Black Cask Bourbon

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea, Lapsang Souchong, Natural Flavours
Flavors
Caramel, Cedar, Malt, Smoke, Soil, Sweet Potatoes, Syrupy, Vanilla, Alcohol, Cocoa, Earth, Honey, Peat, Pine, Sweet, Ash, Char, Cherry, Wood, Tobacco
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Shae
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 45 sec 2 g 12 oz / 346 ml

From Our Community

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14 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I’m coming to the conclusion that booze inspired tea may not be for me. This smells way too smoky for Me and just about everyone else I made smell it lol It tastes better than it smells Though…I...” Read full tasting note
    34
  • “This tea takes you places. There I was in my office, working away at my computer with a mug of this tea at my elbow. Then it was like I was sitting around a campfire, smelling smoke and sipping...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “Finally drank the last bag of this! Got this on a whim while petsitting. I was drawn to the goth tin and the promise of a smoky vanilla tea. This tea did not disappoint! The tin gives off a...” Read full tasting note
    73
  • “Method: Sachet Steep time: 5 mins Water temp: Boiling Brew Style: Mug/ Western The dry leaf smells exactly like smoky bourbon, complete with an alcoholic bite. I also smell pine tar and a hint of...” Read full tasting note
    90

From Harney & Sons

With our new Black Cask Bourbon, we set out to combine the full body and intense aromas of black tea with the rich flavors of finely aged bourbon. The result is simple and stunning: prominent bourbon notes of vanilla and caramel and oak-cask layered atop a smokey base of black tea. Perfect for sipping slow and steady, as a bourbon should be.

Ingredients:

Black tea, lapsang souchong, bourbon flavor. Contains natural flavors.

Details: A bold, smoky black tea.
Dry Leaves: Dark black leaves
Liquor: Dark brown
Aroma: Smoky & sweet
Caffeine Level: Caffeinated
Body: Medium-bodied
Flavors: Peat and vanilla-oak
Brewing Time: 5
Brewing Temp: 212º

https://www.harney.com/products/black-cask-bourbon

About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

14 Tasting Notes

34
270 tasting notes

I’m coming to the conclusion that booze inspired tea may not be for me. This smells way too smoky for
Me and just about everyone else I made smell it lol It tastes better than it smells
Though…I can handle it. But it is not one that I would buy again. i am relieved to be out of my tin. Wouldn’t buy again but would recommend giving it a try just because of hiw unique it is

ashmanra

I had high hopes for this one. We don’t drink but I loved O’Connor’s Cream black tea and I hoped to love this one, but it was just Lapsang (which I like) as far as I could tell.

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80
19 tasting notes

This tea takes you places. There I was in my office, working away at my computer with a mug of this tea at my elbow. Then it was like I was sitting around a campfire, smelling smoke and sipping whiskey. This may not be my favorite tea ever, but I think I’m more impressed by it than any other tea I can remember.

Dry, it has a very pungent smoky scent with a hint of bourbon in the background. Brewed, the smoke is subtler, although still the dominant flavor. I slightly oversteeped my sachet, but the tea was forgiving and did not become more bitter or astringent than the bourbon and vanilla flavors could handle. There’s a slight mustiness to the flavor, but in a pleasant way, like the damp smell you get in the woods when it’s recently rained, and the sweetness from the bourbon flavoring comes through like burnt sugar.

If I made this an everyday tea, it would lose its ability to transport me, but I think it would pair well with certain experiences. Maybe I’ll drink it on my front porch one rainy morning. Maybe I’ll take it for a walk in the woods.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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73
114 tasting notes

Finally drank the last bag of this! Got this on a whim while petsitting. I was drawn to the goth tin and the promise of a smoky vanilla tea. This tea did not disappoint! The tin gives off a wonderful aroma of caramel, vanilla, and smoked cedar-y goodness, with a slice of acrid alcohol. The blend is alcohol free, but has bourbon flavoring to it. The bourbon element gets a little lost to me, and the majority of flavors I get are a Lapsang Souchong with vanilla caramel flavor. To be honest, i find that much more appealing. The flavors are very kind to the black tea base, with complementary flavor notes of malty earth tones and baked bread. It did not take me long to go through this tea!

Going through the old tasting notes from my old account got me noticing how many beloved tea companies of mine have disappeared! This tea had me craving the vanilla black and various levels of smoked black teas that were a staple blend of the height of my Steepster hayday. Discovering all the brands that i really enjoyed sent me down a rabbit hole of 404 error messages. I’ll be pouring one out for every Tippy’s Tea, Townsend Tea (now that they just do kombucha), Joseph Wesley, and more today.

