Celebrating Modern Day Whiskey. Honoring The History. It’s been 100 years or so since the Jack Daniel Distillery released a whiskey of 10 years of age or greater. Evolving Jack Daniel’s past aged-stated whiskey process, these Tennessee Whiskey barrels have been aging in the Buzzard’s Roost of our barrelhouse, and methodically relocated to the lower floors of different barrel houses to extend the aging process for the last 10 summers. The extreme weather variation at different locations in the barrel houses along with longevity in our handmade oak barrels creates an intense, unique character of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.
Discover Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey for yourself. We think you’ll agree, it’s well worth the wait.
Aged 10 Years Notes of warm butterscotch and soft fruit Incredibly long finish with sweet tobacco and spice
What Gary Says
Nose: Salted caramel, crème brûlée, banana nut bread and cinnamon. Palate: Rich and thick, bread pudding, caramel, honey, chocolate and nutty. Finish: Moderate in length, syrupy with caramel, chocolate and fading baking spices. Comments: This is just a delightful dram! Rich with robust flavor. Those baking spices with bananas and nuts are just a lovely combination. My only wish would be to have this at cask strength (or I’d settle for 107 proof).
The 14th edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection features Heaven Hill’s traditional rye Bourbon mashbill, aged in specialty barrels that were charred for a full minute and a half, as opposed to our traditional 40 seconds. These “Level 5” barrels were aged for a full 10 years, where the heavier char allowed the Bourbon to penetrate further into the barrel, bringing forth caramel and maple sweetness. These 102 barrels were aged on the sixth floor of rickhouse Y, and developed a pleasant smokiness after 40 Kentucky seasons of maturation. It is bottled without chill filtration at 120 proof. TASTING NOTES Color: Deep copper Nose: Balanced and fruit forward. Taste: Smooth, rich marmalade. Sweet but not cloying. Finish: Very long & warm. Cloves & cinnamon linger.
What Gary Says
Nose: Dark chocolate, graham cracker, roasted marshmallow, caramel, walnuts and oak. Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, turtle brownies with chocolate, walnuts and caramel, nutmeg and brown sugar. Finish: Long, syrupy fudge with subtle oak. Comments: Damn this is just a lovely bourbon! The Parker’s Heritage Collection rarely (can’t say never) disappoints, and this is no exception. This is just a delicious, intense, well balanced pour. I do miss the days when I could find these behind the counter of my local liquor store, but am always thankful for having the opportunity to try someone else’s (thanks Dad!) This was the 2020 release, although my tasting notes are from the summer of 2024. If you see this laying around – I can’t imagine not grabbing it (aside from outrageous overpricing).
Distilled February 2019, Bottled March 2023 Barrel 17082 57.7% ABV $50 Website
What the Distillery Says
BARREL PROOF WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION AGED AT LEAST 4 YEARS HIGH RYE MASH BILL – 30 % RYE
New Riff Distilling’s core Bourbon expression is a genuinely high-rye, full bodied whiskey offering savory, spicy character, bottled at Barrel Proof without Chill Filtration. Featuring a mash bill of non-GMO grains at 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley, it represents a new riff on Kentucky’s most hallowed whiskey traditions. Aged four years in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels, there are no shortcuts taken in our production. All New Riff whiskeys are made with the full sour mash Kentucky Regimen; all carry an age statement, and are always bottled without chill filtration.
At New Riff, single barrel expressions are a way of life. As former Kentucky liquor retailers, we are intimately familiar with some of Kentucky’s most famed private barrel Bourbon selections ever, and we bring that experience to New Riff. A New Riff Private Barrel selection, whether for trade or private clients, offers an unparalleled experience, replete with tasting notes and an immersive process in our warehouse. Each New Riff single barrel has been tasted and approved by our production panel. Our retail and on-premise partners then select each of their private barrels themselves. In the end, you can taste a New Riff Single Barrel knowing it was fully vetted and thoroughly tasted and approved.
TASTING NOTES While each Single Barrel owns its specific flavor profile, New Riff Bourbon generally shows big and spicy flavors. This is not a light, delicate, simple whiskey—we have crafted for robust and fulsome flavor from start to finish. Our unfiltered bottling regimen allows all the character of the barrel to shine through in the glass.
Aroma: Polished, dark brown sugar, char, cherries Palate: Dark cocoa, dark fruit, fruity, cherries
What Gary Says
Nose: Salted caramel, charred oak, vanilla, molasses, cherries, dark chocolate, raw walnuts. Palate: Bitter dark chocolate, pepper spice (almost chili oil), caramel, cinnamon and walnuts. Finish: Moderate in length, drying with pepper spice, chocolate and cinnamon. Comments: There’s a lot of variation in single barrel bourbon, so I don’t necessarily review every one I try. This one was unique in that the first/last New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon I had reviewed was bottled in 2019, and this one was distilled in 2019. Also, a friend brought it to a whiskey tasting where a couple other folks who tried it claimed it “wrecked their palates” (which in my experience is a claim usually associated with a super peaty/smoky scotch). Now this is odd – with a strong pepper bite tending towards chili oil. That can be off putting but it didn’t wreck my palate; and I found that a bit of water tamped it down completely, bringing out notes of leather on the nose and leaving the dark chocolate notes on the palate less bitter. Kevin allowed me to take what was left in the bottle to review and share, although having been sold a year and a half earlier – unlikely you’ll run across it on a shelf.
56.05% ABV $85 Website We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Blender Says
New Year. New beginnings. New traditions. The new year is a time of renewal and fresh starts, a chance to reflect on past accomplishments and look to what lies ahead. Barrell New Year Bourbon 2025 celebrates the possibilities and optimism that every new year brings.
