Whiskey #5 - Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In A Second Oak Barrel
Country: United States of America
Region: Kentucky (Shivley: 38.207°N -85.795°W and Versailles: 38.113°N -84.812°W)
Mash Bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Strength: 45.2% ABV (90.4° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Non-chill Filtered
Maturation: No Age Statement in 100% New Charred Oak (twice)
Price: $49.99 (ABC Fine Wine & Spirits)

Overview

What better whiskey to send during Kentucky Derby month than a whiskey from a distillery that is recognized as the oldest remaining distillery in the Bluegrass State. Incredibly, month five brings the fourth unique whiskey classification sampled into the spotlight - a finished bourbon whiskey.

The laws regarding labels found on American Whiskey are notoriously stringent and exact. In a nutshell, a bourbon whiskey is only allowed to go from the still to a new charred oak barrel to a bottle. One mildly pedantic note - between the still and the barrel and the barrel and the bottle, you can put your bourbon into proofing vats where water is added to bring the bourbon to a desired proof. Also, bourbon can be filtered - gently (strained) or aggressively (chill-filtration) - between the barrel and the bottle.

If your bourbon's journey deviates from that formula, then you cannot legally label it as bourbon. The solution - producers apply for a label disclosing precisely how the whiskey's journey deviated from the legally approved journey and definition. Popular finished bourbons include Angel's Envy (bourbon finished in Port casks) and Maker's Mark 46 (bourbon finished with seared French Oak staves). Perusing the shelf of your favorite bottle shop, I am betting you will see numerous finished bourbons from other producers, specifically bourbons finished in ex-wine barrels. Finishing techniques afford producers great creative avenues in offering additional whiskeys without having to change the base distillate; this simultaneously preserves the pedigree and authenticity of their straight whiskey while allowing flexibility in catering to different tastes and preferences.

As for Month 5, Woodford Reserve is one of three bourbons produced by Brown Forman; Early Times and Old Forester complete their bourbon portfolio. Brown Forman proudly state that Woodford Reserve Bourbon was engineered to be a perfectly balanced bourbon with no one aspect dominating the overall whiskey. Double Oaked begins life as standard Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon. While standard Woodford Reserve has no age statement, Brown Forman have verbally stated that the bourbon is around seven years old. At this point, some Woodford Reserve is sent to the bottling line while the remaining Woodford Reserve is put in a second, brand-new barrel that has been deeply toasted and lightly charred. The whiskey spends approximately one year in its second barrel resulting in Woodford Double Oaked.

When you think about it, Woodford Double Oaked is a very expensive way to produce a whiskey - Brown Forman pays for not one, but two barrels to produce Double Oaked. And if that were not enough, last year Woodford Reserve debuted a Double Double Oaked - rather than bottle a finished Double Oaked, they instead poured it into yet another toasted and lightly charred barrel for an additional year of maturation. And since the law dictates bourbon must go into a brand new barrel, none of the barrels involved can be used again to produce bourbon. There is of course a voracious Scottish appetite for used bourbon barrels, so not all is lost for Brown Foreman as they are able to sell their old barrels to house aging single malts across the pond.

The Woodford Reserve distillery itself really is a thing of beauty and is the oldest operational distillery in the state of Kentucky. Elijah Pepper established the distillery in 1780 and his son Oscar Pepper hired a legendary Scottish chemist - Dr. James Crow - to run the distillery in the early 1800s. Dr. Crow is regarded by some to be the first distiller to document and standardize the various chemical engineering aspects of whiskey distillation. He is often credited with being the first to show analytically why the sour mash process (adding fermented mash from a previous batch to the current batch's fermentation) produced superior and consistent whiskey. While no one individual can lay claim as the creator of bourbon and a conclusive, exhaustive history of who did what and when in regard to bourbon will never be known, Dr. James Crow is held in the highest regard and is considered an undisputed titan in the early days of bourbon production and acceptance.

