Ctrexman
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
May 10, 2020 (edited February 25, 2022)
Im a fan of Woodford Reserve standard issue. I find it quite good. I really have held off getting this as a lot of reviews state how bitter and over oaked this is. While I do find more oak there is much more to discover here as well. Poured neat, nose is heavy and full with coffee bean, marshmallow, chocolate, urethane and seasoned oak. Rest it and raw vanilla and maple will appear. Creamy mouthfeel leads to rich cappuccino, more chocolate and marshmallow with sturdy balancing oak and mild smoky spice. Finish is cookie dough, vanilla and drying barrel with a touch of char. Slightly bitter but offsets the sweetness and turns into a cocoa note. This is a blast of confections and nowhere near over oaked imo. The extra sweetness picked up by the double barrel approach is splendid for this sweet tooth. Probably the most chocolate bourbon Ive had but its not in a flavored way just a natural progression of the ageing...........Real tasty stuff 90/100
46.0
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double oak Woodford is one of the real treasures on the shelf, and will open your eyes to what rebarreling can actually do, no nothing "oakey" about it.
Try in an old fashioned with chocolate bitters....
@dhsilv2 I may have to get a standard bottle of this to make a final judgement. This may just be a bad batching. It is an ABC store pick, which means who knows who actually picked it out?
@BDanner the store picks ARE a blend, but the store does get to try different batches. I assume they are smaller batches. The ones I've had have been straight vanilla extract bombs and distinactly different from the core while still having the same base characteristics.
@dhsilv2 that’s one reason I’ve been hesitant to review it. It’s also a store pick, though I’ve read that they don’t do a “Single Barrel” offerings so store picks are just regular Double Oak. I don’t want to be unfair to it.
@BDanner I can't get that bitter thing. To me this is something I have litterally poured on pancakes with syrup. It's that sweet to me :)
@Jan-Kaselitz You seem to be drinking some higher end scotch for many reviews. I wouldnt get entry level bourbons as they may start you off on the wrong foot. Look for something with an age statement such as Evan Williams single barrel or Russell reserve 10 yr. You also seem to fine with cask strength so Knob Creek single barrel reserve and Old Forester 1920 are great choices. Bakers and Makers46 are also different and very good. Guess it depends whats available in your area. Happy hunting
I just can't decide how I feel about this one. I'm about half way through a bottle and haven't been able to come to a consensus. Some times I find it good and sometimes it hits my palate as too bitter.
@Jan-Kaselitz All of those are good starting point for bourbon. Malt Scotch, as you know, can vary so much based on distillation processes, type of barley, type of barrels used, etc. One variable that you find in bourbon is the mashbill. The majority of bourbons are made from corn, rye and barley. Some bourbons add wheat instead of rye or on addition to it. So if you explore bourbon, pay attention to the mashbill. A low rye bourbon will be quite different than a high rye bourbon. One thing you don't have on your list is a wheated bourbon (corn, wheat and barley). You might want to try one, like Makers Mark. And if you're interested in some bourbon samples, let me know!
For the money and availability it's hard to beat this stuff. easily one of the bottles I rebuy the most of. I'm a fan without a doubt.
@Jan-Kaselitz I’m in the same boat, slowly starting to explore Bourbon. Would recommend the EH Taylor Small Batch, Four Roses Single Barrel, and Eagle Rare I’ve tried so far.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one! I had always heard there was a lot of chocolate or fudge notes but I didn’t think it was over powering in any way. Such a good balance throughout.
I never had bourbon (just because scotch alone has to much to offer) but was thinking of trying one, just to know where the cask style of most scotch whiskies is coming from. By the looks of it this might be a good starting point? I was thinking Woodford Reserve, Four Roses, Bulleit, Buffalo Trace, Knob Creek or Blantons - which are the ones I hear the most good things about. Still don’t know because I don’t know anything about it.
@RLDN106 Its pretty damn good i would say go for it if you like sweet bourbon.
This is going for $56 here in NYC. Want to grab a bottle, those marshmallow notes sound delicious!