Onyx & Amber's "Owl of Oz" Bourbon Review

 

“Rosen men don’t drink gin; we drink whiskey.”

 

Those were the words of Benjamin Rosen’s great-grandfather. Benjamin embraced that philosophy and, in 2017, he founded the Colorado Bourbon & Rye Collectors group. It began with 50 members and, over the years, grew to 275. Beyond selecting over 150 barrels, the group is involved in whiskey education and raising money for charitable causes.

 

The Colorado Bourbon & Rye Collectors group led Benjamin to start Onyx & Amber, a boutique whiskey sourcing operation focused on barrels aged 6 to 27 years. Rather than obtaining fully matured whiskeys, those barrels are transferred to the Denver facility, located at the former Rising Sun Distillery, where they can continue aging. Onyx & Amber bottles are available under its own label, as well as customized packaging for clients.

 

Today, we’ll explore its newest Bourbon blend expression called Owl of Oz. For this project, Benjamin teamed up with renowned whiskey blending veteran Ryan Negley, who is now the owner of Will Whiskey For Work, a whiskey consulting firm. Benjamin and Ryan selected 7.5-year-old O.Z. Tyler and 10-year-old MGP barrels to create a one-and-done release aged for two years in Colorado’s high altitude and huge temperature swings.

 

“What Onyx & Amber has is rare: a spectrum of tones, colors, and flavors that most blenders never get to work with. Every time I come back to this inventory, there’s something new to discover. That’s not common. Often, you are working with a limited palette. Ben has built something that gives a blender room to paint a bigger picture.” - Ryan Negley

 

After the blend has mingled for 6 to 8 weeks, it is packaged at a  healthy 60.3% ABV (120.6°). There are only 1500 - 750mL packages available for purchase from its online store for $94.99 beginning August 28, 2026.

 

The big question, of course, is if it is worth buying? We’ll answer that as we #DrinkCurious. First, however, I must thank Onyx & Amber for providing me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

• Whiskey Type: Bourbon
• Distiller: O.Z. Tyler & MGP
• Age: 7.5 years (O.Z. Tyler), 10 years (MGP)
• Mashbill: Undisclosed
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels aged in Colorado
• Alcohol Content: 60.3% ABV (120.6°)
• Price per 750mL: $94.99
• 1500 bottles available

 

Appearance: I used a Glencairn glass to explore this Bourbon neat. It had a deep, rich cognac color, and the liquid created a medium-thin rim with tightly packed, thicker tears.

 

Nose: After waiting for about 15 minutes to allow Owl of Oz to breathe, I brought the glass underneath my nose and started sniffing. There was a strong presence of cherries and plums, along with lightly charred oak, dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg, and, finally, vanilla and toffee. When I pulled the vapor into my mouth, I tasted cherry cola.

 

Palate: With the first sip, I found a dense, creamy texture that left cherries and oak on my tongue. My second one let me pluck toffee, vanilla, and cocoa on the front of my palate. The middle featured notes of cherry cola, cinnamon, and nutmeg—the back showcased oak, clove, and ancient leather.

 

Finish: Creamy, well-balanced, and lively, there were flavors of cherry cola, cinnamon, oak, ancient oak, caramel, and cocoa that sat on my tongue, and just as they began to fade, clove busted on stage like the Kool-Aid Man. That started to tame at 1:12, and the entire experience ended at 1:54. I’d classify its duration as very long.  

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Owl of Oz’s proof is worth discussing. My body could feel the 60% alcohol content. My mouth and throat did not. I was pleasantly surprised as to how easy it was to sip, making for what I like to call a dangerous whiskey. That’s because you will happily drink it almost absentmindedly, and then you get to stand up. Plan on being wherever you are for a while.

 

Now, let’s talk about balance. Start to finish, everything fell into place. Sweet, spicy, and savory notes blended magnificently. Outside of the aroma, nothing competed for my attention.

 

As I’ve stated for many years, blending is an art form. Some cretins try to save bad whiskey by blending, and shockingly, what they’ve created still tastes awful. Then there are the masters: those with an end goal in mind and a plan to achieve it. They make beautiful things. Ryan is deep into this latter field.

 

Is Owl of Oz a tad expensive? Perhaps. Yet, I seriously doubt anyone would claim buyer’s remorse after picking up a Bottle. I really enjoyed this one; my only complaint is that I ran out of the sample. 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.