Should you ever visit the Woodford Reserve distillery, you will see they operate three traditional copper pot stills rather than a column still. Bourbon distilleries overwhelmingly utilize continuous column stills rather than pot stills. Woodford explains their deviation as a nod to the traditional production techniques employed at the distillery upon its founding long before the continuous column still had been invented. There is one subtlety buried in the fine print however - almost all Woodford Reserve bourbon is actually a combination of pot and column distilled whiskey with the column distilled component coming from Brown Foreman's Early Times/Old Forester Shivley Kentucky distillery. There is no official word on the proportion of pot-distilled to column-distilled whiskey in Woodford Reserve but un-aged column distillate is shipped in and mingled with the pot distillate and then put in barrels to begin its maturation. The lone exception - any whiskey released under Woodford Reserve's Master's Collection has to date been produced exclusively using distillate from Woodford's traditional pot stills.

One final Woodford tidbit - Lincoln Henderson was Woodford's first master distiller when the distillery was un-mothballed in the early 1990s. During his forty year tenure with Brown Foreman, Lincoln Henderson not only created Woodford Reserve but also Gentleman Jack and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. One of Lincoln's rejected proposals during his time at Woodford's helm was an ex-port barrel finished variant of Woodford Reserve. A few years after retiring, Lincoln and his son Wes decided to resurrect that port-finished bourbon idea and open their own distillery - Angel's Envy.

Tasting Notes

Group Impressions

Yet again another month of fantastic and intriguing impressions. Many noted sweetness and wood. Spice and/or alcohol burn was noted to wildly varying degrees which illustrates just how subjective taste is - there are no wrong impressions here. Interestingly, water and ice was considered to wash the whiskey out far too much with most enjoyment yielded by sipping neat. Thanks again to all, we'll celebrate by raising a glass of Month Six's sample in June!

Jonathan Quayle Higgins
Color
Yowzers, the color is incredibly dark brown/copper. Knowing this is a bourbon where artificial color is illegal, it is staggering to see the color achieved here and really shows the color-inducing power of new charred oak barrels.

Nose
Surprisingly no woody resin at all. Carmel, big caramel hit right off the bat. Caramelized sawdust. A green lumber (mild). Mocha, chocolate. A wisp of coffee. A wisp of cherry. A wisp of apple. My oh my what a delightful nose, really inviting.

Taste
Whoa, rush of spice, unexpected rush of spice, peppery. Amazing rush of spice considering I did not get a whisper of it on the nose. Like being surprised by a black racer while walking through your yard. No harshness. Medium-high prickle. Coffee note persists on the taste. The initial rush of spice/pepper hides the bourbon taste until the mid-palate. Half-way through the taste, the bourbon comes through though. Amazing sensation - it’s like the bourbon is wrapped in a pepper shell that you have to break away. There is a buttery smoothness on back-end of the sip, this is a testament to the whiskey not being chill-filtered I suspect. On the tail-end of the taste, just a tad of tannic bitterness comes out; not surprising given this whiskey’s ferocious wood exposure.

Finish
Medium length. No kentucky hug. No drying finish. Coffee and a bit of brown sugar. Mild pepper. Some mocha/chocolate as well; reminds me of Mexican chocolate with chili peppers.

Overall
Before this sample, I had only ever consumed a half-ounce pour of Woodford Double Oaked. This is quite an interesting whiskey and not what I was expecting before popping the cork. I feel the nose runs circles around the taste - it is a heavenly smell coming from the glass. The spice/pepper on the taste was unexpected and I dare say a bit too powerful for my tastes. The sweetness battles the spice with the spice going all 12 rounds and getting the unanimous decision at the end.

It’s easy to roll your eyes at the pedantic and exact nature of labeling laws, but this whiskey cemented in my mind the importance of said labeling laws. This does not taste of a traditional bourbon to me and if it were allowed to be labeled as a bourbon alone, it would be quite confusing to me as a consumer. I tasted the Double Oaked alongside normal Woodford Reserve (on Derby Day no less!) and it really was staggering how significant an impact that additional year in a new barrel had on the bourbon. Normal Woodford had a fraction of the spice influence found in Double Oaked. I would love to know the chemistry behind how the second barrel acts as an amplifier for the spice.

For my second pour, I used the Double Oaked in an Old Fashioned (two parts Double Oaked, one part Knob Creek Rye, one tablespoon of pure maple syrup, and six dashes of Peychaud's bitters) and kudos to Woodford - the Double Oaked’s character stood up tall and proud in the cocktail. It was a delicious cocktail but I have to ask myself - why would I use a $50+ whiskey in a cocktail? Personally, I have zero issue spending premium dollars on a premium whiskey, but my one rule is a whiskey that commands a premium price must be enjoyable neat first and enjoyable on ice or in cocktails second. I cannot say today that I enjoy Woodford Reserve Double Oaked neat. That rush of spice is a tad off-putting to me and I say that as a straight rye whiskey fan.

