PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
750 ml, 55% ABV (110 Proof), Finished in Infrared Toasted Cherry Oak Barrels
"Our first cooperage collaboration celebrates the forward-thinking West Virginia Great Barrel Company. Our synergy in modern production led to a custom blend aged in cherry wood barrels toasted with infrared technology. This truly unique flavor exemplifies the potential of two brands at the forefront of innovation."
TASTING NOTES
Almond, cinnamon, potpourri, and baked cherry circle traditional rye notes of mint and herbal tea. A luscious mouthfeel leads to a luxurious balance between lightly tannic oak and rich berry compote.
"A new collaboration brand from WV Great Barrel Co. and Bardstown Bourbon Co. illustrates exactly the kind of unique flavors that these custom barrels are capable of unlocking. This entry in the distillery’s Collaborative Series, released at the end of 2022, brings together sourced rye whiskey, Canadian corn whiskey, and a barrel unlike anything I’ve seen before.
These barrels, custom built for the collaboration, are composed of alternating staves of standard American white oak and cherry oak, with two different toast profiles. Thus, in the finished barrels, each stave alternates between lightly and medium toasted American oak and cherry wood. The alternating staves were chosen to impart a more gentle cherry oak profile, rather than constructing an entire barrel out of this wood. These specially constructed barrels were then used to finish (for 10 weeks) a blend assembled by the BBC team, consisting of 7-year-old rye whiskey from MGP, and 12-year-old Canadian corn whiskey.
The effect is pretty dramatic, especially to someone who has tasted more than his fair share of sourced MGP rye whiskey over the years, as the cherry barrel-finished rye displays an assertive and complex profile of fruit and baking spice. Confectionery notes of cherry tart and toasted oak are featured heavily on the nose, while the palate is rich and redolent in cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, along with vivacious herbal notes from the MGP rye. It’s a warm, sweet dram laden in festive spice, feeling very much at home in the holiday season. It’s also a world apart from how this spirit likely tasted before entering the finishing barrel.
The people at Bardstown Bourbon Co. are certainly a fan of the profile. They liked it so much, in fact, that the inaugural rye whiskey release in their upcoming Origin Series —the debut of BBC’s own distillate, with no sourced whiskey—in early 2023 will also be finished in the same infrared toasted cherry wood barrels from WV Great Barrel Co. The Origin Series will also include two bourbons—a rye bourbon and a wheated mash bill—but by dedicating their first in-house rye to the cherry barrel process, the company has signaled how much they believe in WV Great Barrel Co.’s product, and the potential of this approach to transform the whiskey world." Paste Magazine
Bottle Size: All bottles are 750ML unless otherwise noted.
21 and Over: Adult Signature Required