Flavors: Caramel, Cedar, Malt, Smoke, Soil, Sweet Potatoes, Syrupy, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 30 sec 14 OZ / 414 ML

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90
737 tasting notes

Method: Sachet
Steep time: 5 mins
Water temp: Boiling
Brew Style: Mug/ Western

The dry leaf smells exactly like smoky bourbon, complete with an alcoholic bite. I also smell pine tar and a hint of vanilla bean. Once steeped, the liquor is a golden/ amber brownish color (looks like bourbon). The steeped liquor smells strongly of smoke, alcohol, and peat.

Surprisingly, the flavor is not as smoke-forward as the dry leaf and the ingredients list suggest. It’s smooth, slightly sweet, with notes of honey, caramel, cocoa, pine, and earth, with a very light touch on the smoke. In the aftertaste, I get the same delicate earthy vanilla bean I detected in the dry leaf.

I agree with what another reviewer said— this can’t be a pure lapsang souchong base, given how mild the smoke is in its flavor. It most likely does have another, milder black tea blended in, to take the edge off the smoke and allow the other notes some room to shine. However, I disagree with that same reviewer when he says that this tea is not well-balanced. I think H&S did an amazing job capturing the essences of both bourbon and tea (two very different worlds that often intersect at the points of relaxation and contemplation). This was indeed a relaxing and contemplative experience, with plenty of pleasant surprises to stimulate both bourbon and tea drinkers equally.

Flavors: Alcohol, Caramel, Cocoa, Earth, Honey, Peat, Pine, Smoke, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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57
1704 tasting notes

I wanted to try this one, and lo and behold, a Target in FL had it. Trying it out, I don’t think the tea is nearly as balanced as other Harney and Son’s blends. They usually kick butt with their caramel flavors, but it’s overwhelmed by the Bourbon and the lapsang. I also don’t taste the vanilla. I personally would have picked a Wuyi Oolong to blend with the other Chinese black to make the tea smoother while keeping the smokey taste. It’s not as strong as other lapsangs-I think or guess it’s got some Keemum in it too-could be wrong.

I do enjoy this tea since I like booze flavored teas, but I am pretty disappointed with it and have had better Harney Teas and better bourbon teas. At least the tin is cool. I also think it would be a good for people wanting a non-alcoholic option.

Flavors: Alcohol, Ash, Char, Cherry, Peat, Smoke, Vanilla

Evol Ving Ness

Booo. Which caramel teas do they kick butt with, Daylon?

Daylon R Thomas

Paris. It’s not a caramel tea strictly, but they add it in the mix with the bergamot and other fruit flavors.

Evol Ving Ness

Hmm. Thanks!

Crowkettle

I forgot about the caramel-esque qualities of “Paris”. Miss that tea a little.

Lexie Aleah

I got my tin of this one from Target too but I liked this one! The tin is definitely pretty too!

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2891 tasting notes

Wowza. Thanks to Lexie Aleah, my eyes are wide open from the wood smoke vibes in this unique Harney & Sons variety. Perfect for a nippy morning. Burning damp leaves, wet wood, and as with any well-tended fire, the smoke dies down after a bit so that you can enjoy the brown sugar hidden at the end of each sip. Love the smoky aroma.

I’ve never been much of a lapsang fan, but if it was more like this, I might be. I’d probably never see the bottom of the tin of my own—this is a once-in-a-while instead of a daily drinker—but it was a treat to try it!

ashmanra

I was lukewarm about trying this but now I am ordering a sample! I like Lapsang so it sounds appealing.

Evol Ving Ness

This has been on my list—now, if I ever make peace with those that I’ve already ordered…

gmathis

It was all kinds of sensory fun!

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1299 tasting notes

I need to expand on this as I wasn’t paying much attention while drinking this since I was in a Zoom class. I remember liking it and thinking it certainly tasted better than the dry sachet smelled. It’s sweet and woody with a bit of booze. It’s somewhat smoky but pretty mild compared to straight lapsang souchong. I should make another tasting note while I’m actually paying close attention. I’m glad I ended up deciding to get the tin though! Also, each sachet is supposed to make a 16oz mug.

