Last summer, Woodford Reserve released the latest expression in its Distillery Series, but it was not the bourbon this Kentucky distillery is known for. Instead, it was a blended malt whiskey called, appropriately, Blended Malt. That whiskey is back, but this time it gets a special type of cask finish that is more common in the scotch whisky industry.
Blended Malt Sherry Cask Finish is the new Distillery Series release, part of a limited collection that comes out a few times per year. The original Blended Malt was technically a “whiskey speciality,” as defined by the TTB, because it was a blend of two different whiskeys: 100 percent malted barley whiskey aged in used barrels and finished in a port cask, and a whiskey made from a blend of five different malted grains that was aged in new oak. According to the distillery, this new release is different—it’s a blend of the 100 percent malt used in the previous release but finished in sherry casks, 5 Malted Stouted Mash Malt Whiskey that was aged in new oak barrels, and 100 percent malt that was aged in used cooperage and finished in port barrels. “Experimenting with a range of barrels to innovate is one of the highlights of my job,” said master distiller Elizabeth McCall in a statement. “The dried fruit notes from the sherry cask perfectly enhance the fruity flavors and sweet, dry nutty profile of our malt whiskey.”
This might sound similar to the American single malt that Jack Daniel’s, which is also owned by Brown-Forman, released last year. That was an American single malt, however, which is made from a mashbill of 100 percent malted barley, while this is made from a mashbill of at least 51 percent barley. We did not get to try this new whiskey for ourselves, but the official tasting notes describe roasted coffee, orange oil, raisin, dried fig, and hints of tobacco leaf on the palate, with sweet toasted malt and dried dark fruit on the finish.
This is just the latest release in what has been a busy year for Woodford. Previous bottles over the past 12 months include a batch of seven two-barrel blends selected by McCall and her dad for Father’s Day, the Toasted Bourbon Distillery Series release that was supposedly the result of a happy accident, and the new Baccarat Edition which, with a $15,000 price tag, was the most expensive bourbon ever released by the distillery.
Like all Distillery Series releases, Blended Malt Sherry Cask Finish comes in smaller 375-ml bottles that are available to purchase at the distillery and retailers in Kentucky. It’s also available to buy from the distillery’s website (SRP $65), but can only be shipped to a few states. Of course, you can find these bottles available from secondary retailers as well, but be prepared to pay some seriously inflated prices. Other bottles, including the first Baccarat Bourbon from a few years back, can be purchase via ReserveBar now.
