Doc Holliday 7-Year Bourbon Review: Cask Strength, Bold Flavor

Drew Beard -

BOTTLE DETAILS

  • DISTILLER: Produced by the World Whiskey Society. Sourced from an undisclosed distillery in Indiana.
  • MASH BILL: 75% Corn | 21% Rye | 4% Malted Barley
  • AGE: 7 Years Old
  • YEAR: 2024
  • PROOF: 118
  • MSRP: $134
  • BUY ONLINE: Buy at World Whiskey Society

DREW'S NOTES

SHARE WITH: People who can't get enough cask strength, single barrel MGP in their life. Your dentist. And this time I'm being serious. Doc Holliday was an actual dentist!

WORTH THE PRICE: Any bourbon under 10 years old but over a $100 needs to be pretty special. While this is very good cask strength, single barrel bourbon, the MSRP is a bit steep. But hey, how many bourbons do you have on the shelf with gold longhorn skulls on the label and toppers that look just like revolver cylinders? Each bullet is even stamped with "Straight Bourbon." Those details don't come cheap, people.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bar. In the crowded world of single barrel, cask strength bourbons distilled in Indiana, this one is notable for its complexity and depth of flavor. If you don't already have something like this in the bar at home, pick it up. But chances are good that you do.

OVERALL: What is the World Whiskey Society (WWS)? It may sound like a brown water club you'd love to join (and you can, if you like getting emails), but at the end of the day this group, which started in 2020, is just another independent bottler of sourced whiskey. To their credit, the portfolio extends beyond everyday drinkers from recognizable sources to include unique finishings and even some ridiculously rare (and exorbitantly-priced) single malts.

The bread and butter of the WWS offerings appears to be their western-themed Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp lines, and this 7-year-old single barrel sits somewhere toward the premium end of those. It's wrapped in one of the cooler labels I've come across with a great vintage look and raised type, reminiscent of some Compass Box packaging. And I've already mentioned the extravagant ornamentation, which is a hallmark of every WWS bottling. While well-executed and certainly on-theme, it does make me even more curious about the quality of the bourbon inside.

Luckily - for this 7-year-old Doc Holliday single barrel, at least - the whiskey tastes as good as the bottle looks. The aroma is burly with oak, char, and wood spice but a layer of darker sugars and baking chocolate help to lightly sweeten those savory elements, becoming almost mesquite barbecue as things open in the glass. On the palate, that same balance appears, perhaps skewing toward the sweeter side of the flavor wheel as it develops in the glass. An initial rush of cinnamon sugar and toasted coconut gives way to vanilla and torched sugar on the midpalate, all laced with black pepper and a bit of pie spice. It's soothing and even a touch creamy with a balanced warmth that carries across the sip, eroding into a lively finish of black cherry and Almond Joys. Single barrels will vary, but if you're in the market for another cask strength, MGP option, barrel #175 is what you're hunting.

BRAND NOTES

Long before John Henry Holliday became known throughout these United States as "Doc" – and also "the slickest gunslinger in the west" – he was a darn good… dentist. Classically educated in Humanities and Mathematics, by 20, he graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery (hence the nickname) from one of the top schools in the nation.

Today we know him as the symbol of loyalty in the Wild West and the hero of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Despite all the perils of the Frontier, he remained an even-tempered, well-mannered Southern gentleman until his untimely end at 36 years of age.

We salute Doc Holliday as the epitome of a true friend and a loyal companion.

Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.