotsylvania County, Va., A. Smith Bowman has a history dating back to its original founding the day after Prohibition’s end. In 2003, Sazerac purchased the facility. In recent years, the brand has been known for a variety of small batch, single barrel, and experimental releases, many of which feature whiskey aged well over a decade. (Recent releases in the distillery’s American Oak series have scored high marks in our reviews.)

But perhaps no Bowman release is as in-demand as the annual Cask Strength Bourbon, now in its fourth iteration. Batched from barrels selected by head distiller David Bock, Cask Strength Batch #4 clocks in at 139.7 proof, uncut and non-chill filtered. That’s a little higher than Batch #3, and just a tick under the 140 proof “HAZMAT” mark popular among many bourbon fans. (Batches #1 and #2 of the series each eclipsed 140 proof.)

As with all A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength bottlings, this one carries a 10-year minimum age statement.

Let’s see how it tastes!

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4: Stats and Availability

As usual and with several limited releases from this distillery, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Strength Bourbon Batch #4 was available via an online lottery at the brand’s website. The lottery started on Feb. 24 and ran through noon EST on March 3. It was open to folks nationwide, with one catch: Winners must purchase their bottle in-person at A. Smith Bowman’s distillery gift shop. Winners will be randomly selected on March 5 and notified by email.

The bottle will also receive some limited distribution through Sazerac’s network in select retailers, bars, and restaurants. The suggested retail price — and price lottery winners will pay at the distillery — is $99.99, subject to tax and other fees.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

The nose starts with plenty of ethanol, and for a split second, I’m worried it’ll numb my nostrils too much to really get deep into early scents. But while A. Smith Bowman’s latest Cask Strength bourbon walks right up to the line of a numbingly hot nose, it never crosses it. Instead, we get a progression of tannic, dark, fruity scents: cherry fruit leather, spiced apple butter, and cinnamon-crusted peach cobbler. Gooey chocolate monkey bread comes in shortly thereafter, richly spiced and sweet while emanating both yeasted dough and dark cocoa bean.

Indeed, as that initial burst of heat fades away, the whiskey gains complexity. This is almost a nose in two acts. Eventually, that dessert-like, bready character dissipates, replaced by the scents of sweet oak and toasted wood. The bourbon smells a little older with time, welcoming at first with that reduced, cooked fruit before, then captivating with the kind of developed wood profile only a great decade-plus bourbon can really convey. The very end of each deep inhale is damp and earthen, reminiscent of an old barrel rickhouse. It’s tempting to move straight to sipping, but I’m glad I gave this nose ample time to evolve.

Taste

While the nose started moderately hot, an early taste of this cask strength whiskey doesn’t scream 140-ish proof. The entire sip builds to a crescendo, only showing its full weight near the end. Instead of an early hit of ethanol, the first sip is like berries and cream, altogether sweet, fruity, and coating. Raspberries, strawberries, and baked Bosc pear glide across the front of the tongue, carried by the sensation of sugar-sweetened cream.

Heat builds further in, and while the individual flavors of those aforementioned fruits remain, they become wrapped up in a medley of hot cinnamon and spicy ginger. By the midpalate, the predominant flavor shifts to cherry vanilla cola, along with classic bourbon tannins including leather and cured tobacco leaves; there’s also a welcome layer of barrel char. The proof shows its fullest weight toward the back of the mouth, carrying both ethanol and cinnamon spice (and nutmeg oil) while still drinking noticeably below the nearly 70 percent ABV.

Finish

The finish leans into dried tart raspberries, sour cherries, and toasted oak, eventually turning back toward leather for a lengthy final act.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Rating

96/100

Recap

In just a handful of years, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Strength Bourbon has built a reputation as one of American whiskey’s more coveted (and highly allocated) releases. Batch #4 should continue that lineage. It showcases a rare trifecta of delicious fruit, ample oak, and potent — but not overpowering — heat, a balance few annual whiskeys manage year in and year out with consistently high execution. Somehow, most of its fruity flavors manage to punch through as bright even while the barrel influence shows its full stripes.

While we know the minimum age statement is 10 years, I’d be hard pressed to imagine more time in the barrel could dramatically improve this bourbon. It’s simply that composed. This is every bit a bottle worth lotterying for — and potentially making the trip if you win.

