Woodford Reserve Masters Collection Sonoma Triple Finish the 19th Masters Collection release: a Kentucky Straight Bourbon that explores the intersection of Kentucky and California wine country, finishing the whiskey in a sequence of three Sonoma County cask types Pinot Noir barrels, brandy barrels, and former Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels that were subsequently used to age Sonoma red wine before returning to hold whiskey again.

The Triple Finish draws on a decade of creative exchange between Woodford Reserve and Sonoma County wine producers. The 2014 Masters Collection released the first Pinot Noir finished Kentucky bourbon. The 2016 release introduced American brandy cask finishing. In both cases the barrels came from Sonoma County wineries. Meanwhile, Sonoma winemakers began aging their wines in used Woodford Reserve barrels, creating a genre of Bourbon Barrel Aged wines with vanilla and caramel notes. Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall noticed that thread: bourbon going to wine country, wine barrels returning to bourbon and took it a step further by combining all three cask types into one expression.

The result is a blend of Woodford Reserve bourbon that has been finished separately in each of the three Sonoma cask types and then combined: Pinot Noir barrels for fruit character, brandy barrels for dried fruit and nutty richness, and former Woodford-then-wine barrels for the vanilla and caramel that come back enriched from the wine aging cycle.

Tasting Notes

• Nose: Rich, fruity, and vanilla-forward red fruit from the Pinot Noir casks, dried fruit from the brandy casks, and caramel from the bourbon-turned-wine barrels layered together
• Palate: Dark fruit, vanilla, baking spice, and dark chocolate; the three cask types contribute distinctly different fruit and wood notes that create a more complex profile than any single finish would produce
• Finish: Long and fruit-forward with vanilla, spice, and warm oak

Specs

• Distillery: Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, Kentucky
• Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Masters Collection (#19)
• Finish: Three Sonoma County cask types Pinot Noir, brandy, and former Woodford bourbon barrels used for wine
• ABV: 45.2% (90.4 Proof)
• Release: 2023
• Size: 750ml

Browse the full Woodford Reserve collection at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the circular relationship between Woodford and Sonoma? Woodford Reserve sent bourbon-finished barrels to Sonoma wineries to age wine. Those same bourbon-influenced wine barrels then came back to hold Woodford bourbon again one of the three cask types in this expression. A literal barrel exchange between bourbon country and wine country.
• How does each cask type contribute? Pinot Noir barrels add red fruit character; brandy barrels add dried fruit, nuts, and richness; bourbon-turned-wine barrels add vanilla and caramel that have been enriched through the wine aging cycle. Each is distinct; together they create the Triple Finish’s complexity.
• Is this limited? Yes the 2023 Masters Collection, produced in limited quantities as an annual release.

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