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 Finished in Toasted Barrels

Company: New Holland Spirits

Distillery: New Holland Brewery Company

Age: 6 Years

Proof: 126.2

Mashbill: 70% Corn, 25% Malted Barley, 5% Rye

Yield: 150 Bottles

ReleaseDate: December 2023

New Holland Brewing Company is located in Holland, Michigan. New Holland Spirits, known for their Dragon’s Milk Beer (along with many others) has slowly been building their whiskey portfolio over the last several years. This hand selected barrel marks their first ever single barrel selection of Dragon’s Milk Origin Bourbon!

The single barrel resembles their standard Origin Small Batch Bourbon, but is amplified by three key differences. First, it’s a specific single barrel, selected from a range of flavor profiles. Second, it was finished in a toasted barrel. And finally, it is bottled at barrel proof compared to Small Batch’s 95 proof.

We’ve been following the New Holland Spirits Dragon’s Milk line since their release of Bottled in Bond Bourbon in 2020. Origin Small Batch Bourbon followed in 2022, and with it a consistently unique flavor profile that isn’t like any other bourbons we’ve had. Distilled using a copper pot still, and with a high malted barley mashbill, bright fruit with complements of chocolate and spice are common underlying flavors.

New Holland has been experimenting more with their Toasted barrel finish Origin single barrels this year, and we liked one of their releases so much we included it on our Best Finished Whiskeys of 2023 list.

This is the second single barrel pick we’ve done for our club. First we select the base bourbon, then New Holland Finishes it in toasted barrels. For this pick we chose a base bourbon that nicely balanced fruit and caramel notes. The toasted finish added subtle spice and oak notes, though the underlying bourbon structure is maintained. It has rich stewed fruit and caramel on the nose, which is complemented by bright citrus, baking spices, and has a slight floral undertone. The palate brings toasted oak up front, but the underlying fruit-forwardness of the bourbon holds. Unique spicy citrus emerges on the finish, along with peppery oak and baking spices. A sweet brown sugar note develops, and leaves a trail of lingering sweetness.

Overall this barrel is another great example of what New Holland is capable of. And despite their growing popularity, these barrel proof Origin Toasted barrels remain a rare find. We’re excited to be able to bring this to our club, and can’t wait for the next one.

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*Note: This was originally posted as SBC #85, but was misnumbered so it was changed to SBC #89.

Tasting Notes

‍‍Nose: Stewed apples | Caramel | Toasted oak | Bright citrus | Star anise | Baking spices | Slight floral undertone

Palate: Toasted oak | Summer fruits | Dried apricot | Pear | Blood orange | Unique

Finish: Spicy citrus | Peppery oak | Baking spices | Fades to brown sugar | Sweetness lingers

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About Seelbach’s

‍For this pick, we partnered with spirits retailer 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.

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!