One of the remarkable aspects of this Atlanta-based distillery is their in-house cooperage, which allows them to do all sorts of wild experimentations. While not everything hits, the Big Green Egg collaboration certainly does. In case you’re wondering, yes, we’re talking about that Big Green Egg, the famous smoker that now has a rabid cult following. Hardcore barbecue fans know. Long story short, this single-cask offering is one of Master Distiller Justin Manglitz’ hair-brained schemes. Their regular Georgia Heartwood bottling sees barrels crafted with staves from north Georgia white oak that Justin and his friends harvest themselves. In an added twist for this bottling, he chars and toasts various staves in a Big Green Egg ceramic smoker, and then subjects their high-wheat mash, 7-year-old juice to a few months finishing with the various staves. Gimmicky? Maybe, but the results in the bottle bear it out, big time. The nose is extremely opulent with black cherry, big toasty barrel tones, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon toast, raisin bread, cedar dust, mocha, and apple fritter. The broad, tannic, structurally firm palate has well-defined flavors of candied apple, cinnamon toast crunch cereal, black cherry, tons of exotic spices, cornbread, and maple syrup, closing with a long, bracing finish of burnt brown sugar and clove. Whatever you think of the method, this is a clear step up from the regular Georgia Heartwood bottling, so something is working out in incredible fashion here.
93 points, Andrew Kitz, B-21 Spirits Buyer (Apr 2026)
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