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Ampersand Opimus spirit image
90Excellent

Ampersand Opimus

Bourbon Ampersand
  • Distiller

    Undisclosed

  • Bottler

    Foley Family Wines

  • ABV

    58.4%

  • Age

    NAS

  • Price $100 to $199.99

Ampersand Opimus 15 Year Bourbon is a 750-milliliter whiskey distilled from a mashbill of 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley. It is finished for nine months in Hungarian Tokaji wine casks and bottled at 58.4% ABV. The distillate is rumored to be "BuffTurkey," a cult-beloved series of barrels distilled by Buffalo Trace in 2008 using Wild Turkey's 75/13/12 mashbill but with Buffalo Trace's yeast, grains, stills and distillation techniques. These intriguing crossover barrels came about from Wild Turkey's concern that it didn't have the capacity to meet demand. The answer it came to was contracting the distillation out to Buffalo Trace, who had more capacity. Wild Turkey aged the bourbon but wound up deciding not to use the barrels in its whiskeys because the flavor profile wound up different from their typical whiskey. They've since been sold to non-distilling producers — such as Ampersand, if you believe the very believable rumors.

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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 85
  • Drinkhacker
  • By Jacob Kiper
  • While a 15 to 16-year-old bourbon released undiluted and finished in an uncommon wine barrel fits comfortably within a $150 asking price on paper, the enjoyment it delivers does not fully justify that cost for me, given how heavily the wood character shapes the experience.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • Breaking Bourbon
  • By Eric Hasman
  • Ampersand Opimus is a bold, 15 year old Tokaji cask-finished Kentucky bourbon that delivers a sweet and robust profile dominated by dark red fruit and thick oak, offered at a surprisingly fair price for its age and proof.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 94
  • The Daily Pour
  • By David Morrow
  • I love this, and if you’re a fan of oak-forward, well balanced bourbon with plenty of spice, you will, too.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Nose:

    Beautiful rich nose. Buttercream frosting, demerara sugar, cinnamon, anise, marzipan, brandied cherry, waxy golden delicious apple and pear.

  • Taste:

    Silky smooth mouthfeel. This comes across very oaky first and foremost. Underneath the oak and tannin lie luxardo cherry, toasted marshmallow, toasted almonds, vanilla custard and cocoa.

  • Finish:

    Long finish. Spice leads — cinnamon, nutmeg, clove — followed by apple bake, tobacco, mint and a nice earthy profile.

  • Overall:

    Rich, delicious and oaky. I love this, and if you’re a fan of oak-forward, well balanced bourbon with plenty of spice, you will, too. Those who don't love heavily oaked bourbon, however, need not apply.

  • Score:

    94

  • Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.

  • By David Morrow
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources