The Maelstrom Saga Series: Batch 3 - Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea Bourbon Review

 

Established in Algoma, Wisconsin, in 2022, Unbound Spirits was built by a team of seasoned spirits veterans. Martin Pazzani, formerly of Heublein (now Diageo), founded United Spirits Company. Kay Olsen was formerly the Head of Operations at Heublein. Randy Roets came to Unbound Spirits from Sazerac, and Kerry Shaw Brown, who was crafting his own Bourbon blends.

 

For years, Kerry Shaw Brown wondered how whiskey and rum were transported across the sea for centuries. He began aging whiskey on a rowboat in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. He worked with larger barrels and placed them on the bow of his Bayliner. As he got feedback from fans, he moved the operation to Lake Michigan, using larger boats that let the barrels interact with the water longer.

 

Of course, Unbound Spirits isn’t the only distillery to age whiskey on boats. Several companies do it too, some using freshwater while others use seawater. The great thing was that during the summer, those barrels were exposed to almost 100° heat during the day, and at night, the temperatures would plunge.

 

That brings us to a product line called The Maelstrom. It is named for a powerful whirlpool in either the ocean or a river. It also refers to violent turmoil. I’ve reviewed Batch 4: The Black Squall, and from its Saga Series, Batch 1: The Reckoning, Batch 2: Torpedo Juice, and today, I’m exploring Batch 3: Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea.

 

“I created [Saga 3] to capture a range of maritime influences, as part of another effort for the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, which is creating the Wisconsin Sailing & Maritime Hall of Fame. So the array of influences was a nod to the Hall of Fame with the venerable sailing/maritime Inductees.” – Kerry Shaw Brown, Co-CEO of Unbound Spirits

 

Saga Series Batch 3 is a 9-year-old high-rye Bourbon from an undisclosed distiller. Its first maturation was in 53-gallon, new, charred oak barrels, then double-oaked, and then double-matured in former Rum and Tawny Port casks. Packaged at 50% ABV (100°), a 750mL bottle carries a $124.99 price tag, and a portion of each sale benefits the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

 

How will Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea hold up? Thankfully, Unbound Spirits provided me with a sample of it in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s #DrinkCurious and answer that question!

 

• Whiskey Type: Straight Bourbon
• Distiller: Undisclosed
• Age: 9 years
• Mashbill: Undisclosed high-rye mashbill
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels, double-oaked and then double-finished in former Rum and Tawny Port casks
• Alcohol Content: 50% ABV (100°)
• Price per 750mL: $124.99

 

Appearance: I poured this Bourbon into my Glencairn glass to sip neat. The color – my gosh – there were browns, reds, and oranges, but it didn’t quite fit what I’d call rust or mahogany. It had a deep and dark appearance. A bold rim jettisoned syrupy, uniformly spaced tears.

 

Nose: I waited 15 minutes before smelling the Bourbon to give it a chance to breathe. Once that expired, I began sniffing and found the rum influence took the helm, offering oak, molasses, and toasted coconut. I set the glass down and waited another 5 minutes. When I returned to nosing the whiskey, there was a breakthrough of chocolate and ancient leather that I’d attribute to the port. Beneath that were vanilla cream and butter pecan. When I drew the aroma into my mouth, I encountered a strong sense of old leather.

 

Palate: The first sip revealed an incredibly oily texture and a shock of French oak. With the second attempt, the front of my palate discerned dark chocolate, molasses, and toasted coconut. Flavors of rich leather, caramel, and butter pecan coated my mid-palate. On the back, I tasted French oak, dried blueberries, and cocoa.

 

Finish: Is the finish sweet? Earthy? Spicy? Savory? Yes. Vanilla cream, butter pecan, rich leather, chocolate, coconut, French oak, and cocoa took turns stealing the show depending on which swallow I analyzed. It started intense and, at a snail’s pace, faded until 1:26, when the spice and earthy notes seemed to remember that the show must go on. Things finally tapered off at an incredibly long 2:38. The last two consistent notes were French oak and arid leather.   

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea is one of those Bourbons you must sip slowly and contemplate; otherwise you’ll miss the entire show. It performed more like a whiskey 15 to 20 proof points higher than what the label suggests. I don’t mean alcohol burn; I’m talking about its potency.

 

The other component is how the Bourbon evolves literally as you sip it. Sometimes it is sweet and funky from the rum, other times leathery and chocolaty from the port, and then there is what the base spirit retained. The double-oaking is why the French oak is so prominent. Then there was the butter pecan. I have no idea what led to that, but I found it such a lovely distraction.

 

Sometimes whiskeys that seem overpriced really aren’t when you consider the entire sipping experience. I’ve reviewed almost 1500 whiskeys, and The Maelstrom Saga: Batch 3 is an outlier and one of those that is worth a premium. I’m thrilled to have this one in my whiskey library, and I think you’ll appreciate its uniqueness too, which makes its Bottle rating well-earned. 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.