I'll be honest — when something lands on my desk labelled 'Spirit Drink' rather than whiskey, my first instinct is suspicion. But Reservoir's Ardent IPA Mashup Series 1 earned its place on my bar by doing something genuinely interesting with the bourbon-meets-beer concept, rather than just slapping a gimmick label on mediocre liquid.
First, let's talk about what this actually is. It's classified as a spirit drink rather than a bourbon, which tells you straight away that something has been done to it beyond what US bourbon regulations allow. The 'Mashup' with Ardent IPA means this spirit has crossed a line — likely through blending or finishing — that takes it outside the strict legal definition of bourbon. Under American whiskey law, bourbon must be stored in charred new oak with nothing added except water. The moment you introduce beer or beer-adjacent elements, you lose the right to call it bourbon. That's not a criticism — it's just useful context. You're buying a hybrid, and the bottle is transparent about that.
At 45% ABV, it sits at a comfortable drinking strength. Not so hot that it overwhelms whatever the IPA component brings, but enough backbone that the base spirit doesn't get lost. This is a NAS release, so we don't know exactly how long the bourbon element spent in barrel, but the balance here suggests they weren't working with anything too young.
Tasting Notes
I don't have detailed distillery-confirmed tasting notes for this one, so I won't fabricate them. What I can tell you is what to expect from the category. You're looking at a bourbon foundation — so think corn-forward sweetness, some vanilla and caramel character from new oak — crossed with the herbal, citrusy, sometimes resinous bitterness of an IPA. The best versions of this style give you something that neither the whiskey nor the beer could achieve alone. At its core, this is an experiment in bitter-sweet tension, and it's one that mostly works.
The Verdict
At £85.75, the Reservoir Ardent IPA Mashup is priced at the premium end of the spirit drink market, and I think that's broadly fair. You're paying for genuine craft on both sides of the equation — Reservoir isn't a contract-bottled afterthought, and the IPA collaboration suggests actual intention behind the blend. It's not going to replace your everyday bourbon, and it's not trying to. This is a conversation bottle, something you crack open when someone says 'I've tried everything.' A 7.6 out of 10 from me — it's well-made, it's genuinely different, and it follows through on its promise. Where it loses a point or two is on value. For this money, you could pick up a very solid straight bourbon with age on it. But if you're buying novelty, buy good novelty, and this qualifies.
Best Served
Skip the rocks on this one. Drink it neat at room temperature so you can actually taste what the IPA brings. If you want to mix it, try it in a riff on a Whiskey Sour — the hop bitterness plays surprisingly well against fresh citrus and a touch of simple syrup. Use a 2:1:0.75 ratio (spirit, lemon, syrup) and dial the syrup back if you find the IPA element already provides enough complexity. A few drops of hopped bitters wouldn't be out of place either, if you really want to lean into the theme.
