Woodford Reserve Distillery Series Double Double Oaked 2019

Love this! Velvety smooth, and I enjoyed the taste of cherries with the finish.

Buttery smooth. I could drink this all night long!

Tasted alongside their standard offering and double oaked at the distillery. The WR high-rye backbone is apparent throughout. The original double oaked ha the strongest nose and the double double wound up with the most subdued nose. Color progression from standard WR up to this demonstrated a step toward darker honey with the double double having an almost red-honey hue. If WR is rye bread, apples, peaches, cut grass and pepper with a bit of leather then double oaked is butterscotch, rye roll, cinnamon, toasted almonds and a bit of oak char. This, double double is their standard mashbill aged 5-8? years and then left in a new heavily toasted (40min), lightly charred new oak barrel for 2 years rather than 8-12 months. Start to finish the mash goes into copper still #1 and by #3 comes off at 158 proof. It’s then diluted to 110 for barreling. Again, the only difference between off the shelf double oaked and this double double offering is an additional 12mo in the second, newly toasted barrel. Nose again is subdued with rye bread backbone, less butterscotch and a whiff of herbal tea. It reminds me a lot of Willett in that sense. The palate is full of oak, dusty nutmeg, marzipan, tobacco and a soft rye, butterscotch and cherry finish. Fantastic stuff but I do wish the finish was longer and the mouth feel heavier as others have noted. At $50 for a 375 it’s pricy but against a Willet product is comparably priced for a simile profile. It’s years beyond their standard offering and sure to please anyone who likes their double oak. Admittedly I bought 2... maybe I’ll have more impulse control next year?

The nose is basically the same as regular double oaked, but the taste is much more intense while still managing to be smooth. Powerful notes of both vanilla and, somehow, chocolate along with tobacco.