Heaven Hill Grain To Glass 2025: Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, 2nd Edition

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this sample with no strings attached.

Friends, I am on vacation. If everything is going well, I’m in northern California, possibly in the RV I rented, enjoying either a glass of wine, a bit of bourbon, or maybe—just maybe—a little bit of the devil’s lettuce. Hard to tell what I’ll be in the mood for by that point. Because, as you might have guessed, I am writing to you from the deep past…oooohhhh…I’m a spooky ghost…

Or something like that.

So, we’ve covered the other two variations of this release. Heaven Hill was nice enough to send over the Rye initially, then I bought the Bourbon (and another bottle of the Rye). Now they were kind enough to send me the final of the three. This one is a wheated bourbon. Since we’ve already talked about this series twice before, I’ll just skip to what the press release says:

The 2025 edition features a mashbill with a higher secondary grain content than Heaven Hill's traditional Wheated Bourbon mashbill: 35% wheat, 52% corn, and 13% malted barley. The selected corn varietal—Beck's 6225, along with the mashbill's wheat component are grown by family-owned Peterson Farms on one of two sites in Nelson County, reflects the distillery's dedication to sourcing local, carefully chosen grain. Aged over six years at Heaven Hill's Cox's Creek rickhouse site, the whiskey is non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel proof, 106.6 proof (53.3% ABV).

Ok. Let’s see how it tastes:

Heaven Hill Grain To Glass 2025: Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, 2nd Edition

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $99.99 for a 700 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 ml): $7.14

Details: Mash bill: 35% wheat, 52% corn, and 13% malted barley. Corn varietal: Beck's 6225. Bottled at 53.3% ABV. Distilled in 2018. Six years old.

Nose: Cinnamon candy, floral vanilla, caramel, and oak.

Mouth: Nutty with notes of cinnamon spice, caramel, vanilla, and oak.

Finish: Warm and medium to long with lingering notes of nutty chocolate, oak, and baking spices.

IMAGE: a smiley face. I drew it. it means I liked the product.

Thoughts: This is just as delicious as the other two. It’s warm and spicy with a terrific nutty note throughout. I’m a big fan. That said, if I were buying and had to choose between this and the “ryed” bourbon, I’d go for the ryed bourbon—I prefer the spicier flavor over the nuttiness of the wheat. Out of the three, the rye whiskey was my favorite. But they’re all delicious, and this one is no exception.

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Whiskey Jypsi Tribute Double Barreled Bourbon

I’d like to thank the folks at Whiskey Jypsi and their PR team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Small sample bottle of Whiskey Jypsi Tribute Double Barreled Bourbon, with a bright yellow label, on a wooden deck rail and greenery blurred in the background.

My friends, I am going on vacation. And you can’t imagine how excited I am to get two weeks with just my wife and myself—no guest dogs, no clients, nothing. Just the RV and the open road. Oh, and a football game. My beloved Golden Gophers are playing at Cal on our wedding anniversary, so I had to get us tickets since we’ll be in the right part of the state for at least part of the trip.

And yes, my wife is a fan as well. I’ve been married a long time and have already learned the lesson of not dragging her to something she wouldn’t enjoy on our anniversary. Just in case anyone was worried for my safety.

Whiskey Jypsi is a… you know what? I’m writing the next three weeks of these posts tonight. Let’s let the PR people handle the description on this one. Why let their hard work go to waste?

Whiskey Jypsi Tribute Double Barreled Bourbon - Born from the collaboration between country music icon Eric Church and entrepreneur Raj Alva, Tribute Whiskey reflects the spirit of adventure and freedom at the heart of the “JYPSI Spirit”, the idea that we’re all born beautifully wild. Designed with creativity and quality in mind, Tribute Double Barreled Bourbon is crafted from rare, heirloom grains, including reclaimed Cherokee White Corn from small family farms. Distilled under the guidance of master distiller Ari Sussman, it’s aged a minimum of four years in new charred American oak, then re-barreled for 3–6 months to extract maximum flavor. Bottled at 86-proof, the result is a smooth, complex bourbon with rich vanilla and caramel notes, perfect for sipping neat, on the rocks, or in a late-summer cocktail.

