Woodford Reserve just took its signature double-oak treatment and aimed it at rye, and the result is up for pre-order now at $60 a bottle.
The new release is Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Rye. The concept is straightforward: start with their Kentucky straight rye, built on a pre-Prohibition style mashbill of 53 percent rye, then run it through the same second-barrel finishing process as the Double Oaked bourbon, in a new oak barrel that is heavily toasted and lightly charred. Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall selected this batch. The tasting notes call out dark caramel, roasted nuts, coffee, chocolate, and dried fruit, with the herbal rye character still in the mix.
It is bottled at the house standard 90.4 proof, and pre-orders are shipping in early November, right in time for holiday season pouring.
I have not gotten my hands on a bottle yet, but this is exactly the kind of release I watch. Brown-Forman has been on a tear this year, from the Kentucky Boy revival I covered last month to anniversary bottlings for Woodford’s 30th. Once one of these lands on my shelf, I will tell you exactly what I think.
