Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked was a limited edition release that was part of the company’s Distillery Series and was introduced by Brown-Forman in 2015. Starting in 2025, the company increased the bottle size to 700mL and also turned it into a national limited edition release. For this release, the company states, “Double Double Oaked is handcrafted by finishing fully-mature Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon for an additional two years in a second, heavily toasted, lightly charred, new oak barrel (hence the name Double Double Oaked).”

This language is confusing, but Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall has been quoted as stating that this is a “double-barreled bourbon” that rests for “5-7 years in the first barrel, then up to two years in a second barrel.” Based on McCall’s statement, Double Double Oaked is the brand’s Double Oaked Bourbon that is finished for approximately twice the amount of time in secondary oak. Thus, the double double oaked moniker is used to explain that the bourbon has been finished twice the amount of time as the standard Double Oaked expression, and not actually in two separate finishing barrels as the name would imply.

Unsurprisingly, the sip opens with a heavy scent of rich oak. Baking spices appear most prominently afterward, with faint baking chocolate, warming vanilla, and mellowed tree bark. Inhaling deeper and trying to eke the most out of its proof further reveals syrup, whipped coffee, lightly burnt caramel, and Kentucky cream pull candy. It’s a surprisingly flavorful and pleasing aroma, considering the bourbon’s proof and the fact that it spends extended time in not three sets of oak barrels in total. Overall, it's a great way to start off the sip.

The midpoint again reveals the time spent in multiple barrels, as heavy oak leaning towards the bitter side pops up front. Rye spice joins in quickly after, along with dry cinnamon, clove, and green peppercorn spice. The one knock against the sip at this point is that it has a thin mouthfeel, which takes away from the flavors that are trying to push through the oak note.

A quick pop of rye spice is followed by extremely dry, spicy oak. Leather and tobacco leaf make a brief appearance before transitioning to dry baking chocolate and a light burnt coffee bean. The dominant trait, however, is the dry spice-infused oak that lingers but also comes with an intense sensation of trying to suck all of the moisture out of your mouth. Up until this point, the multiple oak finishing barrels add intrigue, however, at the very end, things start to feel like the oak finishing has gone overboard, taking an otherwise well done bourbon slightly too deep into dry territory.

It has been a long time since I initially reviewed Woodford Double Double Oaked. Back in 2017, I found the bourbon to be one that didn’t enhance their standard Double Oaked Bourbon at the time. Fast forward 8 years, and that equation has changed. This time around I found Double Double Oaked offers a slight but noticeable differentiator between the two products that Woodford fans will be pleased to see. For everyone else, though, it’s a harder sell.

The question is, is Double Double Oaked necessarily better when compared to other standard double oak finished products? The purpose of any barrel finished product is to stand out in the market both as a differentiator from your own brand offerings and, more importantly, as a differentiator from other whiskeys in the marketplace. It’s easy to do with barrel finishes that have held other spirits or wine in the past, but as we’ve seen, it is also accomplished with a secondary oak finishing.

Brown-Forman is no stranger to additional oak barrel finished products, both with the aforementioned Woodford Double Oaked and with their 1910 Old Fine Whiskey. Price aside, both enhance the base Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Bourbon, the latter much more so. This is where Double Double Oaked hits a wall. For having spent approximately an additional year in the second barrel, it doesn’t deliver a standout sip in a crowded marketplace. This is clearly the flavor profile Woodford was after, but one that many consumers will most likely shrug their shoulders about. At the end of the day, Brown-Forman missed an opportunity to have this be a standout release, foregoing adding a unique variable to the double oak category besides an extra 12 months of finishing time in the secondary oak casks.

The theme of rising bourbon prices last year has carried over into 2025. While some brands are trying to put out more economically priced products, few, if any, are rolling back prices on limited editions. In fact, many are steadily raising prices, and Brown-Forman is no exception.

Woodford Double Double Oaked was a distillery-only release product in years past. In 2024, the bourbon came in its traditional 375mL bottle and was priced at $80, an increase from 2023’s pricing of $60. Yes, an extra year of aging clearly comes at a cost, but the question remains why does that extra year in the barrel keep increasing in price, which ends up being a whopping 34% price increase for this year’s release when you respectively scale up the previous 375mL pricing relative to the updated 700mL pricing for this release.

Fans of Woodford Reserve will gravitate towards this offering due to the ability to finally get their hands on a former distillery-only release product. Still, it’s incredibly hard to justify the price being asked for this release for the average consumer. Barrel finishing comes at a cost, but when Woodford Double Oaked can be purchased by most consumers for $60-$70, it's hard to justify that an additional 12 months of aging is worth a $130-$140 increase, and in a slightly smaller bottle to boot. That’s a price premium of over $10 per month for a product that, while different from Woodford Double Oaked, doesn’t raise the bar anywhere near as much as the associated price increase would imply.

Woodford Double Double Oaked is a bourbon that lives two lives. Fans of the brand will be happy that they can finally get their hands on a bottle without traveling to the distillery. Those who like the company’s Double Oaked Bourbon will have fun comparing the two and seeing the slight contrast between them.

For others, they’ll be left scratching their heads from the delivered sip, the price, and also the name. It should be pointed out that the Woodford Double Double Oaked name implies that this is a triple or quadruple barrel finished product. It certainly doesn’t help when the company states every year in their press releases that “Double Double Oaked is handcrafted by finishing fully-mature Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon for an additional two years in a second, heavily toasted, lightly charred, new oak barrel (hence the name Double Double Oaked).” In reality consumers need to orientate around the fact that this is Woodford Double Oaked aged for an additional year. A more straightforward name would be Woodford Double Oaked Extra Aged, which, while not as cool of a marketing name, is also much less misleading.

There’s no denying that this bourbon is beyond overpriced for what it offers, and it has a hard time standing out in a sea of barrel-finished products based on quality alone. I give credit to Woodford for extending the extra finishing time to as much as 2 years versus their implied 1 year for Woodford Double Oaked, but I am also left wanting more from the sip, in particular the finish. The lower proof could be to blame, but even so, this bourbon walks the line between average and slightly above. The sip starts off strong but ends with a whimper. For the price and the sip delivered, I’d recommend seeking out a pour at a bar first before plunking down $200 for a bottle.

*Editor’s Note: On February 22, 2025 this review was updated based on a revised interpretation of the brand’s explanation related to the creation process for this whiskey, specifically that it was aged in two barrels as opposed to three. Per the company’s press release, it is stated that “Double Double Oaked is handcrafted by finishing fully-mature Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon for an additional two years in a second, heavily toasted, lightly charred, new oak barrel (hence the name Double Double Oaked).” However, the brand’s website and other areas of the press release are in conflict with this statement, specifying that the bourbon was “double-barreled.” As of this update, we are awaiting definitive confirmation from the brand.