BLEND COMPONENTS: Kentucky Bourbon: 5, 6, & 9 years old Indiana Bourbon: 5, 6, 7, 11, & 12 years old Tennessee Bourbon: 8, 9, & 15 years old Wyoming Bourbon: 9 & 12 years old New York Bourbon: 5 years old Texas Bourbon: 5 years old Ohio Bourbon: 5 years old Maryland Bourbon: 6 & 7 years old
FLAVOR NOTES A gentle cask influence underlies the palate while it builds on the diversity of fruit and herbs. An initial note of candied pineapple hints at a tropical depth revealed only with a splash of water.
Neat Appearance: Radiant copper. Nose: Undertones of chamomile tea and a squeeze of lemon, followed by chardonnay and pear. Dried pineapple nods toward a hidden tropical depth. A richness is revealed by notes of beeswax, wheat cracker and white chocolate. There’s a vibrant piquancy that conjures ginger ale as well as just a hint of minerality. Palate: A whole host of herbs typical of alpine liqueurs, notably thyme, lemon balm, and peppermint. Juicy notes of Meyer lemon and key lime pie recall the citrusy aroma. The fruit then diverges, adding lychee and grape soda. While initially subdued, the oak gains steam over time, carrying with it allspice and vanilla. Finish: A brief flash of wasabi jolts all the senses awake. Oils coat the palate, notably tea tree and grapefruit, but also a note of fried plantain. Maraschino liqueur, rosehip and coconut water linger. With a splash of spring water It blooms with the tropical papaya, passionfruit and orange marmalade. The fruits keep coming: tart cherry, applesauce, cantaloup and more. The lower proof renders the palate richer, creamier, and spicier.
What Gary Says
Nose: Vanilla, tropical fruit notes, pear, lemon zest, toasted oak, honey, hint of tea and a subtle mineral note. Palate: Cross between lemon meringue and key lime pie with orange marmalade on top, honey, vanilla, caramel and herbal spices. Finish: Moderate in length, drying with tropical fruit notes, lemon-lime and a bit of pepper spice. Comments: This is very nice bourbon, and very unique! I can’t recall another bourbon that has included a blend from a minimum of 8 different distilleries (8 different states, and with different ages – it could be more distilleries than that!) Nice citrus-forward dram, that surprised me with the derived mashbill. I would have guessed 35%+ rye, but this showcases how blending different bourbons from different distilleries can really lead to something quite. I remain blown away by whomever does their tasting notes (I avoid reading them until I have done my own review, but often find they call out things I couldn’t put my finger on but definitely experienced). A versatile whiskey that I enjoy neat or with a few drops of water, but the citrus bend would lend this to working well in a rye or bourbon-based cocktail!
52.5% ABV $70 Website We would like to thank Woodinville Whiskey for sending us a sample to review.
What the Producer Says
Woodinville, WA – This fall, as part of its annual Harvest Release, Woodinville Whiskey will introduce Woodinville Bourbon Sauternes Finish, a grain to glass offering, priced at $69.99 per bottle. Woodinville co-founder and distiller Brett Carlile describes it as having “notes of raisins and ripe plum on the nose that give way to vanilla-soaked pears and kiwi on the palate, with a creamy toffee finish, complimenting the traditional Bourbon characteristics.”
This spring, Woodinville Bourbon Sauternes Finish earned Double Platinum in Fred Minnick’s 2024 ASCOT competition. This truly small-batch spirit starts with traditionally grown corn, rye and malted barley. All of Woodinville’s staple grains are cultivated exclusively on the Omlin Family farm in Quincy, Washington. The grains are mashed and distilled in the Woodinville, WA distillery, then trucked back over the Cascade Mountains for barreling and aging in their private barrel houses, where Central Washington’s extreme temperature cycles promote the extraction of natural flavors from the oak. Prior to being coopered, the barrel wood is seasoned in open air, rain, wind, sun, and snow for eighteen months, softening the wood’s harsh tannins. The barrels are then slowly toasted and heavily charred to further enrich the wood’s desirable flavors. After the whiskey was fully mature, it was transferred into freshly emptied Sauternes casks.
The first 500 numbered bottles of Woodinville Bourbon Sauternes Finish will be released exclusively at the distillery’s Harvest Release on October 19 at $69.99 per bottle (105 proof). The Harvest Release will also feature Woodinville Whiskey’s Founder’s Find, priced at $129.99 per bottle (107 proof). The first 500 numbered bottles of this whiskey will also be available that day, when Brett and Orlin will be joined by Fred Minnick to taste the whiskeys and sign bottles. Both Harvest Release whiskeys will be available online at a later date.
What Gary Says
Nose: Fruity, apples and pears with caramel drizzle, vanilla, raisins, soft oak, honey with a hint of green grapes. Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, caramel, vanilla, fruit salad with pears and cherries dusted with cinnamon, brown sugar, and a hint of cloves. Finish: Moderate to long finish with toffee, pepper spice and a bit of coconut. Comments: This is really lovely whiskey! I had tried Woodinville previously, and honestly wasn’t impressed. Now I’m second guessing if the sample I had was just off, or if my palate was off. This is just a stellar bourbon. It doesn’t need water, but rewards you if you give it just a couple of drops, thickening up even more with notes of chocolate fudge, as well as bring out a bit of cherries on the nose. Don’t see a lot of Sauternes finished bourbon, so hard to compare it to something else – but this is a whiskey that is delicious to just sit back and sip on, or if you want to ponder the nuance it can go there as well. Very well done!
