Gold Bar Retro Edition Whiskey (Joe Montana Collection)

Gold Bar Retro Edition is a limited-edition, four-grain straight bourbon whiskey paying homage to San Francisco’s “golden legacy” and the 49ers’ 1985 Championship. Bottled at 85 proof (≈ 42.5% ABV), it's aged for over four years and finished in wine casks. The mash bill includes corn, wheat, rye, and barley. The packaging and branding are part of the collector appeal, being part of the Joe Montana Collection. 

Specs / Key Attributes

Flavor / Tasting Profile

Here’s what the Retro Edition leans toward, based on Gold Bar’s descriptions and prior reviews of similar whiskies from their line:

• Aroma / Nose: Expect sweetness from the corn + wheat base. There’s likely vanilla, honey, possibly orchard fruit (pear or apple), and softer malt notes. Wine cask finishing will add a layer of red/stone fruit or perhaps berry tones, with wine oak influence and mild tannins. 

• Taste / Palate: Balanced – sweetness + spice. Corn sweetness, soft wheat rounds the edges, rye likely contributing gentle spice, barley adding maltiness. The wine cask finish may introduce fruit (cherries, perhaps dried fruit) and subtle oak/wine-wood tannin. Because it’s 4-grain, more complexity than a straight corn/wheat bourbon.

• Finish: Expected medium finish; warming, with lingering oak, possibly wine-barrel plum or red fruit tones, vanilla or caramel, gentle spice from rye. Not overpowering but with character.

What Makes It Special

• Four-Grain Mash Bill gives more complexity than traditional 2-grain or 3-grain bourbons; the barley and wheat soften while rye adds spice.

• Wine Cask Finish: Sets it apart from standard bourbon; gives added layers of fruit, tannin, wood that tell you it’s not a “plain” bourbon.

• Limited Edition / Collectible Branding: Tied to the Joe Montana Collection, roughly timed to 1985’s 40th anniversary for the 49ers. That adds storytelling value. 

• Local / California Identity: Made in San Francisco, appeals to pride, regional or fan identity.