Filmland Spirits Quadraforce Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Filmland Spirits Quadraforce Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Filmland Spirits Quadraforce Bourbon Details
Distillery: Filmland Spirits
Type & Region: Bourbon, USA
Alcohol: 47%
Composition: Exact mix unknown, but composed of 4 parts
Aged: At least 4 years
Color: 1.3/2.0 on the color scale (russet, muscat)
Price: $60
From the company website:
4 States and 4 Grains meld in a mash that is anything but mild mannered. Golden California hues shine sweet wheats to rye powered Kentucky and a Tennessee corn-country-star. Enhanced by mysterious notes from parts unknown, this super blend is powerful enough for humans and heroes alike.
Filmland Spirits Quadraforce Bourbon overview
A new-ish brand is on the whiskey block bringing their own interpretation of whiskey and storytelling – Filmland Spirits. Filmland Spirits 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.
To be honest, I’m not a movie buff (but watch the occasional movie) so I don’t really get the whole film motif. I can appreciate the visual art on the labels (definitely stands out on the shelf in a good way) + critique the whiskey within, but how the storytelling links to the whiskey is completely lost on me. I’m not the target customer for the story behind all the labelling, but I’m always down to try whiskey from a new brand.
Instead of regurgitating the info on the movie, you can go to their website for the entire story (https://www.filmlandspirits.com/quadraforce). The short version is that there are 4 heroes fighting in WW2 in an alternate universe. As a result, there are 4 bottles with different labels (but the same bourbon), each sporting one of the 4 heroes.
These heroes also reference where the various blended bourbons were sourced. The bottle I received (thanks) is Kentucky Anna, for the Kentucky-sourced part of the blend.
That’s a good segway to this blend. Filmland clearly states the states where 3 of the 4 mashbills are – California, Kentucky, and Tennessee, but they don’t clearly state which one is from where. Gotta love those NDA’s.
- Kentucky – 78% corn, 12% rye, 10% barley
- California – 70% corn, 25% wheat, 5% barley
- Tennessee – 80% corn, 10% rye, 10% barley
- Mystery!?!?
As of this review, Filmland is available online and is on shelves in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada and Washington state. That would explain why I’ve never seen it on shelves in Maryland, DC, or Virginia. And I admit, the label will definitely stand out on the shelf because it’s definitely interesting and unique.
I’m going to cut through the flashy lights and cut to the chase to find out if Filmland Quadraforce Bourbon has substance to back it.
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 Quadraforce Bourbon smell
There’s brown sugar, toasted oak, baked red apple and peach, cinnamon, dried cherry, cola, dried grapefruit, leather, and a hint of grain and coffee. Filmland Quadraforce has good dark sweetness with more forward oak and spice, and fruitiness in the background (but not completely overpowered).
There’s brown sugar, toasted oak, baked red apple and peach, cinnamon, dried cherry, cola, dried grapefruit, leather, and a hint of aSomething about this is intriguing, but I can’t quite explain it, but I’ll try. Even though there’s no age statement, this could easily pass for at least 8 years old. And even at 47% ABV, there’s a good fullness and surprisingly decent low-end to the scents, although to immediately contradict myself, it’s a little closed off too.
Hopefully swirling ekes out more so I can make sense of this…and it feels good already. On scent alone, this is already way more interesting than Moonlight Mayhem. I’m not blown away yet, but I’m nodding my head in enjoyment.
After swirling, I smell dark brown sugar, vanilla, baked red apple, dried orange peel, roasted oak, cinnamon, toasted banana, coffee, fennel, leather, and maple syrup. The scents themselves aren’t that unique, but I still really enjoy them.
I know in my prior Filmland review, I railed on Moonlight Mayhem for not being that unique or interesting, but this comes off so differently. It’s not that unique, but something about it feels different. Yes I know that I’m contradicting myself, I’m still processing this.
I don’t know the ages of the various parts of the blend, but as a whole they feel mature and developed. The sweetness, oakiness, spice, and fruitiness (in that order) are really nice. There’s good richness, roundness, and range, which is commendable for 47% ABV. All the layers, depth, and complexity aren’t there, but that’s still ok.
This is still really good.
Filmland Spirits Quadraforce Bourbon taste and aftertaste
I taste honey, bright citrus, roasted oak, red apple, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, herbal fennel, toasted grain, and leather. One sip and I already know that Quadraforce’s flavors are much better than Moonlight Mayhem’s.
This one is definitely quite oaky and spicy, but the sweetness still holds up well and doesn’t get pushed out of the way. It feels older, maybe 8ish years old, and with roundness that outperforms 47% ABV.
At the same time, the flavors feel a bit undefined, so all the flavors mush together, plus they don’t feel that layered.
With “chewing”, there’s caramel, roasted oak, vanilla, baked red apple, cinnamon, orange peel, a little grassiness, creamy frosting, maple syrup / dark chocolate (something in the realm of dark sweetness), and a little earthy caraway seed. There’s good creamy sweetness and vanilla, with a hint of that sweet oak of a much older bourbon.
Filmland Quadraforce tastes very good. It doesn’t taste quite as deep and developed as it smells and “chewing” doesn’t unleash this next level of richness and pop, but I still like it a lot. It’s a sweet, oak, and spice-driven bourbon with supporting fruit, earthiness, and herbalness that still feels 8-10ish years old.
The creamy sweetness and oak provide that extra bit of character. Who knows, maybe there are some 12+ year old components in the blend (probably the Tennessee part) that lend some extra maturity and age to the flavors.
The aftertaste leaves toasted caramel, baked red apple, roasted oak, lingering toasted oak, leather, orange peel, and cinnamon. After a few seconds, the finish shifts to an oak and spice-forward experience that still feels balanced.
The ok definition doesn’t make it feel more mature, but overall Filmland Spirits Quadraforce Bourbon is a tasty blend that I really appreciate.
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 Quadraforce Bourbon Rating
I always have an open mind with these reviews, but I didn’t have high expectations with this. Turns out that Filmland Quadraforce caught me by surprise and ended up being really good. It’s not quite “Top Shelf” (but close), but I can still laud it for what it is – a surprisingly mature and developed bourbon that doesn’t quite put it all together.
There are 2 things that held this back from “Top Shelf”. The first is the just ok definition, which muddied the scents and flavors to some degree. The second is that “chewing” didn’t bring enough oomph, “oooh”, or “ahhh” that sometimes pushes a whiskey over the top. It didn’t have it, and that’s a bummer because there is so much going for it.
Who knows, maybe a cask strength version of this would be much more interesting than the cask strength version of Moonlight Mayhem.
But you know what though, Filmland Spirits is on the right track with this blend. I don’t know if there’s a way to blend this a little differently to get more of that pizazz, and it’s also entirely possible that the improved version goes into a more expensive release.
$60 isn’t a bad price either, and you can easily spend more and get less. It’s not quite go out right now and buy it good, but I think it warrants serious consideration if you’re looking for a more mature-drinking bourbon with a good price.
Filmland Quadraforce Bourbon has some Michter’s American Whiskey vibes with how mature it feels, which in turn drinks in the ballpark of Weller 12 Year but with a higher ABV. Price-wise, Michter’s American Whiskey is way more available (I don’t think Filmland is stocked around where I am) and $10-20 cheaper.
To sum this all up, I think that Filmland did a great job crafting this bourbon…I really do.
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.
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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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