Company: Brown Forman
Vol: 43.2%
Age: NAS
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Breakdown: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley
Price: c. £50

Preamble

It’s getting close to four years since the Gents first reviewed Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. When we were buying this whiskey at that time, we really thought that this was premium (whatever that actually means) whiskey and we actually wrote in the review that this was one of the more expensive bourbons! How naïve we were then, to think that £50 was a lot of money for bourbon. More accurately we should have said it was expensive bourbon when buying in UK supermarkets. Talking of the price, in our complete series of revisiting old reviews, this is first time that the price has actually come down. You can now buy this for less than £49 at Masters of Malt.

The bottle itself has also had a face lift since our review, it now features a new shorter and wider glass structure with a heavy base. An offset wrap around label is intended to distinguish this expression more easily on the shelf as an ultra-premium offering. We think they’ve definitely achieved that as it is an absolute little belter.

We know that we both love Double Oaked and for that reason we are in no doubt that the Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked is going to be added onto our wish list. Released in 375ml bottles as part of their Distillery Series, which is a line of one of a kind expressions which also includes Bottled in Bond, Three Grain, Four Grain and Five Wood. Sadly for us it is only available at the Woodford Reserve Distillery and a limited number of Kentucky retailers. The Double Double naming comes from leaving the whiskey in the second barrel for two years rather than the single year for the regular Double Oaked.

Woodford Reserve has played an important role in our bourbon journey and always has a prominent place in our whiskey collections. We continue to dip our toes into their huge inventory and have regularly been tempted to purchase bottles from their Master’s Collection, Cherry Wood Smoked Barley being the most recent addition, and very close to pulling the trigger on the latest offering Chocolate Malted Rye Bourbon.

Review Updated - October 2020

History

While the Scots have been finishing their whisky in a second barrel for quite a long time, it’s a relatively new concept for the bourbon world. In fact just how new surprised even the Gents, as it seems this concept was first introduced as recently as 2002 and even that was just a limited offering from a small distillery.

We had to wait for another 10 years until 2012 when Woodford Reserve gave the world their double oaked offering. Unlike the whisky process where the second barrel is usually a previously used one that has seen the likes of port, sherry, rum, or even good old bourbon, the second barrel for Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is a new white oak barrel but one that has been pre prepared (i.e. toasted before charring) and is matured for an additional 9 months.

The Gents have previously reviewed the Jim Beam version of double oak so how will its more expensive predecessor fare….?

The Review

For this review we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass

Nose

What we got - Sweet, caramel, toffee, treacle, mince pie (Mr Pie), Red apples (Mav), brown sugar

What they say we should get - Rich notes of dark fruit, caramel, sharp honey, chocolate, marzipan and toasted oak

Palate

What we got - Oak, pepper, a rich thickness to the taste, marzipan (Mr Pie), cocoa

What they say we should get - A full-bodied mix of vanilla, dark caramel, hazelnut, apple, fruit and spices

Finish

What we got – Smooth, medium to long finish, sticks around on the tongue but light on the throat

What they say we should get - Long and creamy with lingering hints of honeyed apple

Summary

As you can see from the scores we much preferred this to the Jim Beam version. The thing that strikes you before you even uncork the bottle is just how dark the colouring is compared to the standard Woodford Reserve. The nose and flavours are intense and inviting, the oak is not overpowering or intrusive, and the smoothness on the finish is surprising.

Looking at the experts tasting notes compared to ours they are fairly similar, however it seems that we found notes on the nose that they were getting on the palate, but this wasn’t the case for us. Another difference was the lack of clear chocolate taste, we didn’t call it out in this review due to the fact that neither of the Gents noticed it on this particular tasting, but it is something we have experienced from this drink before so it’s in there somewhere.

Overall this well balanced offering comes highly recommended from both Mav and Mr Pie, and while it is one of the more expensive bourbons, it’s more than worth the price and will warm the cockles on those long winter nights.

Score

7 out of 10 - Mav

8 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Original Review Posted - January 2017