There's something refreshing about a bourbon that doesn't hide behind a fancy age statement or a heritage story stretching back to the 1800s. The Story Of... Full Proof Bourbon arrives at a confident 50% ABV, bottled at full proof, and asks you to judge it on what's in the glass. At £55.95, it sits in that interesting middle ground — not an everyday sipper, but not a shelf trophy either. It's a bourbon that wants to be drunk, and I respect that.
For those unfamiliar with the term, full proof means this bourbon was bottled at the same proof it entered the barrel. Under American whiskey law, bourbon can enter the barrel at no higher than 125 proof (62.5% ABV), and the fact that this one comes out at 100 proof (50% ABV) tells you something about the barrel interaction. Water wasn't added post-maturation to bring it down, which means every drop of flavour developed during ageing is intact, uncut, and undiluted. That matters. When distillers add water to hit a target proof, they're inevitably softening some of those barrel-driven characteristics. Full proof skips that step entirely.
Without a confirmed distillery, we're working with what's in the bottle rather than a provenance story — and honestly, that's fine. The bourbon category is packed with sourced whiskey that punches well above its weight. What matters here is execution, and at 50% ABV, this has enough backbone to carry whatever the mashbill is doing. You can expect the kind of richness and intensity that full proof bottling delivers: bigger texture, more concentrated barrel influence, and a finish that doesn't fade after three seconds.
Tasting Notes
I'll be upfront — I'm not going to fabricate specific notes here. What I can tell you is that a full proof bourbon at this ABV typically delivers a denser, more layered drinking experience than its diluted counterparts. The barrel character comes through louder. The grain sweetness hits harder. And the finish has genuine staying power. If you've had standard 40% bourbons and wondered what you were missing, this is the kind of bottle that answers that question.
The Verdict
The Story Of... Full Proof Bourbon earns a solid 7.9 out of 10 from me. It's doing the right things: bottled at full proof for maximum flavour delivery, priced fairly for what it is, and it doesn't rely on gimmicks. The lack of an age statement or confirmed distillery might put off the label-readers, but if you care more about what's actually happening in your glass, this is a genuinely enjoyable bourbon. It's not trying to be the most complex whiskey you've ever tasted — it's trying to be an honest, well-made full proof bourbon, and it succeeds at that. At £55.95, you're paying a fair price for an uncut, unfiltered experience that plenty of bigger names charge significantly more for.
Best Served
This is a bourbon built for an Old Fashioned. The full proof strength means it won't get lost under your sugar and bitters — it'll stand up and hold its own, which is exactly what you want in that cocktail. A barspoon of rich demerara syrup, two dashes of Angostura, expressed orange peel, and you're in business. If you prefer it neat, give it five minutes in the glass and a few drops of water. That 50% ABV opens up beautifully with a little time and patience. Don't rush it.
