G-Man Small Batch Bourbon Review & Tasting Notes

 

G-Man Spirits was founded in 2022 by Christian Cano, Jerome Redmond, and Tuan Payton in Florida. The three have a combined seven decades of service in the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Florida. Its flagship whiskey is called G-Man Small Batch Bourbon.

 

What is a G-Man? It is a shortened term to describe a government man. It is considered slang for federal law enforcement agents and most often refers to FBI agents. American folklore suggests it was coined by the gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

 

“On September 26, 1933, Bureau of Investigation agents and Tennessee police officers arrested gangster George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly. He was a wanted fugitive for good reason. Two months earlier Kelly had kidnapped oil magnate Charles Urschel and held him for $200,000 in ransom. After Urschel was released, the Bureau coordinated a multi-state investigation, drawing investigative information from its own field offices as well as from other police sources, as it identified and then tracked the notorious gangster across the country.

On September 26, ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly was found hiding in a decrepit Memphis residence. Some early press reports said that a tired, perhaps hung-over Kelly stumbled out of his bed mumbling something like ‘I was expecting you.’ Another version of the event held that Kelly emerged from his room, hands-up, crying ‘Don’t shoot G-Men, don’t shoot.’ Either way, Kelly was arrested without violence.” – G-Man Spirits

 

That recount is likely not the source for the term, as G-Men had previously been used in F.D. Pasley’s 1930 biography of Al Capone.

 

G-Man Bourbon is sourced from MGP using its 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley mashbill. It carries no age statement, but per G-Man Spirits, it is aged up to four years in Indiana before being transported to Jacksonville, Florida, for additional aging. Once dumped, G-Man uses reverse osmosis water to proof the Bourbon down to 45% ABV (90°). Blending takes three days, and the whiskey is non-chill filtered. A 750ml package is about $54.99.

 

How does G-Man Small Batch Bourbon taste? We #DrinkCurious. First, I must thank G-Man Spirits for providing me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s go!

 

Appearance: I poured this Bourbon into my Glencairn glass and sipped it neat. The liquid possessed a brassy amber color. It produced a medium rim with thick, syrupy tears inside my glass.

 

Nose: The aroma offered smells of marshmallows, honey-roasted nuts, orange peel, cherries, rye spice, and cocoa powder. Caramel caressed my tongue when I drew that air into my mouth.

 

Palate: G-Man Bourbon’s texture was silky. The front of my palate had no problems plucking flavors of cocoa powder, roasted almonds, and oranges. The middle featured vanilla, caramel, and tobacco. I tasted leather, rye spice, and barrel char on the back.

 

Finish: Medium-to-long in duration, the level finish provided remnants of tobacco, rye spice, barrel char, cocoa, marshmallows, and roasted almonds.  

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: The liquor store shelf is densely populated with MGP me-too Bourbons. Often, nothing is done with them other than bottling and slapping a fancy label on it. In the case of G-Man Bourbon, it took that 60/36/4 standard bearer and, with some extra time in the Florida climate, found a way to enhance it without diluting what makes that mashbill special. If batches maintain consistency, I believe G-Man Spirits has a winning whiskey and collars my Bottle rating. Cheers!

    

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.