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96
POINTS
A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4
Located in Spotsylvania County, Va., A. Smith Bowman has a history dating back to its original founding the day after Prohibition’s end. In 2003, Sazerac purchased the facility. In recent years, the brand has been known for a variety of small batch, single barrel, and experimental releases, many of which feature whiskey aged well over a decade. (Recent releases in the distillery’s American Oak series have scored high marks in our reviews.) But perhaps no Bowman release is as in-demand as the annual Cask Strength Bourbon, now in its fourth iteration. Batched from barrels selected by head distiller David Bock, Cask Strength Batch #4 clocks in at 139.7 proof, uncut and non-chill filtered. That’s a little higher than Batch #3, and just a tick under the 140 proof “HAZMAT” mark popular among many bourbon fans. (Batches #1 and #2 of the series each eclipsed 140 proof.) As with all A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength bottlings, this one carries a 10-year minimum age statement. Let’s see how it tastes!

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4: Stats and Availability

As usual and with several limited releases from this distillery, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Strength Bourbon Batch #4 was available via an online lottery at the brand’s website. The lottery started on Feb. 24 and ran through noon EST on March 3. It was open to folks nationwide, with one catch: Winners must purchase their bottle in-person at A. Smith Bowman’s distillery gift shop. Winners will be randomly selected on March 5 and notified by email. The bottle will also receive some limited distribution through Sazerac’s network in select retailers, bars, and restaurants. The suggested retail price — and price lottery winners will pay at the distillery — is $99.99, subject to tax and other fees.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

The nose starts with plenty of ethanol, and for a split second, I’m worried it’ll numb my nostrils too much to really get deep into early scents. But while A. Smith Bowman’s latest Cask Strength bourbon walks right up to the line of a numbingly hot nose, it never crosses it. Instead, we get a progression of tannic, dark, fruity scents: cherry fruit leather, spiced apple butter, and cinnamon-crusted peach cobbler. Gooey chocolate monkey bread comes in shortly thereafter, richly spiced and sweet while emanating both yeasted dough and dark cocoa bean. Indeed, as that initial burst of heat fades away, the whiskey gains complexity. This is almost a nose in two acts. Eventually, that dessert-like, bready character dissipates, replaced by the scents of sweet oak and toasted wood. The bourbon smells a little older with time, welcoming at first with that reduced, cooked fruit before, then captivating with the kind of developed wood profile only a great decade-plus bourbon can really convey. The very end of each deep inhale is damp and earthen, reminiscent of an old barrel rickhouse. It’s tempting to move straight to sipping, but I’m glad I gave this nose ample time to evolve.

Taste

While the nose started moderately hot, an early taste of this cask strength whiskey doesn’t scream 140-ish proof. The entire sip builds to a crescendo, only showing its full weight near the end. Instead of an early hit of ethanol, the first sip is like berries and cream, altogether sweet, fruity, and coating. Raspberries, strawberries, and baked Bosc pear glide across the front of the tongue, carried by the sensation of sugar-sweetened cream. Heat builds further in, and while the individual flavors of those aforementioned fruits remain, they become wrapped up in a medley of hot cinnamon and spicy ginger. By the midpalate, the predominant flavor shifts to cherry vanilla cola, along with classic bourbon tannins including leather and cured tobacco leaves; there’s also a welcome layer of barrel char. The proof shows its fullest weight toward the back of the mouth, carrying both ethanol and cinnamon spice (and nutmeg oil) while still drinking noticeably below the nearly 70 percent ABV.

Finish

The finish leans into dried tart raspberries, sour cherries, and toasted oak, eventually turning back toward leather for a lengthy final act.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Rating

96/100

Recap

In just a handful of years, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Strength Bourbon has built a reputation as one of American whiskey’s more coveted (and highly allocated) releases. Batch #4 should continue that lineage. It showcases a rare trifecta of delicious fruit, ample oak, and potent — but not overpowering — heat, a balance few annual whiskeys manage year in and year out with consistently high execution. Somehow, most of its fruity flavors manage to punch through as bright even while the barrel influence shows its full stripes. While we know the minimum age statement is 10 years, I’d be hard pressed to imagine more time in the barrel could dramatically improve this bourbon. It’s simply that composed. This is every bit a bottle worth lotterying for — and potentially making the trip if you win.

