Cleveland Underground: Bourbon Whiskey finished with Sugar Maple Wood

Cleveland underground claims to use a unique and innovative technology to tap into flavor profiles of different woods that couldn’t be used to make barrels. When I look back to reviews from 2013 - they claim the whiskey is 6 months old, and then put into a metal barrel with the infusing woods and pressure aged for a week - forcing the flavor quickly into the whiskey. I don’t know if that’s the current process but if so, it is a very unconventional bourbon.

This whiskey is a really sweet smelling whiskey with a lot of buttery caramel and a slightly woody scent. The sweetness continues when I sip, but not as strongly as it smells. The wood notes come out much more strongly, and it has a really buttery finish almost like buttered popcorn. Letting some ice melt in it doesn’t change the flavor dramatically, if anything only further bringing out the oakiness. It is a perfectly nice whiskey, but doesn’t feel super unique or special. That being said - it is nice and drinkable and I would drink it again if something I liked better wasn’t available; maybe I’m turning into a whiskey snob?

Update: I wrote the original post over a year ago and haven’t touched the bottle since. There was nothing wrong with this whiskey, but so far nothing has pulled me back to it. I wouldn’t repurchase.