Double Oak Flight

When the three "Godfathers" of the Whiskey Mafia first came together as a group, it was the height of the pandemic. To minimize risk of infection we got together outdoors until it got too cold to do so, and then moved to Zoom.  It became our habit to take turns pouring flights and doing contactless drops on our respective front porches.  Later, we moved to blind flights after one night when Dan, a Buffalo Trace man, tricked Mitch and I into choosing his favorites over our own Jim Beam standbys in a flight one evening. Since then, I would say Mitch and I have each managed to exact some revenge over that, and I think it's safe to say that we've all had a blast with it.

We don't always do flights of three theses days.  Very often we just get together to crack a few new bottles and enjoy them together, but recently the Omicron surge drove us back to Zoom for a few weeks, which also got us back to blind flights. When my turn came, I had an idea in mind for a flight that would show the broad range of possible expressions available from what the industry calls "double oaked" or twice-barreled whiskies.

The Double Oak Whiskey Flight

For my flight, I chose one craft bourbon, a rye from a mid-sized producer, and a bourbon from a major distillery: Stroudwater Belfry, Sagamore Double Oak Rye, and Woodfords Reserve Double Oak, respectively. Despite the fact that two are bourbons, the whiskies themselves had very little in common, apart form being double barreled. I chose the order with some care, leaving the Woodfords for last because I assumed it would be the easiest to identify.

Either I was wrong and the Woodford's was not so easily picked out from the crowd, or the tactic worked, because no one guessed what any of these were right away, although if you put them together, they did manage to identify #2 as a double oaked rye.

You'll notice that on two out of three of Mitch's notes don't include nosing notes. In the first place, I was very lucky to get more than "tastes like whiskey" form Mitch. In the second place, he really can't smell very well, and never has been able to.

Stroudwater Belfry

90 Proof. Blended distillate with undisclosed mash bills. Aged in Maine for at least two years before being finished in a second new charred oak barrel six additional months.

Dan

Nose: Dark Chocolate, oatmeal, maple syrup

Palate: Marzipan, bread

Finish: Noticeable ethanol burn, somewhat nutty finish

Mitch

Nose: Charcoal

Palate: Cherry cough syrup

Mitch picked this one as the oldest pour from the flight.

Trevor

Nose:  Hot cocoa, popcorn, mint

Palate: Baker's cocoa, almond, marzipan

Finish: Pepper, mint, cherries

Sagamore Double Oak Rye 

96.6 proof. Blend of a 95% Rye, 5% malted barley mash bill (MGP, of course), and a 51% rye, 45% corn, 4% malted barley mash bill. NAS.

Dan

Nose: Vanilla, cherries. Hint of medicinal notes - a bit like Aspercream

Palate:  Mint, strong ethanol kick, citrus

Finish: Long hug, pepper, very dry and hot

On his second go-around, Dan noted that this pour had a bit more age, or possibly a higher barrel char.  Of course, he hadn't been told these were double oaks, but by the end of the night he said that might be the reason for the wood and char he was picking up. He felt this was the oldest of the three pours.

Mitch

Palate: No pepper or distinct flavor.  

Finish:  Mild, watered down

I remember being very surprised by Mitch's notes, as I always find Sagamore a very flavorful rye, but he stuck to his guns.  Mitch did speculate that this might be a rye, so he got Dan on that one. 

Put the two of them together and they nailed it!

Trevor:

Nose:  Grain, vanilla, mint

Palate: Cocoa, pepper and leather

Finish: Dry, black pepper, leather, very spicy

Woodford's Reserve Double Oaked

90.4 proof. Mash bill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley.  NAS but aged approximately 7 years.

Dan 

Nose: Stone fruit, cherry cool-aid, cinnamon

Palate: Sweet, vanilla, cinnamon

Finish: Short and oaky, tannic

Mitch

Palate: Tea, mint.

Trevor

Nose: Vanilla, brown sugar, wood

Palate: Cherries, caramel. leather and cinnamon

Finish: Short, dry, leather and pepper with a moderate hug

I confess my notes are a bit more conventional. Possibly because I was the only guy who knew what was in his glass from the first sniff and sip.

In the end, neither of the guys guessed the exact spirits they were tasting.  Surprising, because I know the Sagamore and the Woodfords are both favorites of Dan's.  As always, though, we enjoyed a sipping some good whiskey together and sharing stories - isn't that what it's really all about?

Cheers!

-Trevor