Reviewed On: 03-04-2025
96
POINTS
A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4
Located in Spotsylvania County, Va., A. Smith Bowman has a history dating back to its original founding the day after Prohibition’s end. In 2003, Sazerac purchased the facility. In recent years, the brand has been known for a variety of small batch, single barrel, and experimental releases, many of which feature whiskey aged well over a decade. (Recent releases in the distillery’s American Oak series have scored high marks in our reviews.) But perhaps no Bowman release is as in-demand as the annual Cask Strength Bourbon, now in its fourth iteration. Batched from barrels selected by head distiller David Bock, Cask Strength Batch #4 clocks in at 139.7 proof, uncut and non-chill filtered. That’s a little higher than Batch #3, and just a tick under the 140 proof “HAZMAT” mark popular among many bourbon fans. (Batches #1 and #2 of the series each eclipsed 140 proof.) As with all A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength bottlings, this one carries a 10-year minimum age statement. Let’s see how it tastes!

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4: Stats and Availability

As usual and with several limited releases from this distillery, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Strength Bourbon Batch #4 was available via an online lottery at the brand’s website. The lottery started on Feb. 24 and ran through noon EST on March 3. It was open to folks nationwide, with one catch: Winners must purchase their bottle in-person at A. Smith Bowman’s distillery gift shop. Winners will be randomly selected on March 5 and notified by email. The bottle will also receive some limited distribution through Sazerac’s network in select retailers, bars, and restaurants. The suggested retail price — and price lottery winners will pay at the distillery — is $99.99, subject to tax and other fees.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

The nose starts with plenty of ethanol, and for a split second, I’m worried it’ll numb my nostrils too much to really get deep into early scents. But while A. Smith Bowman’s latest Cask Strength bourbon walks right up to the line of a numbingly hot nose, it never crosses it. Instead, we get a progression of tannic, dark, fruity scents: cherry fruit leather, spiced apple butter, and cinnamon-crusted peach cobbler. Gooey chocolate monkey bread comes in shortly thereafter, richly spiced and sweet while emanating both yeasted dough and dark cocoa bean. Indeed, as that initial burst of heat fades away, the whiskey gains complexity. This is almost a nose in two acts. Eventually, that dessert-like, bready character dissipates, replaced by the scents of sweet oak and toasted wood. The bourbon smells a little older with time, welcoming at first with that reduced, cooked fruit before, then captivating with the kind of developed wood profile only a great decade-plus bourbon can really convey. The very end of each deep inhale is damp and earthen, reminiscent of an old barrel rickhouse. It’s tempting to move straight to sipping, but I’m glad I gave this nose ample time to evolve.

Taste

While the nose started moderately hot, an early taste of this cask strength whiskey doesn’t scream 140-ish proof. The entire sip builds to a crescendo, only showing its full weight near the end. Instead of an early hit of ethanol, the first sip is like berries and cream, altogether sweet, fruity, and coating. Raspberries, strawberries, and baked Bosc pear glide across the front of the tongue, carried by the sensation of sugar-sweetened cream. Heat builds further in, and while the individual flavors of those aforementioned fruits remain, they become wrapped up in a medley of hot cinnamon and spicy ginger. By the midpalate, the predominant flavor shifts to cherry vanilla cola, along with classic bourbon tannins including leather and cured tobacco leaves; there’s also a welcome layer of barrel char. The proof shows its fullest weight toward the back of the mouth, carrying both ethanol and cinnamon spice (and nutmeg oil) while still drinking noticeably below the nearly 70 percent ABV.

Finish

The finish leans into dried tart raspberries, sour cherries, and toasted oak, eventually turning back toward leather for a lengthy final act.

A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength Bourbon Batch 4 Rating

96/100

Recap

In just a handful of years, A. Smith Bowman’s Cask Strength Bourbon has built a reputation as one of American whiskey’s more coveted (and highly allocated) releases. Batch #4 should continue that lineage. It showcases a rare trifecta of delicious fruit, ample oak, and potent — but not overpowering — heat, a balance few annual whiskeys manage year in and year out with consistently high execution. Somehow, most of its fruity flavors manage to punch through as bright even while the barrel influence shows its full stripes. While we know the minimum age statement is 10 years, I’d be hard pressed to imagine more time in the barrel could dramatically improve this bourbon. It’s simply that composed. This is every bit a bottle worth lotterying for — and potentially making the trip if you win.

Reviewed On: 03-04-2025