Shortbarrel Bourbon's Cigar Batch #4 American Whiskey Review

 

You may have heard whiskey geeks use the term shortbarrel. Have you wondered what that meant? While, like many whiskey terms, there’s no legal definition for it, a shortbarrel is one where the angels have stolen more than half of the liquid inside (or, in layman’s terms, due to evaporation). Shortbarrels tend to be coveted because they’re often packed with flavor and proof.

 

That’s how, in 2020, three friends, Adam Dorfman, Clinton Dugan, and Patrick Lemmond, met with a barrel broker and decided to turn their favorite hobby into a whiskey brand. Before that, they had picked over 350 barrels in four short years! They named their brand Shortbarrel Bourbon.

 

In 2023, the trio purchased Old Fourth Distillery, Atlanta’s first legal post-Prohibition distillery, and in 2025 opened a kitchen, bar, and even a retail shop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest.

 

I can tell you this much: in its rather short tenure, Shortbarrel Bourbon has developed a cult following. Their whiskeys are challenging to acquire on a good day.

 

Today, we’ll explore Cigar Batch #4, an American Whiskey distilled from four mashbills of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley; 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley; 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley; and 91% corn and 9% malted barley. Those whiskeys were finished in 50 separate Armagnac, Cognac, rum, Tawny Port, and Sherry casks. That’s wild, right?

 

Shortbarrel sourced these whiskeys from undisclosed distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana. Yet the way Clinton put the blend together is amazing in its own right. Each barrel went through its own finishing cycle. He then reevaluated them and determined how much of each barrel would make it into the blend.

 

“Every barrel has a purpose. Our responsibility is understanding what each component contributes, giving the whiskey the time it needs to develop and then finding the blend where those individual characteristics work together. Cigar Batch has always been about building layers rather than allowing any single finish to dominate.” - Clinton Dugan, Co-Founder and Master Blender

 

On a side note, Cigar Batch #4 is the first in the series to use Sherry casks. It is packaged at 53.5% ABV (107°) with a suggested price of $89.99 through “select retail markets” and $94.99 from its direct-to-consumer online shop.

 

Should you grab one? Let’s #DrinkCurious and find out! First, thank you, Shortbarrel Bourbon, for sending me a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

• Whiskey Type: American Whiskey
• Distiller: Undisclosed Kentucky and Indiana distilleries
• Age: NAS
• Mashbill: a blend of:
• 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley
• 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley
• 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley
• 91% corn and 9% malted barley
• Cooperage: Finished in 50 separate Armagnac, Cognac, rum, Tawny Port, and Sherry casks.
• Alcohol Content: 53.5% ABV (107°)
• Price per 750mL: $89.99
• Non-chill filtered

 

Appearance: I used a Glencairn glass to explore this whiskey neat. Its Hawaiian brown color held a range of hues. A bold rim discharged husky, crazed tears that slowly crawled back into the pool.

 

Nose: I stared at my glass for about 15 minutes before taking the aroma in. I found so much going on that I let it sit another 5 minutes. At that point, I detected fruity notes of boysenberries, cherries, and plums. Leather, molasses, chocolate, and even a hint of rum funk danced with the fruit. As I took the air into my mouth, I tasted rich, dark chocolate.   

 

Palate: The first sip introduced a slick, oily texture and absolutely no palate shock. On my second try, I discovered milk chocolate, coconut, and leather on the front, followed by cherries, plums, and molasses on my mid-palate. The back included sensations of rye spice, hazelnuts, and dried strawberries.

 

Finish: The finish began with the dehydrated strawberries, then got savory with leather, then became spicy with rye, toasted oak, and cocoa, and ended with molasses, hazelnuts, walnuts, and milk chocolate. There was no incline and no crescendo, but it became arid. It lasted 1:34, which felt long.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: The use of 50 different finishing barrels, expectedly, created a complex transition of flavors that varied with each new sip. Jotting them all down would have taken more whiskey than my sample bottle provided, so I opted for the ones that stood out most. Cigar Batch #4 drank right at its stated proof; it lacked much in terms of alcohol burn.  

 

One of the greatest whiskey pleasures is sharing with friends. The biggest mistake you’ll make is to drink Cigar Batch #4 while multitasking, which means don’t talk, watch TV, or listen to music. You’ll miss most of what’s happening in your mouth. Find a quiet, private space, and pretend that your spouse, children, friends, and neighbors don’t exist, even if only for a few minutes.

 

Cigar Batch #4 is my second experience with Shortbarrel Bourbon, and both have been stupendous. My Bottle rating is well deserved. Cheers!

Courtesy of Shortbarrel Bourbon

 

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.