Angel’s Envy Mizunara Cask Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A

Given that Angel’s Envy built its house on being the folks who finish Kentucky bourbon in Port wine casks, for some years observers were asking when they would introduce a Sherry cask finished bourbon. Once that was done, most of those same observers consolidated their wish list on arguably the rarest of all the whisky woods: Japanese Mizunara oak. Its sandalwood notes are uncommon in Japanese whisky, rare in Scotch whisky, and almost unheard of in American whiskey.

So, to mark their 10th anniversary (which was August 2020), Angel’s Envy launched a new series, the Founders Collection, by releasing Angel’s Envy Mizunara Cask. This is a blend of 4 and 9 year old bourbons of unknown provenance (they came from Kentucky, but otherwise even the mash bill is unstated), finished in Mizunara casks for two more years. The resulting whiskey was bottled at 97.8 proof. Note that none of the bourbon in the bottles came from Angel’s Envy Distillery itself; the four year old stuff was that age over two years ago, and the still has only been operational since autumn 2016.

The Bourbon
Once in the glass, Angel’s Envy Mizunara has a mid-amber look, so the long finish in exotic oak didn’t throw that part off (honestly, who knows if it should at this point?). The nose has a base of sweet corn and vanilla coupled to an indistinct fruitiness, plus notes of dry oak and the expected, even longed for sandalwood.

The palate leads with the dry, spicy aspect, tinged with oak.That develops to form a base of honeyed sweetness, graham cracker with cinnamon earthiness and spice, and a little banana. Around that center, the bourbon is herbal and spicy in an exotic way, not at all traceable to rye grain. Essentially, the traditional bourbon has a strong Mizunara influence, familiar to those who know it from Japanese whisky, laid atop. The finish is sweet and surprisingly nutty at first, before giving way to its dry and spicy aspect.

I suspect it would have been easy to make a hash of using Mizunara oak; the people with the most experience are in Japan and most accessible at Beam Suntory. Although there were no marvelous surprises here, Angel’s Envy Mizunara Finish has the superb virtue of being exactly what I expected it to be, which is a pretty damn good use of an exotic wood stock indeed.

The Price
This is priced at $350 per bottle. It’s exotic and only 1,200 bottles were made; even if Angel’s Envy releases more in the future, it’s a fair price and worth having.