Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon Details
Brand: Filmland Spirits
Type & Region: Bourbon, Indiana, USA
Alcohol: 47%
Composition: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley
Aged: 4 years
Color: 1.2/2.0 on the color scale (chestnut, oloroso sherry)
Price: $55
From the company website:
Delicious and sweet with cherry and citrus on the nose, vanilla and caramel on the tongue and an intricate finish of toffee and toasted oak. Enjoyed neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail, this smooth blend will delight werewolves and humans alike.
Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon overview
Bourbon and werewolves…yes that’s a thing with Filmland Spirits’ Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon. Moonlight Mayhem’s theme / motif is around a love story in an alternate America (the multiverse?) where werewolves and humans co-exist, but werewolves are the main living beings. That’s a quick summary, and you can always read more about it on their website.
This bourbon is brought to you by Filmland Spirits, a relatively new brand bringing their own interpretation of whiskey and storytelling. It was founded in 2021 by Troy Bolotnick, a veteran of the film industry who wanted to marry his love of film and whiskey. It shows.
Film and packaging aside (purely about the bourbon) – the main thing I want you to know is that this is a 4 year old bourbon sourced from MGP (officially called Ross & Squibb, but I don’t call it that). This type of bourbon has been on shelves countless times over the year now, so hopefully Filmland brings a new twist to that commonly used bourbon.
Let’s sit down and see what the show has in store in this Filmland Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon review.
This bottle was provided at no cost to me. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon smell
I smell caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, dried red apple, roasted oak, cinnamon, cherry, orange peel, and a little bit of grain and nougat. Yeah, this has a nice darkness and woodiness.
Filmland Moonlight Mayhem smells good and has generally good fullness. It’s not outstanding by any means, but it’s good enough to be enjoyable. At the same time, nothing really sticks out in a good or bad way. It smells good, but as I often write with bourbons these days, it would be hard to pick it out of a lineup.
After swirling and rest, I smell caramel, baked red apple, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, dried apricot, and a little toasted grain. This is generally well balanced between sweetness, fruitiness, oak, and spice, with a little extra oak and spice. The scents have good body and richness for the ABV and age, but they don’t overperform either.
Filmland Moonlight Mayhem smells good (I know I keep repeating myself), but again it’s not something that captures my attention and imprints itself as something that I’ll easily remember. It’s tough to dig deep and find a better description.
Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon taste and aftertaste
There’s caramel, vanilla, baked red apple, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, orange peel, and a little bit of roasted grain and caraway seed. The oak, spice, and grain build a bit with time, so this ends up being an oak and spice-forward bourbon, although it’s not dominated by it.
It feels right for 4-5 years old – it doesn’t drink oddly young but also doesn’t exhibit above and beyond maturity.
Filmland Moonlight Mayhem has solid flavors and some range, but I have a tough time really getting into it. It’s tough because I know what these brands are trying to accomplish, but the flavors themselves don’t stand out or feel unique.
After “chewing”, I taste caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, baked red apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel, underlying maple syrup and nougat, and a little bit of earthy caraway seed.
“Chewing” opens up some more sweetness and fruitiness, which pushes back some of the spice and oak. Don’t be mistaken though, this is still a fairly oaky and spicy bourbon with equal amounts of sweetness and fruit, and it feels right for a 4-5 year old MGP bourbon. It’s not one of those bourbons that’s 4-5 years old and tastes like it’s 10-12 years old (turns out that Filmland Quadraforce is that bourbon).
The finish leaves caramel, toasted grain and oak, baked red apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and a little bit of dry grassiness and earthiness.
Filmland Moonlight Mayhem in isolation tastes good, but again there’s not much that stands out. MGP makes good bourbon, but you’re then pigeonholed into a less unique profile that many other brands also have.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem Bourbon Rating
I’m struggling to put my thoughts together for this review because I’m not entirely sure where I should land on this. On one hand, the bourbon is objectively good and the “Mid Shelf+” rating makes sense to me, but we already know that MGP makes good bourbon. But on the other hand, I can’t figure out why I should care about this bourbon…and in turn why you should care.
First off, I’m not a movie buff so all the film-related motifs and themes don’t matter that much to me. I’m here mainly for the whiskey, and as I mentioned before, it’s good but nothing special. The labeling is certainly unique, but I don’t think that it’s enough long term to keep people’s attention. At the end of the day, the liquid in the bottle matters the most, and I think that Filmland does a good job crafting a good enough bourbon that’s going to quickly be forgotten.
I won’t get any sympathy for this statement, but sometimes reviewing all this 4-5 year old sourced bourbon from Kentucky and Indiana feels monotonous. Getting free booze is incredible and it constantly blows my mind that companies willingly do it. It’s validation for all my hard work over the years, plus I love trying new stuff.
If your priority is to get the best bourbon for your money, then this is not the bourbon for you. If you think the packaging is cool, then yeah I guess go for it.
At the same time, it’s not all fun and games when I’ve tried yet another bourbon that would easily get lost in the shuffle of all these other brands. You don’t feel bad for me…I know.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.
Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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