So there you go. That’s what I know about this one. I’m not usually a fan of “vanity brands” in the whiskey world. Sometimes they’re good, but most of the time they leave a lot to be desired. Let’s see if this one is just branding or if it actually tastes good.

Whiskey Jypsi Tribute Double Barreled Bourbon

Purchase Info: This sample was provided to me at no cost for review purposes. The Suggested Retail Price is $44.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.00

Details: 4-years-old. 43% ABV.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, nutmeg, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy with notes of almond, vanilla, caramel, baking spice, and oak.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Herbal notes, vanilla, almond, and baking spice linger.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face which denotes that I like the product.

Thoughts: I found the nose very reminiscent of Evan Williams. The mouth was initially much hotter and spicier than I expected from the nose. Under the heat are fairly stereotypical bourbon notes. The finish adds an herbal note that was unexpected at first but melded into the whole after a few sips. All in all, I like the whiskey.

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Remus Repeal Reserve Series IX

I’d like to thank Ross & Squibb and their entire PR team for providing this with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Bottle of Remus Repeal Reserve IX Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 104 proof, on a wooden deck rail with trees and greenery blurred in the background.

Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America;
At the Second Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the fifth
day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-three

--

JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

--

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is hereby proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:

"Article —

"SECTION 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

"SECTION 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

"SECTION 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress."

And so, just shy of 92 years ago, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution—and National Prohibition—was repealed. All in all, it’s a short piece of law. The introduction is longer than the amendment itself. What it lacked in size, it made up for in consequence. First and foremost, it allowed the Federal Government to get out of the way of a citizen's ability to have a drink. There were, of course, other consequences. The one most pertinent to tonight's post is that it also allowed the murderous scofflaws and bootleggers of the Prohibition era to fade into the sort of romanticized characters that only the distance of time can allow—people such as George Remus: pharmacist, bootlegger, lawyer, and murderer. 

Remus was a pharmacist turned Chicago criminal defense lawyer. In Daniel Okrent's book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, Remus is described as having an inside look at the workings of Prohibition and the immense profits to be made outside the law. His plan was far more sophisticated than a smash-and-grab. He ended up buying both distillery stocks and brands (including names like Fleischmann's and Jack Daniel's), as well as a pharmacy where he could sell those stocks as medicinal products.

He would legally withdraw bourbon from bonded warehouses, but on the way to his pharmacy, the trucks would sometimes be “hijacked.” Of course, they were hijacked by his own men. Why would he divert the booze into an illegal market when he could profit from both the sale of liquor to his pharmacy and to the public? Well, that's pretty easy when you think of why he got into it in the first place. The profits are higher on the black market since there are no taxes to be paid on it.

On May 17, 1922, The New York Times reported that Remus was charged with conspiring to violate Prohibition laws. He and 13 others were sentenced to the Atlanta penitentiary for terms ranging from a year and a day to two years, depending on the defendant. Okrent notes that Remus’s cell was posh—decorated with flowers, where he was even waited on by servants. During his time behind bars, his wife took up with another man, and together they burned through the fortune he had accumulated. (Some stories claim this man was the agent who put Remus behind bars; others say he was an undercover agent in the prison who learned of Remus’s wealth and took advantage of the situation.)

In either case, newspaper reports state that his wife’s affair drove him temporarily insane—long enough that he had his chauffeur chase down the car she was riding in so he could shoot her in front of her daughter from a previous marriage. Even in the earliest trial reports, though, there’s an undercurrent suggesting what truly enraged him was the loss of his money. For this crime, he was committed to an insane asylum for a very short time (about three weeks) before he “proved” he was sane and was released.

After that, he lived in Cincinnati for the rest of his life and, as far as I can tell, stayed on the right side of the law. Today, he gets mentioned in discussions of Prohibition but is otherwise mostly forgotten—aside from having a bourbon brand named after him. People love to celebrate that time period. Although maybe he’s not the type of person who should have been celebrated.

