Strawberry | Orange | Charred oak | Burnt caramel | Cinnamon | Pepper | Touch of mint

Caramel | Cherry | Toasted oak | Cinnamon | White pepper

Orange chocolate | White pepper | Barrel char | Leather | Lingering spice & dry oak

2XO, “Two Times Oak,” is spearheaded by former Kentucky Owl creator Dixon Dedman. He sold the brand to Stoli Group in 2017, and surprisingly, in December 2024, Stoli announced bankruptcy. As with all 2XO releases, they undergo a second exposure to oak. According to the company’s press release, “The Sneakerhead Blend comprises two proprietary mash bills - a high rye 35% bourbon mash bill and a moderate rye 18% bourbon mash bill. Dixon double barrels the high rye 35% bourbon mash bill into new charred oak barrels, both #3 and #4 char levels, for nine months to a year.” The release gets its name from sneaker collectors who are known as “sneakerheads,”  which Dedman considers himself a part of.

The bourbon opens with a lively and complex aroma that starts fruity and sweet and slowly transitions to spice. Coincidentally, the bourbon’s palate and finish follow a similar path, providing a dynamic sipping experience as you move through it. Different fruits begin each section of the sip, which leans sweet, before moving to pepper which can be tasted at each stage. Being double-oaked, unsurprisingly a good amount of oak is found within its sip, but it’s never overbearing. Finally, the sip concludes with a good deal of pepper and rye spice with light dry oak in tow. 2XO The Sneakerhead Blend Bourbon is a well-blended bourbon that accomplished what Dedman set out to do with 2XO: use the double barrel finishing process to help build sweetness and even out its spice. Even though the sip isn’t actually balanced, the journey it takes you on from sweet to spice under an oak umbrella makes for an interesting sip.