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Please read and drink responsibly.
Classification: Straight Bourbon Finished in Barrels that Stored Honey
Company: Brown-Forman
Distillery: Woodford Reserve Distillery/Brown-Forman Distillery
Release Date: September 2022
Proof: 90.4
Age: NAS
Mashbill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Color: Honey
MSRP: $60 (375mL) (2022)
Floral up front | Honeysuckle | Raw honey | Light leather | Earthy
Earthy | Honey | Clove | Baking spices | Toasted graham cracker | Funky undertone | Chewy mouthfeel
Baking spices | Clove | Graham cracker | Brown sugar | Earthy funk lingers
Woodford Reserve’s Honey Barrel Finish takes the standard Woodford Reserve Bourbon and adds equal parts honey sweetness and earthy funk to create a unique tasting finished bourbon.
This particular release is built off Woodford Reserve’s standard Distiller’s Select Bourbon. According to the press release, Woodford loaned some of their freshly-dumped bourbon barrels to a local honey bee farmer located in Woodford County, Kentucky. The farmer aged his honey in those barrels, then returned them to the distillery where they were refilled with bourbon for an undisclosed amount of time. The resulting bourbon was bottled as part of Woodford Reserve’s Distillery Series, which is an experimental style series that consists of three releases per year. According to the company’s website, the Distillery Series is “An eclectic line of one-of-a-kind expressions, Distillery Series pushes the creative boundaries of whiskeys to the extreme. Each selection is masterminded by Master Distiller Chris Morris and is available for purchase at the Woodford Reserve Distillery and limited Kentucky retailers.”
Finishing bourbon in barrels that previously held honey typically draws an interested crowd, as the two ingredients generally go well together and pique consumers’ interest. With that being said, the releases are typically one-offs, as aging honey in barrels is not performed on a large scale. While you might expect to taste something that resembles bourbon with a few drops of honey poured into it, the flavor profile of Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Honey Barrel Finish is not that at all. It takes on some honey and corresponding sweetness, but it’s contrasted by an unexpected funky, earthy undertone. Like many finished bourbons, the end result is polarizing, offering a unique flavor profile that will likely find more extreme likes and dislikes relative to individual taste. It took a few sittings with it to grow on me, and while I find it intriguing, I couldn’t see this becoming a regular pour.