The bourbon, though, is well worth celebrating—especially the yearly Remus Repeal Reserve. So let’s talk about this year’s release, shall we? Series IX is bottled at 104 proof, the highest yet for one of these editions. As always, it’s a blend of mashbills and ages: 7% 18-year-old MGP 21% rye bourbon, 26% 11-year-old MGP 36% rye bourbon, 23% 10-year-old MGP 36% rye bourbon, and 44% 10-year-old MGP 21% rye bourbon. 

So let’s see how it tastes.

Remus Repeal Reserve Series IX

Purchase Info: This bottle was sent at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $99.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67

Details: A blend of 18-year-old MGP 21% rye bourbon (7%), 11-year-old MGP 36% rye bourbon (26%), 10-year-old MGP 36% rye bourbon (23%), and 10-year-old MGP 21% rye bourbon (44%). 52% ABV.

Nose: Oak, stone fruit, cotton candy, vanilla, almond, and a hint of baking spice underneath.

Mouth: Spicy and sweet with a good bit of oak. Notes of vanilla, caramel, baking spice, almond, stone fruit, and oak.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth with notes of oak, baking spice, and a touch of almond.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face. It denotes that I like the product.

Thoughts: Another delicious release in a long line of delicious Remus Repeal Reserve releases. I'm really digging the rich and thick mouthfeel. There is a lot of oak throughout, but not so much that it is overwhelming. The baking spice and vanilla give it a" classic bourbon" flavor profile that the stone fruit elevates. All in all, I will be buying this if and when I see it, so I think it is safe to say I like it. 

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2025

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR team for sending this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A sample bottle of Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch bourbon sits on a wooden deck rail, surrounded by lush greenery in the background. Label lists four 13–19 year recipes.

It’s that time of year again when we look forward to bourbon that most of us will never taste. It’s the annual Autumn Release Season, when Kentucky distilleries put out products designed to get people talking about their brand. Though many of us have salivated at the thought of trying these releases, everyone involved knows they’re primarily marketing tools. You hear glowing reviews from folks like me, can’t find a bottle, and maybe you’ll pick up one of the brand’s standard offerings instead.

Honestly, I’m sure that’s still the rationale. But more and more, I’m hearing people scoff at the price rather than salivate over the opportunity. For example, I bought my first two bottles of the 2009 edition of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch in 2011 for $80 each. They sat on shelves that long. In fact, the first bottle I picked up was at a bourbon tasting hosted by a local distributor trying to clear out the inventory so they could make room for that year’s release.

In the years since—and noting that $80 was the retail price in my area, which tends to be higher than MSRP due to local taxes—the price of the release has jumped an eye-popping 311%. If it had only kept pace with inflation, that $80 would be $117.35 today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator. At $249 per bottle, I can see why people are scoffing. In fact, I got this comment on last year’s review that sums up what I’ve been hearing perfectly (edited slightly for clarity):

I last purchased Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition in 2014 for $75.00. It became harder to find, and once the price exceeded 125? I tapped out. I would enter the yearly Mellow Moments Club raffles mostly for fun, and if I happened to get picked? Good excuse for a quick trip to KY LOL!! These days, the prices are so out of whack (Four Roses certainly wasn’t losing money in ‘14 @75 bucks !!), I refuse to be gouged, and that’s what these prices are. This is no longer a cool release geared toward enthusiasts, but instead a pure profit and marketing gimmick aimed at flippers. I, too, am a Four Roses fanboy, but these days I’ll stick to the standard shelf releases (all excellent IMO) while the hoards swarm to Single Barrel Barrel Proof (an absurd $100 these days when Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is $75-$80) and the Limited Edition. I lament no longer seeking Single Barrel Barrel Proof as 10.5 years old is my personal sweet spot, and several recipes are all time favorites. I sincerely hope that at some point, many of these sit on shelves and rot as consumers wake up, and perhaps producers will restore sanity to at least the Single Barrel Barrel Proof pricing. Even with inflation, the Single Barrel Barrel Proof price should not exceed the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof price level in the current inflationary market. The gouging is simply unacceptable to this long-time Four Roses consumer.

