Pursuit Spirits was created by Kenny Coleman and Ryan Cecil who also host the Bourbon Pursuit Podcast. Their bourbon is currently bottled under the Pursuit Series brand, with each distinct single barrel being designated as a different Episode. For a more in-depth look at the brand, check out the interview Nick conducted with the co-founders last year.

‍Episode 006: A light sip overall, the nose displays light notes of brown sugar and marshmallows. The palate is sweeter with brown sugar, vanilla, light caramel, and marshmallows carrying through. The sip finishes short and sweet. Honey and brown sugar mingle with hints of leather and oak.

‍Episode 007: The sip starts with a really expressive nose that draws you in. It’s comprised of extremely rich baking spices that mix with a nice base of oak and chocolate Babka. The palate is a butterscotch and vanilla mix with leather and slightly tannic oak. The sip finishes with baking spice and a slight amount of warm heat. Spice lingers for a long time with charred oak coming forth at the end. A really great sip that makes me want to drink this around a fire on a crisp fall night.

‍Episode 008: The simplest of the four. A simple nose of charred oak and vanilla flows into a simple palate of sweet vanilla, oak, and light caramel. The finish follows in the same vein with vanilla and lightly charred oak. This stands out  more for the fact that it’s so simple and unremarkable compared to the rest.

‍Episode 009: This Episode is in a similar vein to Episode 007. The nose contains those baking spices and oak but they’re not as bold. The palate is sweet yet more tannic, with caramel and vanilla being most prominent along with tannic oak. It finishes with a warming heat which showcases marshmallows, burnt brown sugar, and lightly charred oak.

While all of the Episodes are distinct, they also clearly contain a familiar backbone. They’re all interesting, however Episodes 007 and 009 stand out well above the rest. These truly piqued my interest, with Episode 007 drawing me back in for sip after sip and a bottle I’ll try to pick up before they’re all gone. Tasting all Episodes side by side was a good reminder of just how different single barrel bottlings can be from one another.

‍The samples used for this review was provided at no cost courtesy of Pursuit Spirits. We thank them for the samples and for allowing us to review them with no strings attached.