Country: USA 
Distillery: Sourced (Undisclosed)
Producer: Widow Jane
Type: Whiskey (Rye Mash)
Age: 2
Cask: American Oak 
Batch: 40
ABV: 45.5%
Proof: 91
Price: $45

Nose: Young distillate nose with citrus, green apples, star anise, cardamom, cloves, shaved oak.

Palate: Rye spices, shaved oak, sweet corn, nutmeg, orange zest

Finish: Cardamom, white peppers, red apples, caramel sweetness

Widow Jane is approaching the market, not with interesting blends of bourbon but also some experimental products from time to time. This Widow Jane Oak & Apple Wood Aged whiskey distilled from a rye mash is one of them. The spirit is aged in American oak barrels which were previously used for 10 years for their signature bourbon. But this time some applewood staves were also added in the process to enhance the flavors with another dimension of aging.

Thanks to Widow Jane for sending me a few bottles of their whiskies so I can review them. Aside from this bourbon, I also reviewed:

• Widow Jane 10 Year Old Bourbon
• Widow Jane Whiskey American Oak Aged

The Whiskey

The whiskey is a minimum two-year-old spirit that has been aged in American oak with the additional impact of applewood staves.  Widow Jane is using limestone mineral water from Rosendale Mines of New York, 100 miles from the distillery as their signature style for their whiskies. This one is bottled at 45.5% abv like their bourbon and a significantly lighter in color.

How Does It Taste?

Blind tasting a whiskey that you are not familiar with can be deceiving but my first notes for this whiskey as I tasted blind were,  'interesting rye whiskey', 'significant distillate character'.

The nose offers a young distillate nose with citrus, green apples, star anise, cardamom, cloves and a touch of oak spices. The palate starts with rye spices with the addition of shaved oak. Some sweet corn aromas, nutmeg, orange zest join later. The finish has cardamom, white peppers, red apples and caramel sweetness.

Verdict

I can say that Widow Jane Oak & Apple Wood keeps the sweet tones from their signature bourbon. This bottle is not a typical bottle I would drink often. It is more of an experimental dram for me to use it in my cocktails where I am looking for fresh and sweet apple notes. I can also see myself using this in a Highball, some iced tea and a few more cocktails. However, for neat drinking, I believe this has a few more years to get refined and get balanced.