In an era of distillery closings, bankruptcies, and industry layoffs, continuing to price your core customers out of the market doesn’t seem like the best strategy. And I know that if the folks actually making the whiskey had their say, they’d want everyone who wanted a bottle to get one. That’s one reason why this year’s release includes over 16,500 bottles for the U.S. market alone. In fact, Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott addressed this during the media call Q&A. Here’s a transcription of his answer—with bracketed text showing my best guess of some garbled audio:

I don't really ever hear criticism, but maybe [there’s] a negative outlook for the future of the category. I try to stay positive. I mean, we're still, as a brand, we're growing out of [a category that’s] facing a lot of challenges. And whether those are, you know, is it cyclical? Is it economic? Is it [a] post-COVID wake-up call because that sort of artificially inflated everything? Is it all that? Is it a little bit of all these things? I don't know. But obviously, it's a more challenging environment than it was even three years ago. So I just tell everyone, don't worry. You know, we're not going anywhere. We're still going to be [here]. We're actually probably more energized and offering more unique expressions than ever before. So, you know, speaking from Four Rose's perspective, nothing but positivity, you know, no worries here.

At a time when more consumers are turning to non-alcoholic options or increasingly legal cannabis products, raising the price from $220 last year to $249 this year feels like quite a choice. But it is what it is. And though I can’t swing $250 a bottle, I know some of you can—so I’ll stop here and get to the review. Because at the end of the day, this is delicious bourbon, and I’m lucky my wife and I each got a taste. I know that’s a privilege many folks don’t have.

Before we jump into the tasting notes, let’s look at the details from the media call. This year’s release was built around two batches of 13-year-old bourbon, both using the V yeast (one OESV, one OBSV). Master Distiller Brent Elliott wanted to capture a bit of the “classic Four Roses flavor profile.” Famously, the flagship Four Roses Single Barrel uses that V yeast (and if you want to know more about that whole Four Roses yeast bit, check out last year’s review where I focused on that exclusively). The V strain typically brings notes of apricot, pear, and sweet barrel characteristics like vanilla. Building on that, the final blend also includes a 19-year-old OESV for added oak influence and a 13-year-old OBSK to bring in spice and depth. Here’s the final blend:

  • OBSV 13 year old = 38%

  • OBSK 13 year old= 17%

  • OESV 13 year old= 35%

  • OESV 19 year old= 10%

And now, after all of that, let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2025

Purchase Info: This 100 mL sample was provided at no cost by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $249 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $16.60

Details: 54.5% ABV. A blend of 38% 13-year-old OBSV, 17% 13-year-old OBSK, 35% 13-year-old OESV, and 10% 19-year-old OESV.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, stone fruit, JuicyFruit gum, herbal mint, and oak.

Mouth: Follows the nose with notes of stone fruit, herbal mint, JuicyFruit gum, cinnamon, caramel, allspice, and oak.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of clove, allspice, cinnamon, and oak.

IMAGE: a hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: I’ve already covered my feelings about the price. And I’ve mentioned how tasty this is. But let’s dig a little deeper. When I think of Four Roses, I think of stone fruit and JuicyFruit gum—the flavor it had back in the '80s and '90s when I was a kid chewing it (not really sure if that has changed in the intervening years). This was built around those flavors, and it shows. Last year, I said the bourbon was good, but I wouldn’t have identified it as Four Roses by taste alone. This year? No question. It’s Four Roses through and through. It’s a really good bourbon. But if, like me, you can’t—or won’t—pay the premium, go grab a bottle of Single Barrel or Small Batch. They’ve never let me down.

