Oak | Cherry | Caramel | Baking spices

Oak | Burnt caramel | Cherry | Vanilla

Dry oak | Cinnamon stick | Molasses

West Fork Whiskey Co. was launched in 2014 by three Indiana natives, brothers Blake Jones and Julian Jones, and childhood best friend David McIntyre. As they state on their website, “After years in the financial world they decided to take a bold leap: cashing out their 401(k)s to start a whiskey distillery in Indianapolis.” Though they currently source from MGP’s Ross & Squibb Distillery in Indiana, like many other non-distiller producers, their current releases feature the less common 99% corn, 1% malted barley mashbill.  

Due to the double oaked process, the bourbon opens with a big bouquet of oak, yet it's the aroma’s cherry underpinning that yields the most appealing results. Oak dominates the palate, and its finish offers typical notes of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and molasses. Further cherry notes are weaved throughout, though they are a bit muted due to the oak. There is an overall lightness behind the oak, which is likely due to the high corn component. It’s not quite enough to make it transformative, but enough to take notice. I like the thinking the West Fork Whiskey Co. guys are displaying here, but the results aren’t as impactful as I hoped. Double oaked bourbon is almost universally heavily oaked, and while Hugh Hamer Double Oaked Bourbon slightly tempers this and plays with it to a degree, I still wanted a bit more.