Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More has been busy since we profiled the store’s journey into creating their own brand. They recently released a 14 year old bourbon which was sourced from a undisclosed Tennessee distillery (presumably George Dickel). With that knowledge comes certain assumptions, but here’s a case where that doesn’t quite ring true. The bourbon sports a nicely layered floral and custard-filled nose that is mellowed by ample amounts of oak. It tastes similar to its nose with an overarching bakery filled palate. It’s finish adds a bit of clove, black pepper, and nutmeg that harshly contrasts the front-end of this bourbon and bucks expectations. With a lot of sourced 14 year bourbon recently hitting the market from a certain Tennessee distillery, you’d expect it to taste similar. That isn’t the case here and goes to show that despite matching origin distillery and age, barrel aging can have drastically different results.

Doc’s next Doc.52 limited release is set to arrive on November 17th, with a two barrel blend of bourbon and rye. It’s an interesting contrast pairing of a bourbon comprised of only 8% rye, with a rye whiskey consisting of 51% rye. The nose is quite a unique mingling of almond, corn, grain, cedar, and butterscotch. The sweetness of the corn is prevalent right from the first sip and quickly gets overtaken by more hearty notes of tobacco, anise, grain, and rye spice. It packs a punch for 112 proof and is unapologetic. A good amount of oak from the bourbon shines through the younger aspects of the rye. I wouldn’t call it a symbiotic relationship, more like sibling fighting for attention. This is a blend that retains strong aspects of each of its parts, and wants you to know it.

If there is one thing that these two whiskeys have in common it would be its uniqueness. These simply don’t taste like something you typically find on the shelf. Despite being sourced whiskey, Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More seems to be striving for uniqueness over commonality. There’s risk in that, as these whiskeys won’t be for everyone. Any company attempting to launch a whiskey (especially a sourced one at that), needs to be different, and that is the case with these two new Doc.52 offerings from Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More.

‍The sample used for this review was provided at no cost courtesy of Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More. We thank them for the sample and for allowing us to review it with no strings attached.