And as a final word on price, Four Roses are not the only ones that are following what seems (to this consumer) to be a strange pricing strategy for the time we are living in, they all are. I fear that the industry I love will increasingly price the people who built it out of the market and that there won’t be a following group of consumers to pick up the slack so that we still get yummy bourbons into our old age. So I feel like I should mention that Four Roses is actually putting out some special releases that are more affordable. Their 100 proof Single Barrel Collection (Red Labels) is MSRP of $50 each, if you can find it and your retailer is able to sell it for that. I bought two in July while traveling in Chicago so I know they’re out there.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Revisited: Rebel Bourbon Single Barrel, 10-Years-Old

I’d like to thank Lux Row Distillery and their PR team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A bottle of Rebel 10-Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey sits on a wooden railing with trees in the background. The word "REVISITED" is overlaid in large blue text at the bottom.

Hey folks! It’s bonus post time!

This one would have warranted its own main post, but this is one of those times that my aging memory got the best of me. See, I just revisited this just over a year ago. And I really don’t have much to say beyond what I said then. However, they were nice enough to send it over when I asked so I figured I should at least give it the proper tasting treatment. So here are 2025’s tasting notes for Rebel 10-year-old Single Barrel.

Rebel Bourbon Single Barrel, 10-Years-Old

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer at no cost. The suggested retail price is $99.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67

Nose: Oak, cinnamon candies, caramel, vanilla, menthol/mint, and just a hint of cherry under it all.

Mouth: Nice spice, but not too hot. Notes of Cinnamon, mint, oak, and cherry.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Notes of cinnamon, caramel, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smile that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: This is one of the more reliable bottles that I've picked up over the years. And yes, I do pick it up whenever I see it on the shelf. Just finished a bottle from our May trip to Kentucky. It is always delicious, and this sample is no exception. Thick and rich in the mouth with nice spice but not so much heat that you need to add water or ice. A finish that hangs around long enough to think about without fading to unpleasantness. A year later, and I still really like this.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Woodinville Whiskey Co. 9-year-old Bourbon

I’d like to thank Woodinville Whiskey Co. and their PR team for providing this bottle with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A bottle of Woodinville 9-Year-Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, labeled as 100 proof and 50% ABV, sits on a wooden railing with a green, wooded background.

I’m watching a four-and-a-half-month-old puppy this week, so I’ll be heavily cribbing from the press release while trying to keep both eyes on him and still type something at least mostly coherent. Luckily, the producer was nice enough to send over a separate press release that provides a detailed explanation of exactly what went into the barrel this bourbon was aged in, so I’ll be reproducing that in its entirety below. Because while I have a healthy disdain for marketing in all its forms from having worked in various agencies and corporate marketing departments over the years, I thought this was a pretty informative read. Just keep in mind that while producers don’t typically lie, the story they tell is usually crafted to flatter themselves. And as knowing that is just part of being media-savvy, I’m sure you already knew that. But I thought I’d mention it just in case. Anyway, here it is.

24 Month Open-Air Seasoned, Heavy Toast Light Char
Could it be the best bourbon barrel ever?

Over a decade ago Woodinville founders Brett Carlile and Orlin Sorensen set out to establish, once and for all, what kind of barrel would make the best bourbon in the world.

This would not be a quick or typical process. Methods? Everything on the table. Industry norms? Goodbye. Budget? None. Woodinville was still a young distillery then but Brett and Orlin saw this quest as an investment. Since it’s generally accepted that over 70% of the flavor and character of a bourbon comes from its barrel, it seemed to them they’d need the best barrel in the world if they wanted to make the best bourbon in the world.

