Breaking Bourbon Award Winning Single Barrel Club picks are selected by Breaking Bourbon, and whenever possible with the help of Patreon supporters. The bottles are made available to Patreon supporters first by pledge tier. If any bottles remain after all supporters have had an opportunity to purchase, they are made available to the public on a first come, first served basis. Each barrel is sponsored by a retailer partner, who sells the bottles directly to end purchasers.

Retailer Partner: Seelbach’s

Classification: Straight Bourbon

Company: CJS Beverage Corp.

Distillery: MGP Ingredients, Inc.

Age: 7 Years

Proof: 118.9

Mashbill: 75% Corn, 20.5% Rye, 4.5% Malted Barley

Yield: 48 Bottles (Yes, only 48 bottles)

Release Date: November 2022

For this pick (and all picks in the Pinhook Vertical Series), we partnered with Seelbach’s, which was founded by Blake Riber, also the creator of Bourbonr and the Bourbonr Facebook group. An online-only retailer with a twist, we interviewed Riber to discuss how he’s running his shop differently than everyone else. “Unlocking Craft Spirits” he calls it - seeking out up-and-coming craft distilleries and learning about their process and tasting through their products to find hidden gems. Pinhook is certainly an up-and-coming brand that should be on everyone’s short list.

Anyone that’s into whiskey knows, as it ages in a barrel, it changes over time. Outside the relatively few who are part of the process of making it, not many whiskey drinkers get to taste this ongoing metamorphosis. Most notably, Orphan Barrel attempted to capture this with Rhetoric, a bourbon that was continually aged and released each year that attempted to showcase how a whiskey changes over time. The main issue with this endeavor was the inaugural release was already a 20 year old bourbon. At that point the majority of the whiskey’s most drastic changes had already taken place. Rhetoric was already heavily oaked at 20 years and at 25 years old (the final release in the series), didn’t leave it very much room to change.

Much like our Pinhook Rye Vertical Series club picks, we’re lucky enough to be one of only a handful of groups who will be able to follow this series from start to finish by picking a new barrel in the series over 8 years. In typical fashion, we went all out with our Single Barrel Club sticker for this special set of releases. With each Pinhook release featuring a different horse, we ran with that idea and created an 8-part sticker series that, when combined, creates a beautiful panoramic picture of galloping horses. We’re really excited about this latest single barrel release and we hope you will be too.

The barrel we selected for year 3 in the series is a unique one. It has a savory, layered flavor profile that registers high on the uniqueness scale, but does so in a way that’s highly drinkable. Oak begins to come into focus as one of the flavor notes, but for this bourbon its layering of savory, complex flavors is what makes it shine. It has a smooth, creamy texture, and at over 118 proof it’s surprisingly drinkable.

Unfortunately, we discovered later that the barrel was exceptionally short, and only yielded 48 bottles!

Because the barrel is so short, Seelbach’s is offering the option to purchase their 7 year bourbon pick (they are doing the same vertical pick series we are) once bottles sell out.

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Tasting Notes:

Nose: Tobacco leaf | Nutty | Earthy essence | Intriguing

‍Palate: Graham cracker | Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal | Savory tobacco | Seasoned oak | Caramel sweetness | Complex & layered | Smooth, creamy texture

‍Finish: Brown sugar | Caramel | Light rye spice | Long, sweet & delicious

Distillers, Producers, and Retailers: If you would like to be a part of this program and get your name in front of millions of bourbon enthusiasts, contact us.

‍Please note these bottles will not be sold by Breaking Bourbon, but will be sold by retailers we partner with in order to fulfill the orders and ship the bottles directly to Patreon supporters. Breaking Bourbon will receive no compensation from our partner retailers under these agreements (with the exception of a bottle from each barrel for editorial purposes). If you represent a retailer and ship to consumers and you’re interested in partnering just let us know!