Woodinville 8-year Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

Steve Coomes -

BOTTLE DETAILS

STEVE'S NOTES

SHARE WITH: Fans of pot-distilled bourbon, and column-still-only fans who need introducing to the beauty of pot stills. The story behind its unique barrel choice would also intrigue those who are keen on good wood.

WORTH THE PRICE: $129.95 is arguably a steep ask, but sometimes the luxury price is worth it for unique bottles.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Try it at a bar first. That might lead you to a bottle.

OVERALL: When I first poured this, I forgot about it while answering emails. In about 20 minutes, a sherry-like nuttiness had filled the space at my desk and reminded me it was ready for attention. It's big on the nose: a little leather, blackberry jam, fresh apples, ripe bananas, pears and jam cake. Unlike some, I don't view some whiskeys as "seasonal," but darned if this doesn't say "winter."

This is a dense bourbon, and deep, dark oak tones dominate and before cooked stone fruit, dried figs and baking spices roll across the palate, sweetening the whole. Jam cake reenters the picture and ginger bread comes alongside nicely for a cookie-like finish. This bourbon begs for a food pairing, and dessert is where I'd place this. Since it's so dark, I'd bet lighter flavors and textures (e.g. baked apple pie, lemon tart, white chocolate) would offset this nicely. A decadent Manhattan, you say? I put it to that test, and it was excellent.

BRAND NOTES

“I believe this is one the finest bottles of Woodinville we’ve ever made. Eight years ago, we set out to make something special and unique for bourbon lovers. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out and I’m excited to share it with you!” —Brett Carlile, head distiller & co-founder 

It all started with an idea: taking our signature five-year whiskey and seeing what would happen if we gave it three years longer in the barrel. The result? Simply extraordinary.

We mash and distill the grains in this authentic, grain-to-glass bourbon with care in our Woodinville distillery, before rolling them into our private barrel houses. Central Washington’s extreme temperature cycles promote the extraction of the barrel oak’s natural flavors over the eight-year maturation process. We season our barrels for 24 months before coopering them. We also heavily toast and lightly char them, imparting a deep and rich complexity. 

The well-seasoned oak, new barrel finish, unique mashbill, and additional aging give the whiskey more depth in character and flavor. Each bottle of this limited release is uniquely numbered, making it a true collector’s item.

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.