Woodinville’s partners at Independent Stave Company, the foremost barrel cooper in America, were game. Let’s run a test, they suggested, and see what happens. ISC presented eight different barrel types:

  • #1 Char Standard Kiln-Dried

  • #2 Char Standard Kiln-Dried

  • #3 Char Standard Kiln-Dried

  • #4 Char Standard Kiln-Dried

  • #3 Char 18-Month Open-Air Seasoned

  • #5 Char 18-Month Open-Air Seasoned

  • Heavy Toast/Light Char 24-Month Open-Air Seasoned

  • Thin-Stave Barrel

Whiskey industry standard is a kiln-dried barrel at #3 or #4 char. Chars #1 and #2 are rarely used in bourbon, and because of the extra time it takes, “open-air seasoning” costs way more than a kiln-dried barrel. Extra time is on-brand for Woodinville, a distillery that refused to sell its flagship bourbon until it was a minimum of five years old, so this open-air method seemed promising. It involves exposing the staves (the wood planks used to build a barrel) to rain, sun, wind, everything the elements can throw at them. This process promotes a deterioration of the wood polymers, creating smaller molecules that can be more efficiently transformed during charring and toasting. (Non-scientific translation: It basically gives you more of the “good stuff”.)

After ISC’s coopers turn those seasoned staves into a barrel, the careful art of toasting and charring begins. Toasting is the process of setting the barrel cylinder over a fire for 30 to 45 minutes without the fire ever actually touching the wood, During toasting, the inside of the barrel is heated, which caramelizes the natural sugars and creates a “red layer” in the wood. When you take a sip of whiskey and detect notes of vanilla, caramel, and toffee, what you’re tasting is the result of the toasting process.

Charring, on the other, is done by lighting the inside of the barrel on fire for 20 to 60 seconds. This creates a layer of char on the surface of the wood, which acts as a filter for the young whiskey, as well as adding color and notes of dried fruit, oak, and spice.

Brett and Orlin filled the eight test barrels with new-make whiskey and waited. And waited. And waited. Four-and-a-half-years later, the whiskies were ready for analysis by gas chromatograph at ISC. The heavily toasted, lightly charred barrel made from 24-month open-air seasoned staves was found to have significantly higher amounts of whiskey’s favorite core compounds: furfural (sweetness, almond, baked bread), vanillin (vanilla, creaminess), and phenols, namely guaiacol (smoky, spicy) and 4-methyl guaiaco/ (sweet, candy, clove, leather). But they couldn’t declare their mission complete just yet.

Brett and Orlin noted the whiskey from this barrel had a slight “graininess,” attributed to its light char. (Think of the carbon filter in your fridge’s water dispenser.) They decided if the barrel could be aged a little longer, that grain character would soften and transform into desirable flavor compounds. A little longer meant four more years. For all those who aren’t tracking the math, that’s two years of stave aging, four and a half years of initial aging, and five additional years in the barrel. 2 + 4½ + 5 = 11½ years of work, patience, and hope represented in this liquid, one of the most balanced, complex, refined bourbons you will ever taste.

An 8 Year version of this bourbon with its unique mashbill of 55% corn, 35% rye, and 10% malted barley mashbill was released last year. Brett and Orlin call this limited release Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years. The bourbon will be available at www.woodinvillewhiskeyco.com/collections/all-products. And watch for a 10 Year statement of it in 2026, offering whiskey collectors a unique opportunity to acquire all three editions.

Ok, so now that the producers and marketers have had their say (and thank goodness they sent that along, the puppy has been getting into absolutely everything while I was putting this together), let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Woodinville Whiskey Co. 9-year-old Bourbon

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided by the producer at no cost. The suggested retail price is $129.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $8.67

Nose: Caramel, nougat, mint, and an earthy oak note.

Mouth: Follows the nose with notes of caramel, chocolate, nougat, nutmeg, allspice, and earthy oak.

Finish: On the longer side of medium and warm. Notes of caramel, nougat, nutmeg, allspice, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face. It denotes I liked the product.

Thoughts: This is an interesting one. It’s very allspice- and nutmeg-forward, which threw me for a second. My cooking is never that heavily spiced with either of those, so it caught me off guard. But just because the flavor profile took me a moment to adjust to doesn’t mean it isn’t good. In fact, once I got past my preconceived notions of how I expected it to taste, I really liked it. This one’s going on the fancy shelf as a “change of pace” bourbon. I won’t want it all the time, but on a cold December evening? It’ll be perfect.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.