Preparation
14 OZ / 414 ML

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74
439 tasting notes

Sunday started out like any other trip on a plane, and I was looking forward to using my new collapsible kettle to make a cup of tea on my layover.
Just as we were about to leave the gate my dad called and let me know my mother had passed away. I’m sure I spent the whole of the flight staring blankly into space wondering what to do when I got to Denver. I hustled to the nearest United service desk where, after impatiently waiting in line, the service agent told me they could only change my ticket back to Cody or somewhere close to my original destination, not Chicago where I now wanted to go. Certainly I cannot be the only person who ever wanted to change a flight mid trip due to an emergency, but apparently they could not ‘sell me a new ticket’ on their system. Then I asked about my bag and she assured me that she had sent baggage claim a message to remove the bag from its transfer to the next plane and my bag would be waiting for me outside of security in the baggage claim office. So now I had to go find my bag while calling (and waiting on hold) to figure out how to get to Chicago.
The woman in the baggage claim office was incredulous that the previous agent had promised me the luggage would not be put on the next plane, and I said I figured as much. I was about to lose my shit but she was very nice and managed to calm me down. I saw a paper cup resting on her desk with two connected square tea bags without strings and I asked her if they were celestial seasonings tea. She proceeded to explain to me the last time she went to the celestial seasoning factory (which I had forgotten was in Colorado) and that they had something called the ‘mint room’ that you could only tolerate for a few seconds at a time there was so much menthol in the air. I will need to visit this place at some point!
After about 20 minutes on the phone and another 10 verifying where my bag actually was, I thanked the nice baggage claim ladies who now assured me that my bag would eventually join me in Chicago. I did manage to get through security again and grab a bite to eat before finally breaking out the collapsible kettle to (finally!) make a cup of tea.
A bag of this bourbon tea was what I pulled from my small travel stash as I knew it wouldn’t get bitter if I left it to brew in my go cup. I can’t say that I am all that impressed with this caramel forward (with a hint of vanilla) bourbon tea, but it is a comforting cup and I would probably purchase it again if I saw it at target.
I am sharing this with y’all because I know you will understand the small moment of connection I had with the baggage claim tea drinker, and the comfort of a new cup of tea for another flight.
I appreciate you as a community that makes me smile when I read your notes and sometimes even LOL.

Courtney

I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. My sincere condolences. I’m glad you found a way to make it to Chicago. Also, a collapsable tea kettle sounds amazing and I’m going to look one up right away!

mrmopar

So sorry to hear about your loss. We will be praying for you and we are all here if you need us.

gmathis

Oh, Michelle! So sorry to hear about your mom. Isn’t it amazing how small comforts like a cup of tea or a kind word help with that first wave of shock and numbness? I’m praying for you today. Strength and peace to your whole family.

Martin Bednář

Sorry to hear about your loss. I am glad that you like the community here and you we are here to comfort you. Always.

ashmanra

I can not imagine what you went through, to get that news and then in the midst of the numbness and shock, have to deal with the red tape of modern life. Praying for you. May your heart be comforted.

Kelmishka

What an incredibly stressful experience — I’m so sorry. Thank goodness for little moments of humanity and connection.

Michelle

Thanks for your kind words all. Courtney – the collapsable kettle rocks and is only 1.5 lbs to fit in a carry on bag.

tea-sipper

I’m seeing this two weeks later, but I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope you’re doing okay.

Michelle

Thanks tea-sipper, I’ve gotten a bit behind here myself. Appreciate the kind thoughts from everyone. You guys always brighten my day.

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57
37 tasting notes

A lighter and more enjoyable version of Lapsang Souchong, you can smell the ume. Definitely tastes smoky, but not sure about bourbon. It’s ok.

Flavors: Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 2 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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292 tasting notes

My second sipping of this. The first time I could not taste much. This time i did 2 tsp in a pot and let it steep longer. Definitely taste it now.

To me it’s not that good of a taste but I can see how it can appeal to some. WIth my recommendation, I put no, but it could be yes for a certain crowd. To me it reminds me of alcohol and tobacco. Those two aren’t bad in themselves with tea or other flavors, but this isn’t my favorite from Harney by far. I wouldn’t order again but it’s drinkable.

With my remaining I may mix it with other teas and experiment. I have a full tin left.

I still don’t taste any smoke or lapsang. It is strong - but I do not enjoy Harney’s Lapsang much, this isn’t what I’d call a smokey tea.

Flavors: Tobacco

Preparation
6 min, 0 sec 2 tsp

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