For my money and personal tastes, I will be sticking with normal Woodford Reserve. I enjoy sipping normal Woodford neat and I use it in conjunction with a feistier bourbon when making cocktails. That is not to say that I dislike Double Oaked, it’s just not worth the price premium over normal Woodford to my tastes and use. Really a fun whiskey to try and I am certainly grateful that Brown Forman go to the expense to produce Double Oaked.

Waldo Norris
Appearance:
This is certainly the darkest of the samples we have received. A deep copper color, certainly lend to some of the flavor compounds.  It seems that the legs run quite fast down the side of the cup and don’t stick around long.

Smell:
Smells of dark fruits (or dried fruits) come across strongly on the nose. Plums, raisins are mixed with a strong smell of vanilla.

Taste:
I really liked this, and my immediate thought was how I could see this being a great addition to my collection. It is very drinkable neat, and was even better with a few drops of h20. I also added an ice cube to this, as I really enjoy a single small ice cube in many of the whiskeys i drink, but I did find that it watered it down, where much of the goodness was lost. This has a very soft flavor up front, a good overall bite, not too strong, and a soft finish. It disappears from the palette quite quickly after the swallow.

Overall:
As I hinted, I enjoyed this, albeit, not in my normal way with a single ice cube. I preferred this neat, it simply gave me the most flavor, and given the great balance to the spice, I felt this was more than adequate for this particular whiskey. I do believe we have a bourbon, but given my relatively new foray into this Whiskey learning process, I could easily have picked a scotch as well. Most of my experience with scotches have been heavily peated scotches, and I’m not picking up on that here. I would guess this is a fairly youthful whiskey, with a middle of the road 80 proof. After last months sample, overall I would say this is a simple, straightforward whiskey, nothing terribly unique about it, but given the sample last month… anything is.

Apollo
At first glance this one looked interesting. It had a very dark brown, almost reddish color and long-lasting legs. After a whiff, though, I wasn't so sure. It had a strong smell of alcohol and and it smelled rather sweet, which, for me, wasn't very appealing.

I sampled it neat, as usual, and was initially unimpressed. It tasted just as sweet as it smelled, and that's a lot more sweetness than I like in a whiskey. As far as the tasting notes, I noticed a caramel flavor and possibly something fruity. It had a pretty strong alcohol burn at first, but that lessened as I worked my way through the glass.

I'm thinking this was either a higher proof whiskey, or a young one, because of the burn. Based on the color and the sweetness, I'm going to guess that this one was a bourbon.

While I initially thought that I didn't like it at all, it did grow on me a bit as I drank it. I don't think I would choose to drink it very often, but it was interesting how my impression had improved by the end of the sample. Then again, that might just be another indication that it's higher proof!

Keoki
One of the great things about food and drink is how it ties us to memories.  Some foods take me back to childhood. It's a nice little reminder of the past.

However, bourbon and I have a checkered past.

Cheap bourbon was drunk on way too many college nights---generally the cheapest rotgut I could buy.

Because of this, I have an aversion to the smell. Or at least I thought I did.

Upon smelling the sample I immediately knew it was bourbon, not Scotch. Bourbon has a unique, almost yeasty smell to me. Now, I generally don't enjoy bourbon because I feel it is too sweet.

This months sample had a darker color than most scotch color. It held to the glass well. I decided to drink it neat.

I'll tell you, it wasn't bad. Bad college memories didn't surface. I actually enjoyed the drink---not as much as scotch, mind you---but still, not bad. Sometimes when I tell people who don't drink scotch or bourbon how sweet (most) bourbons are (especially compared to scotch), they don't believe me. It is, however the first thing I tasted. It almost needs a little water to cut through the intensity. Besides that, I tasted brown sugar and vanilla on the nose/tongue.

Before the tasting, I would never go for bourbon at a party if scotch was not available. This may change my mind. Certainly not every time, but I'm not opposed to it either.

What will be interesting is if I can distinguish any differences between other bourbons in the coming months---it's a new world for me.

