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.

Barrel Pick Partner: Bourbonr

Retailer Partner: Seelbach’s

Name: Treaty Oak Red Handed Bourbon

Company: Treaty Oak Distilling

Distillery: George Dickel Distillery

Age: 13 Years

Proof: 110

Mashbill: 84% Corn, 8% Rye, 8% Malted Barley  

Yield: 144 Bottles

Release Date: August 2019

For this pick, we partnered with Blake Riber, founder of Bourbonr and Seelbach’s. An online-only retailer with a twist, we recently 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. While this particular brand represents Treaty Oak’s sourced bourbon line, discovering what the craft distillery has to offer, even if it is sourced, can be part of the process. Riber makes an occasional exception for an especially good single barrel or one that’s released as part of a club pick.

Unlike most barrels that might be selected by just us along with Patreon supporters, we selected this one jointly with Blake. The pick is a shared pick that will be made available to his Bourbonr Pro group in addition to our Single Barrel Club. Bottles will be offered to simultaneously to the corresponding tiers in each group, starting on Tuesday, August 20th.

Treaty Oak’s Red Handed Bourbon is their sourced bourbon line, which was the inspiration for its name - caught red handed with someone else’s distillate!

So with samples in hand on a Thursday in late May, we hopped on a video chat to taste through the barrel samples provided by Treaty Oak.

We were presented with three barrel proof bourbons, two from George Dickel and one from Davis Valley Distillery, which is a bourbon typically used in the standard batch blend. The Dickels were each 13 year olds, and the Davis Valley an unknown age but at least 4 years. Even tasting blind, it was easy to tell which was which simply by the unique flavor profile offered by the Davis Valley sample, which was both grainy and punchy with an undercurrent of youth. While we briefly discussed the strengths and unique flavor profile of the Davis Valley barrel, no one marked it as their favorite within the group.

Instead, it turns out, everyone had the same number written down - 1181. Approachable and well balanced, with a sweet gingerbread note contrasting the perfect amount of rye spice and light oak, it was hands down the unanimous favorite. A crowd pleaser. The other George Dickel sample could have been a contender, a good bourbon in its own right offering punchy spice against sweeter notes, but compared to barrel 1181 it was no contest.

When we were discussing the barrel Blake exclaimed, “That’s not your typical Dickel!” to which someone replied “That’s what she said!” This ultimately transformed into the inspiration for the custom sticker. Because of the unique Treaty Oak bottle design, we decided to print the sticker on a clear backing, so that the letters “Not your typical Dickel!” and space behind the top portion of the flames (it’s RED hot and will burn your hands...get it?) would be clear showcasing the bourbon and allowing the light to pour through from the other side. Note the transparent space is shown as white in the image below.

Tasting Notes:

‍
Barrel Number 1181.

Pleasing and approachable aromas of caramel and gingerbread great the nose. On the sip the mouthfeel is coating, with a sweet gingerbread note contrasted by light rye spice and oak in perfect balance. The finish is medium in length, offering a hint of tobacco and inviting you in for another sip. It drinks lower than its proof, and doesn’t possess some of the more typical “Dickel” flavors you might expect. Not your typical Dickel indeed!

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!