I’m not a big fan of flavored liquors. But every once in a while something comes along that catches my eye. I follow some drinkers on Instagram and one day one of the accounts posted a glass of William Wolf with orange juice and shared some rave reviews of its quality. I find the concept of pecan and bourbon to be very intriguing (and other natural flavors) and made it a goal to find a bottle. Since then I’ve been hunting stalking liquor stores (like… a wolf?) in search of a bottle. It’s not particularly expensive – it’s just hard to find. But I kept searching for the elusive, pecan-infused booze.

Fast forward to today and I’m living in New York. I CAN SHIP MYSELF LIQUOR! So I looked online and found a distributor that sells William Wolf Whiskey. It did not take me long and a few days later, I had two bottles on my front door. A bottle will run you about $40 shipped (~$20-$23 in store – shipping is a bitch which is why I bought two). It comes in at 60 proof which is not a particularly strong drink. Now I had just come from the gym but couldn’t wait – I opened a bottle and served it up in my three standard forms: neat, rocks, and with a splash of water. Here are my thoughts on each:

EYE: It looks like a Tamarind drink. Very rich, caramel color. It has a weight to it, it doesn’t just pour – it slips out of the bottle. Speaking of the bottle, pretty cool design as you can see by the pictures.

SMELL: Surprisingly more alcohol in the olfactory department than I expected. There is a subtle fragrance of toasted nuts. A bit of spice here and there. Definitely “toasted” more so than “smoky;” another common trait to bourbons.

NEAT: This is a very thick bourbon. A bit syrupy but not in a particularly unpleasant way. I imagine this going very well on ice cream, in coffee, and in a milkshake. Not too much burn from the alcohol. Strong flavors of pecans, molasses, and sugar cane. Hints of honey.

ROCKS: Similar flavor profile but surprisingly more of a heat to it on the finish. I guess the ice thins it out and covers some of the flavors due to the cold. It’s super buttery – an enjoyable drink.

WATER: This brings out the bourbon even more. The decreased viscosity makes it physically easier to drink.

BOTTOM LINE: A very enjoyable bourbon. I can’t recommend it to a classic bourbon drinker because it is very much a dessert drink. However, for those willing to try out something new, this is an extremely affordable booze to whip out if you’re trying impress some guests with something a little off the beaten path. In that manner, it’s a very hipster bourbon. I’ll definitely keep this in my cabinet moving forward.