Strange Raven 6-Year: A Bourbon Worth Paying Attention To

I'll be honest — when a new brand shows up in my mailbox, my default reaction is mild skepticism. The market's crowded, the stories are often recycled, and the juice inside doesn't always match the ambition on the label.

Strange Raven is different. Here's why.

Brian Ward — who's got serious credentials in the spirits world, including time at Cask 100 and currently doing acquisition and auction consulting at K&L — is bringing his own bottles to market. But instead of just slapping a label on a sourced barrel and calling it a day, he built what he's calling a barrel passport. Every bottle ships with a detailed breakdown: lot number, cask number, mashbill, barrel entry proof, char level, distillation method, bottling date, and the amount lost to the angel's share over six years. In this case, that was 20%.

You almost never see that last number. I appreciated it.

The bourbon itself is a 60/36/4 mashbill — corn, rye, and malted barley — distilled on a copper pot still at Kentucky Artisan Distillery, where the grain was farmed within a mile of where it was bottled. Six years old, 100 proof, non-chill filtered.

On the nose, it opens with a distinct pot still funk, then pivots hard into Red Hots territory. If you grew up on that candy, you'll know exactly what I mean. There's some anise underneath, vanilla behind that, and a whole lot of spice stacked on top of it. This is a rye-forward bourbon that doesn't hide it.

The palate is creamy — vanilla cream, caramel, baking spices. Suck in a little air and you'll pick up a minty note that's common in high-rye expressions. The finish stays mostly front-to-mid palate. Nothing deep or lingering on the back end, but the spice and vanilla hold on for a while without getting pushy.

Is it as complex as a Four Roses single barrel? No. I just picked a 4R barrel, and Strange Raven isn't playing in that league yet. But as an everyday sipper from a brand-new producer? It holds up.

The price is $65, available now as a pre-order at StrangeRaven.ai. Would I love it at $45? Sure. But $65 for a six-year-old craft bourbon with this level of transparency isn't outrageous. Compared to many of the sourced NDP releases launched over the last six months, this is one of the better ones I've tasted.

One note for Brian: if you insist on waxing your bottles, make sure it's easy to open and doesn't risk life or limb.

If you've already tracked down a bottle, drop a comment and let us know what you think. I want to hear more than just my own take on this one.