Angel's Envy

Angel’s Envy is a modern Kentucky bourbon and rye brand celebrated for its innovative finishing techniques, particularly the use of secondary maturation in casks traditionally reserved for fortified wines. Founded in 2010 by legendary Master Distiller Lincoln Henderson, a member of the inaugural Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, Angel’s Envy represents a marriage of traditional bourbon-making and creative cask experimentation.

Lincoln Henderson, who had spent decades developing iconic whiskies for major distillers, launched Angel’s Envy with his son Wes Henderson to create a smaller-scale, craft-minded brand. Their vision was to take well-crafted bourbon and elevate it through finishing in specially chosen casks, a practice common in Scotch whisky but still relatively rare in American whiskey at the time. The brand’s name comes from the term “angel’s share” — the portion of spirit lost to evaporation during maturation — with “Angel’s Envy” playfully suggesting what the angels must feel when they miss out on the final, finished whiskey.

The flagship Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon starts with a traditional mash bill (predominantly corn, with rye and malted barley) and is aged for up to six years in new, charred American oak barrels. It is then finished for three to six months in ruby port wine casks, imported from Portugal. This additional step imparts layers of ripe fruit, chocolate, and gentle tannins to the bourbon’s base notes of vanilla, caramel, and baking spice.

The finishing process is carefully monitored to avoid overpowering the underlying spirit. The goal, as Henderson put it, is to “enhance, not mask” — allowing the core bourbon or rye character to shine while adding subtle, complementary notes from the finishing cask.

Angel’s Envy is crafted at the brand’s own Louisville distillery, which opened in 2016 in the city’s downtown area. The site offers guided tours, blending workshops, and exclusive bottlings for visitors, making it a popular stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Our Angel’s Envy selection includes the flagship port-finished bourbon, the indulgent rum-finished rye, and limited-edition cask strength releases when available. Whether you’re a bourbon traditionalist curious about finishing techniques or a collector seeking innovative American whiskeys, Angel’s Envy offers a perfect balance of heritage and experimentation, proof that even in Kentucky, there’s room for creative evolution.