Master Blender Billy Leighton’s recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of… Read More
Master Blender Billy Leighton’s recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of a lifetime. Dave McCabe is the new Master Blender for Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, and other Irish Whiskey brands, and we’ll talk with him on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.
In the news, Irish Whiskey exports posted a decline in 2023, while Islay’s Ardnahoe Distillery is shutting down part of its visitors center. We’ll have the details on those and other stories, including another new distillery for Kentucky.
Whisky has become more attractive as an investment asset in recent years, but a new report indicates the value of luxury whiskies has declined over… Read More
Whisky has become more attractive as an investment asset in recent years, but a new report indicates the value of luxury whiskies has declined over the past year. We’ll talk with the report’s author, Duncan McFadzean of Scotland’s Noble & Company, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, lots of hardware was handed out at this week’s awards ceremonies in Scotland and Ireland, and we’ll have the details. Chivas Brothers faces strikes by its union workers next week, and there’s less than a month left before American whiskies face European import tariffs again.
I dig the look and overall design of the Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Bourbon bottle (not pictured) but when it comes to the actual concept of the whiskey… not so much. I think the whole double barrel thing, for the most part, is a giant waste of resources. It’s a fad that needs to die […]
I dig the look and overall design of the Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Bourbon bottle (not pictured) but when it comes to the actual concept of the whiskey… not so much. I think the whole double barrel thing, for the most part, is a giant waste of resources. It’s a fad that needs to die because outside of a few outliers, double barrel whiskeys suck.
Transferring a mature bourbon into new charred oak just adds more char and more oak, often resulting in a dry tannic mess of a whiskey because instead of mellow maturation achieved over time, you’re pulling out 2x the tannins and raw oak than normal. They often end up being brutal, unbalanced whiskeys that leave me staring at my glass and asking why?
But then, sometimes, ever so rarely, you get something like the Sagamore Double Barrel. A whiskey where the second barrel isn’t a complete waste of resources and that manages to find beauty and balance amongst the tannins. A whiskey that is delicious.
Brutal tannic mess or unicorn beauty; which one will this be? Let’s get to drinkin’ and find out.
Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Bourbon – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Style: Bourbon (Straight) Region: Iowa Distiller: Cedar Ridge
Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 14% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Cask: New Charred Oak x2 Age: NAS ABV: 52.5%
“For this annual release, we transferred our flagship Iowa bourbon into a second, new American oak barrel to capture the full-bodied flavors of its freshly charred staves.” – Cedar Ridge
Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Bourbon Tasting Notes
EYE
Ruddy copper
NOSE
Oak, dried dark fruit, nutmeg heavy baking spice, cocoa, vanilla candy and nuts.
A warm, rich, bourbon aroma rolls through the nose, this is great.
PALATE
Woody, anise and clove baking spice, butterscotch, baker’s cocoa, dried fruit and tannic black tea.
A crafty-woody note perks up here to the point of being distracting. I’m not enjoying it as much as the aroma, not even close.
FINISH
Med-long -> Tannic oak, bakers cocoa and dry spice with some black tea.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Not balanced, medium body and a dry feel.
Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Bourbon – Overall Thoughts and Score
You know those cheap cream-filled chocolate-covered cherries that show up around the holidays? There is an essence to this that reminds me of those mixed with over-steeped black tea. It’s not good, this is 100% a waste of a second barrel. Sure it’s added more oak, but it’s just oak for oak’s sake and ends up being dry and tannic and unpleasant to drink.
I really wish people would stop doing this, just focus on making the best possible whiskey with the first barrel instead of hoping a second will do something more. It’s a wasteful gimmick that rarely ends up making anything more than an over-oaked tannic mess. Which is exactly what the Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Bourbon is. Please people, end this stupid trend and stop wasting barrels.
SCORE: 2.5/5 (average, drinkable, possible minor flaws ~ C+ | 77-79)
*Disclosure: The sample for this Bourbon review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Cedar Ridge Bottled In Bond Rye is an annual release from the distillery that comes out in July. It doesn’t say on the bottle which season it encompasses, but being a regular summer release I would imagine this is distilled in the fall after the grain harvest and bottled in the spring four+ years later. […]
Cedar Ridge Bottled In Bond Rye is an annual release from the distillery that comes out in July. It doesn’t say on the bottle which season it encompasses, but being a regular summer release I would imagine this is distilled in the fall after the grain harvest and bottled in the spring four+ years later.
Seeing so many distilleries return to the tradition of Bonded Whiskey makes me happy. I love seeing this unified standard of 4+ years, 100 Proof, only water added, etc. being adopted and adhered to by distilleries big and small. It’s even more fun and educational to compare and contrast whiskeys when you can get some side-by-side that followed the same rules.
But bonded never means tasty, and that’s always the big question, so let’s get to drinkin’ and get some answers.
Cedar Ridge Bottled In Bond Rye – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Style: Rye (Straight) Region: Iowa Distiller: Cedar Ridge
Mash Bill: 85% Rye, 12% Corn, 3% Malted Barley Cask: New Charred Oak Age: 4+ Years ABV: 50%
“This special release commemorates the 1897 Bottled-In-Bond Act. At 85%, this rye whiskey reflects the hard work of our harvester and their farm.” – Cedar Ridge
Cedar Ridge Bottled In Bond Rye Tasting Notes
EYE
Copperish amber
NOSE
Oak, orchard fruit, caramel, spice, breadiness, citrus and touches of dill and minerality with a lightly biscuity note.
A fairly standard rye aroma, nothing groundbreaking, but nothing wrong with it either.
PALATE
Cinnamon heavy baking spice, herbal, toffee, oak, green fruit, metallic taffy and a slight minerality and some chocolate Necco.
Woah, this is weird. It’s like if there was an olde style candy made of rye mixed with a baked good.
FINISH
Medium -> Cinnamon, oak, vanilla, minerality fades to chocolate Necco.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Decent balance, medium body and a warm oily feel.
Cedar Ridge Bottled In Bond Rye – Overall Thoughts and Score
The aroma is enjoyable but very typical and unsurprising. The palate and finish on the other hand, are unique. The first sip I couldn’t equate it to any other rye on the market and now that the sample is finished… I still can’t. Closest would be the Frey Ranch Rye, but even that’s not a great comparison. The Frey is decidedly richer and also has less of a “baked goods” quality.
The longer it opens the more a cinnamon candy note appears, cinnamon bears, not red hots. It ends up being quite the spicy warm rye with a slight crafty rustic essence but without any of the crafty crap. I wish I had a larger sample of the Cedar Ridge Bottled In Bond Rye because I think it would make a great cocktail rye and I’d love to try it in something like a Basin Street.
SCORE: 3.5/5 (tasty, worth checking out ~ B | 83-86)
*Disclosure: The sample for this Rye Whiskey review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
