Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Barrel Finish Select

EXCLUSIVE SINGLE BARREL

Only 240 bottles were yielded from this single barrel selected by Randall's Wines & Spirits.

An innovative approach to twice-barreled bourbon creates the rich and colorful flavor of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. Uniquely matured in separate, charred oak barrels - the second barrel deeply toasted before a light charring extracts additional amounts of soft, sweet oak character.

NOSE
Strong cherry and oak essence

PALATE
Caramel candy, light vanilla

FINISH
Oak, caramel

90.4 Proof - 45.2% ABV

The Woodford Double Oak barrel program was put on pause for several years (about 2019), but this year Brown Forman decided to bring it back with a price increase. The single barrels used to be the same price as the regular bottles on the shelf, but one can assume due to the extra costs to send samples and bottle, they had to raise the price a little. Woodford Double Oaked is always one of those bourbons that when tried blind, it always gets picked by people as their favorite in the lineup. By taking mature Woodford whiskey and transferring the liquid to another barrel that has been deeply charred and toasted, it produces even greater flavor for these double barreled bourbons. It's a treat!

Now on to the selection process. Unlike other brands, Woodford does a blend of barrels to create different profiles. They bottle samples of those profiles and send them to lucky retailers such as ourselves. Thus, it is not a true single barrel, as it did not come from one barrel, but that doesn't make it any less delicious. In fact, all three samples have drastically different profiles, but also unlike other samples, all three are very good. Normally with a pick, we have one right away that we don't care for. With Woodford, they all have things you like about them, but it just comes down to your preference. Blend 2 stood out to us above all the others. It was rich, flavorful, and absolutely over-delivered!

On the nose, we get a strong cherry & oak essence that can be smelled as you bring the glass to your nose. It is quick to introduce itself to you but in a welcoming manner. The oak is very enjoyable as the smell could be a candle in a house that even a non-whiskey drinker would appreciate.

On the palate, your tastebuds are greeted with an outburst of caramel candy while being light on the vanilla. This is an unreal flavor profile and absolutely shows why Woodford Double Oak is one of the best bourbons out there. Sometimes double oak products can be bitter because of all of the oak, but this one is very sweet.

On the finish, the caramel taste turns into oak finish in your mouth. Shortly after that, oak goes away and you are greeted again by a little more caramel. The finish is medium as this is a 90.4 proof whiskey, so it's not too overpowering and is very enjoyable. After writing this review, I had three managers try it and they all were blown away just as I was.