For the first time, we obtained a "hard to acquire" whiskey. We have a local distillery, A. Smith Bowman right near the alphageek's headquarters. We got word of a new Abraham Bowman release, Gingerbread Cocoa finished bourbon.

We miss the days when one just drove to the Virginia ABC store and just pulled a product like Abraham Bowman off of the shelf, made a purchase and enjoyed. Now, one has to either register for a "whiskey lottery" throught the Virginia ABC, or head on over to the distillery and see what happens on release day. We made the short drive to the distillery to see how it would go.

We arrived about half an hour before opening time. There was already a line, but nothing brutal.

Before opening time, employees stopped by to let us know there was plenty on sale, and we had nothing to worry about. Ironically, we learned it was a 375 ml bottle, unlike previous purchases that were 750 ml, which explained the lower price. We are in favor of anything that helps Abraham Bowman go a little further around. After the sales started, we waited about anothor 30 minutes to make our purchase. Each member of our party picked up the 2 bottle limit, made a purchase and headed on home.

The line got longer while we made our purchase.

We posted an initial review on twitter that you can see here. Now that we have a few minutes, let's do a little more through review.

Nose - The aroma is just amazing. A little oak of the bourbon combines with ginger and cocoa to make it feel like one is at the A. Smith Bowman Distillery eating a ginger cocoa cookie.

Pop - The initial taste is a smooth, mild experience. There is not a hit of bourbon like one might expect, but a gentle intake of flavor, almost like having a cookie or cake that has some whisky icing giving almost a desert like sensation.

Body - All products from A. Smith Bowman shine in this category, and Gingerbread Cocoa Finished Bourbon is no exception. The whisky gently swirls around the palate in a most pleasing way.

Finish - A gentle experience, the desert like tastes come back and set one up to take the next sip. There is no hint of harshness but instead just a gentle warm feeling of comfort.

So this one is a keeper. We could not be more pleased that we got in on something good without some sort of outrageous pricing scheme. This is right up there with the Abraham Bowman vanilla finished whiskey as a favorite.

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