This extremely unique barrel of Copper & Cask Bourbon (75C/21R/4MB) was aged for seven years in the hot and humid Florida climate. While already fantastic when we sampled it, we thought it could use a little something extra. So we shipped them ten French Oak staves (with three different toast levels) from a previous private selection to finish the Whiskey with. The result is a Whiskey that has aromas of citrus and nutmeg, with a palate of milk chocolate and orange zest that gives way to cherries and mulling spices. The finish is long and comes in waves with hints of dark chocolate, toasted pecans, and clove.

This blend of Bourbon and Ryes is a CASK STRENGTH, but slightly younger (6-10 years vs 10 year) version of High West’s famous BouRye that became a distillery exclusive in 2019. Expect notes of minty orange peel and caramel on the nose, with peach cobbler and apricot on the palate. The finish is pleasantly warm.

Our barrel of Jack Daniels Barrel Proof was selected from the upper reaches of barrel house 2-28 with a proof of 127.6.  Aromas of dark brown sugar, deeply toasted oak, and maple that opens up with time to include sour cherries. On the palate there is deep brown sugar, oak and maple candies, while the proof translates into a rich, viscous and oily mouthfeel with hardly any burn at all.  The sour cherries from the aroma reemerge alongside cinnamon on the medium-long finish.

After Whistlepig’s founder, Raj Bhakta, left for newer ventures he quickly fell in love with two criminally unknown spirits: Calvados (An AOC Apple Brandy from Normandy) and Armagnac (Cognac’s older, more rustic cousin). Buying up all his favorite vintages, he started Bhakta to bring them to the masses. For our unique 1928 Blend “The French Connection” we were able to pick out our favorite vintages of Armagnac and XO Calvados finishes to be combined with the Rye Whiskey.

The Calvados is an XO with a 10 year minimum (but 29 year average) age that was matured in French Oak.

For our Armagnacs we chose three relatively “youthful” vintages:

1983 – fruity black pepper
1991 – Lightly sweet floral notes
1996 – full bodied with plenty of classic, earthy rancio notes

The resulting Spirit has an average age of 15 years. Expect an aroma of nuts and dark toffee covered apples with a rich palate full of dark fruit, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and clove notes.

While High West has ditched true Single Barrel Picks, the new Cask Collection offerings take their place by offering fun and unique finishes at a great price (they’re just blending the barrels together to simplify their logistics). This Bourbon was finished for several months in Barbados Rum casks. It has a nose of toasted walnuts, nutmeg, and praline with increasing demerara notes the longer the Bourbon is allowed to open up in the glass. The palate has vanilla, maple and root beer notes while a burst of cardamom signals the start of a sweet molasses finish.

When FEW finished their transition to full size barrels, they also started a series of fun and experimental finishes that are finally ready to make their debut. We got a special sneak peak of their favorites, and we liked them so much that we grabbed two! Picked in collaboration with the Double Blind Whiskey Club, this Bourbon was already over 4 years old when it was put into an Oberon Merlot cask for an additional 2 ½ years. Obviously heavy on the finish, it smells like dark chocolate covered cherries, while more vanilla on the palate gives the impression of chocolates filled with dark fruit liqueur. Grippy, but not dry, wine tannin makes itself known on the finish.

When F.E.W. finished their transition to full size barrels, they also started a series of fun and experimental finishes that are finally ready to make their debut. We got a special sneak peak of their favorites, and we liked them so much that we grabbed two! Picked in collaboration with the Double Blind Whiskey Club, this Bourbon was already over 4 years old when it was put into a Vermouth cask for an additional 2 years. Aromatic herbal top notes with an undercurrent of white grape skins, its palate has plenty of herbal red fruit along with orange peels and spices to make for an unsurprisingly Manhattan-esq pour. Seriously, just drop a cherry straight into your glencairn!

We finally have an Elijah Craig Barrel Proof of our very own! This barrel is 8 years old, 119.5 proof, and was bottled in its purest form: Uncut, non-chill filtered, and straight from the barrel. Expect an aroma of walnut and caramel coated green apple, a palate of spicy oak, black pepper and clove, and a long Kentucky hug for a finish.

While High West has ditched true Single Barrel Picks, the new Cask Collection offerings take their place by offering fun and unique finishes at a great price (they’re just blending the barrels together to simplify their logistics). This Bourbon was finished for several months in Chardonnay barrels from a winery that’s also imprisoned in Constellation’s portfolio. Not as overwhelmingly finish-forward as previous releases, the Chardonnay instead supports the Bourbon by adding a layer of rich brown butter nuttiness underneath the usual caramel, spice, and oak notes.

Our WhistlePig Private Select is a rare cask strength (118.4 proof) version of the already fantastic WhistlePig 10 year. This particular barrel has aromas of buttery lemon curd, and a palate of minty herbal tea with plenty of honey. The finish is short and round caramel, while the classic Rye baking spices only appear at the end, gently clinging to the tongue once everything else is gone.

Woodford Double Oaked has three main flavor tent poles that they strive for. For our store pick, we picked one of them to highlight (Citrus & Peach), at which point Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall hand-picked and married together two of her favorite barrels which highlight those flavors. Expect an aroma of peaches with vanilla cream, and a palate of stone fruit and caramelized orange peel that finishes with a burst of oak spice.

The new Bottled-In-Bond version of FEW Bourbon is here! An upgrade to the standard FEW Bourbon, the bonded version is a minimum of 4 years old and bottled at 100 proof in accordance with the Bottled-in-Bond Act. The barrel that we selected is almost 5 years old, and has an herbal and fruity aroma with bright, sweet cinnamon notes. Oak with a tinge of strawberry ice cream dominates the palate, before melding into a sweet, tea-like finish.

A newer brand by Barrell Spirits, Stellum has been making a name for itself with their fantastic Bourbon and Rye. This single barrel pick is 5 years old with a mash bill of 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley. It has a nose of caramel and maple, with dry, nutty oak and rye spice on the palate.

This unique barrel of Codigo Añejo started as a French Oak barrel that was made by cooper Tonnellerie Sylvain, famous for supplying wineries such as Harlan Estates and Screaming Eagle. After being used to age a prestigious Napa “Bordeaux,” the wine was decanted and replaced with Codigo’s Tequila. The wine stained wood spent 18 months working its magic before the Añejo was declared too exquisite to be part of the usual blend. Our pick is not as assertive as the standard Codigo Añejo, but offers a gentle complexity with ever changing notes of agave drizzled strawberries and cherries.

Bulleit’s Single Barrel Select program takes its cues from Four Roses, with multiple mash bills and yeast types to choose from. This leads to a far greater variety of Whiskies than most single barrel picks, with unique aromas and flavors. This particular barrel is fruit forward and bursting with aromas of orange peel, caramel and chocolate-covered cherries. Its palate lingers with notes of marmalade, bananas, and strawberries.