This was recommended to us when we posted our first Bourbon review Old Forester 1920 back in March. When we saw it on sale we decide to split on it.
Woodford Reserve Double Oak. 45.2% ABV. $65 CAD. From Kentucky. Finished in a second virgin charred oak barrel.
We sniff around:
We're expected something oaky and charred.
Trevor starts us off with a real nice cherry.
Simon agrees, cherry cinnamon oak. Really dark color.
Scott pulls a nuttiness.
Kyle goes for nailpolish remover. Vanilla flavored nailpolish.
Smooth nose on this one, you can shove it right in.
Fruity and vanilla forward and then behind that nailpolishy note, woody, cinnamon, and nutty. Nice nose.
We cheers.
Trevor gets the oak.
Simon agrees, it's so woody it's bitter. Cinnamon, sweet.
Scott says this is what he'd expect a devil's cut to taste like. Tastes like they squeezed this bourbon out of the wood.
Simon doesn't get the cherry note that popped on the nose. It doesn't have the corny note also we've gotten in a lot of bourbons.
Sean can get a subtle cherry. Scott too, it tastes like the cherry in the fruit salad that's managed to soak up the flavor from the other fruits so that it barely taste like cherry anymore.
We like the feel of this bourbon. Dangerously easy drinking.
Sean calls it toasty.
Kyle says the whole thing tastes like a raisin buttertart. The richness, the cinnamon, the fruitiness.
Reviews: Simon says this feels great, easy drinking. The oak is overdone tastewise. It differentiates itself from other bourbons for that reason though. Definitely enjoying it, wouldn't pick up a bottle though. 74. Kyle lands on 72. He can appreciate this is different than other bourbons. Nice mouthfeel. He wouldn't buy it but would never refuse a drink. Sean likes this one, but again that extra oakiness isn't his favorite flavor. He likes the toastiness. Good feel to it. 72 for him as well. Scott goes 76. Bourbons tend to taste similar but this one stands out. He would like to have it on his shelf for that reason alone. The oak and charred/ashy flavors are overpowering, but he likes that it's different and it is very good. Easy to forget how much you're drinking. Trevor is our highest bidder tonight at 79. This is a good example of a whisky that does one thing too well. Great nose on it though, and he also appreciates that it differentiates itself. Pairs very nicely with a cigar. There's a hole in his glass. Averages out to 74.8.
Overall: We more or less feel the same about this Double Oak. It's tasty, it's easy drinking, the overoaked note that stands out isn't any of us' favorite but we can appreciate that it allows it to stand out among the sea of otherwise fairly similar bourbons. We wouldn't point you in this direction first, but you should at least order this at a bar and try it out.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew.
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