Melted caramel | French vanilla | Black cherry | Toasted oak

Fruit cake | Chewy oak | Dark brown sugar

Pepper spice | Seasoned oak | Tobacco | Slightly bitter

2XO, “Two Times Oak,” is spearheaded by former Kentucky Owl creator Dixon Dedman, and as with all 2XO releases, they undergo a second maturation in oak. Paying tribute to the song that helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream, 2XO Rapper's Delight is the seventh release in Two Times Oak's Collectibles Series, combining Dixon Dedman's bourbon-blending expertise with his personal passions; in this release’s case, old-school rap.

The bourbon opens with a straightforward but focused array of scents. Melted caramel against French vanilla pairs well, and then transitions to rich black cherry and cinnamon-forward toasted oak. The palate begins with varied and dense flavors of fruitcake, everything from raisins, currants, and dates to fig and cherry. Chewy oak follows along with dark brown sugar. The finish turns spicy due to its high pepper concentration. Seasoned oak and earthy tobacco follow.  

2XO Rapper's Delight doesn’t go overboard in what it's trying to accomplish. It sticks with a small but curated collection of flavors that each pull their weight due to their overall depth. It’s a refreshing change of pace and allows you to focus on the bourbon’s flavors more deeply than usual. Though fruit cake can be a polarizing holiday dessert, here it grabs hold of the palate and commands the rest of the bourbon’s flavors that follow. Overall, Rapper's Delight is an easy-to-enjoy sipper that justifies its price point.