Michael Doheny
We're drinkin', my friend, to the end of a brief episode.

House rules are as follows, first sample, straight. Second sample, splash of water to keep you honest, and lastly on the rocks, as God intended.

Her body was a perfect copper, like the skin of a dame you may find sunbathing at the beautiful Cal Neva Lodge and Casino in Tahoe. She had a sweet and exotic scent to her. Like when your Pop would bring back a candy from when he’d been on the road. Her legs were long a sweeping, like a golden wave receding from the shore.

First taste had a smack of a hot toddy, a toffy, or bite of caramel met with a rush of warmth. I steeped the drink in my mouth and then down the gullet it went. A sharp burn accompanied the liquid as something inside of me started a symphony of heat and definitely had me intrigued. A couple more sips and the flavors danced in my mouth. There seemed to be a soft oak or woody flavor whispering to my tongue. When I drew air into my mouth it unbuttoned a tobacco scent of taste. The last taste was smooth, with virtually none of the burn, just a glowing warmth between my gums.

Second sample, after the water did that crazy witchcraft, was like a whole different cat. Her color was no longer that Coppertone knockout, this was some floozy at a gin joint on the outskirts of Vegas. I wafted it towards me an wondered Why doesn't the breeze delight me? Even that sweet scent was vacant. The legs were runny, weak, and all over the place. The splash of water took the starch right out of this sample. Any heat was eratidaced and the flavor was washed out, like favorite, faded shirt. It reminded me of flavored ice cream, like when my mom would get me a scoop of rum raisin as a kid. I can't believe it, it's hard to conceive it, the spirit had no fight left in it all.

Would ice make this dame sparkle or sink her like the titanic? I poured the 2oz over the ice. I still get the same old tingle that I feel inside when I hear that ice crack. Her color was like a skin of some young philly who was on her first day by the pool, with liberal dose of sunscreen. Smell was overwhelmed by the diffusing ice. Then, something that simply mystifies me, the flavor was completely changed. It wasn’t exotic or tasty, it was like burnt popcorn. There was a bitterness that stained the liquid and was augmented by a sharp and lasting burn. It was like licking batteries a kid. I let the ice and water tame it a bit, but in doing so the flavor was sunk like that White Star liner. It was almost tasteless by the end. The final swallows were a mercy for the once proud dame.

What do I think this is, well I got plenty o'nothin'.

Since it reacted similarly to ice the way Deanston had back in tasting number one, I’m going to say it is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Zeus
Appearance:
Dark amber, perhaps the darkest from the samples. Decent legs.

Smell:
Woody, sweet, spicy are my thoughts when I first breathed it in. Fruity seemed to come through. Maybe a raisin smell. Very nice, almost my ideal scent.

Taste:
Nice taste on touch down. No major burn. Very balanced. Woody taste was not as apparent as I thought it would be based on the smell. Not terribly strong taste. Almost like water was already added to it. Wait a minute, did someone WATER DOWN MY SAMPLE?!!?!!!

After adding rocks it weakened the taste more. Far more then I like.

Finish:
After a few seconds I did get a much stronger burn then I expected.  Woody taste came through a little more. It fades quick, maybe 5 seconds top.

After adding rocks it had no noticeable burn.

General Thoughts:
I'm pretty confused on what this could be. I think it's probably a bourbon. However, it could be a very smooth mild Scotch. Overall this is an excellent sipping whiskey. Most whiskeys have me yearning to put rocks into shortly after taking it neat. This guy made me finish it without wanting to nab some ice cubes on my first pour. Adding rocks was far too much. Definitely not a high proof whiskey.

Carol Baldwin
Appearance: golden brown

Smell: butterscotch, wood, tobacco, leather

Taste:
Neat, first sip was very sharp with a strong alcohol burn. In subsequent sips the initial sharpness remained, but the hint of woody butterscotch background flavor peeked through.

Finish: Astringent, woody.

General Thoughts:
The smell drew me in; it seemed lucious and decadent with warm butterscotch and hints of wood and leather. I was surprised that the taste when sampled neat was not so complex on my tongue. The flavor was immediately sharp with a fiery alcohol burn. The finish was bitter and astringent. A single ice cube brought out a hint of the flavors I smelled. It seems this whiskey's flavor profile does improve with a tiny bit of dilution. The finish remained astringent.