Candied walnuts | Funnel cake | Amaretto | Graham Cracker | Red apple

Walnut | Vanilla frosting | Toasted coconut flan

Leather | Brown sugar | Burnt sugar | Hot | Long

As I’ve said before, it’s amazing what New Holland has created with their Origin brand line in such a short amount of time. There are a lot of toasted finished bourbons on the market, but New Holland has managed to outshine and out-taste most of them.

They’ve managed to accomplish this with a very slow and small rollout of their toasted finished Origin line. After a stint with single barrel clubs last year, in 2023 they started with a four barrel series of toasted finished bourbons each with its own unique title. I already loved their “The Woodshop” release which came in at 110.8 proof, but “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” ramps it up with a whopping 126.8 proof point.

This high proof definitely gives the whiskey’s aroma a kick with a strong blast of candied walnuts scent right out of the gate. It’s immediately followed by complementary scents of funnel cake and Amaretto. From there, the palate drops a degree in sweetness, yet remains sweet nevertheless. Walnut provides the base, which vanilla frosting and toasted coconut flan are able to rest upon. The finish is dominated by leather and brown sugar, as the sip concludes long and on the hot side. The proof may be the whiskey's only major fault. It doesn’t quite enhance the flavors like you often get with high proof bourbons. Instead, the whiskey just comes across as extra punchy though not in a detrimental way.

Unfortunately these named batches of Dragon's Milk Origin Toasted Barrel are only available at the company’s brewpubs and tasting rooms, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a larger rollout of the line later this year. They have been extremely well received and exhibit subtle nuanced flavors between the barrels, with consistent high quality among all of them. For those who are patient, you should hopefully be able to pick up a bottle in due time.