Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon Whiskey 750ml

Woodford Reserve Distillery, in Versailles, Kentucky, released its standard Distiller's Select bourbon in the mid-1990s under Brown-Forman, and it wasn't until February 2012 that Master Distiller Chris Morris introduced Double Oaked as a natural extension of the brand's flagship. Double Oaked grew out of the distillery's store-pick program, where visitors once blended their own barrel samples on-site, and Morris eventually formalized the process into a standing release built around a second round of barrel maturation.

Double Oaked starts as standard Woodford Reserve bourbon, made from a mash bill of 72 percent corn, 18 percent rye, and 10 percent malted barley. Once the whiskey reaches maturity in its first standard charred oak barrel, it's transferred into a second barrel that's been deeply toasted and then lightly charred, where it rests for a little under a year longer. That secondary maturation is what gives the bourbon its name and its darker, more dessert-leaning character, and it's bottled at 90.4 proof, or 45.2 percent ABV, with no age statement.

The nose brings dark fruit and orange alongside toasted oak, honey, and a hint of gooey marshmallow, with warming spice underneath. On the palate, cinnamon and wood spice lead into dark berries, chocolate-covered cherry, caramel, and vanilla, with a touch of leather and tobacco rounding things out. The finish leans on dark chocolate and cherry, with oak sweetness that fades relatively quickly, inviting another sip.