Bourbon collectors anticipating Woodford Reserve's annual Master's Collection, an annual experimental whiskey series, get a spicy surprise with the sixth edition - a half-bottle pair of pot-still 100 percent ryes aged in two kinds of barrels, one old, one new.
These are 92.4-proof sippers, not blenders, in part because they're the nation's only triple-distilled ryes, according to Woodford's master distiller who says they were set to age up to seven years ago, before the current rye resurgence.
The new oak adds a caramel amber sweetness to the spiced apple notes. But purists will no doubt prefer the lighter-bodied aged oak, which lets the true delicacy of this rare rye, threaded with citrus, green apple, and vanilla, add an elegant counterpoint to the hotter, bolder and young counterparts.