People generally love Woodford Reserve because the bourbon is stronger than average, with 90.4 proof, but still completely drinkable and — dare I say — smooth.
Well, get ready to set your tongue on fire in a lake of bourbon with the latest edition of Woodford’s Distillery Series, an extension of a previous release that is the highest-proof whiskey ever made by this Kentucky distillery.
Chocolate Whisper Redux is so named because it’s actually a sequel to a previous 2021 release called Chocolate Malt Whisper. That bourbon, also part of the Distillery Series, was reportedly the result of a happy accident, though it’s always wise to be somewhat skeptical of such claims, given how strictly the whiskey-making process is usually controlled at distilleries.
In 2019, Woodford distilled a whiskey called Chocolate Malted Rye as part of its Master’s Collection, which included about 15% chocolate-malted rye in its recipe (referring to how the grain was roasted to enhance flavors). According to master distiller Elizabeth McCall, some residual distillate was left in the pot still’s receiving tanks. “Since the chocolate-malted rye recipe was a bourbon recipe, there was no concern about class and type if the distillate mixed with the standard bourbon recipe distillate,” she told Robb Report.
“We hadn’t considered that the minimal amount of residual distillate from the chocolate-malted rye run would have a significant sensory impact on the bourbon distillate produced immediately afterward. It was only when this standard bourbon distillate, produced immediately after the chocolate-malted rye, was tested for sensory quality that the ‘whisper’ was discovered.” And that whisper affected several subsequent batches.
The original Chocolate Malt Whisper was bottled at Woodford’s standard 90.4 proof, but this bourbon beast approaches hazardous materials levels with a robust 139.4 proof — just 0.6 degrees below being banned from an airplane. This new version spent the last four years in barrels, absorbing flavor and apparently increasing in proof (though I don’t know the original’s barrel proof).
According to the distillery, this 12-year-old bourbon is their highest-ABV whiskey to date. We haven’t had the chance to taste the new bourbon, but the official tasting notes describe chocolate (naturally), toasted oak, and nutmeg on the nose, followed by cacao nibs (obviously), dark roasted coffee, dried cherry and cranberry, and charred oak on the palate. That’s assuming, of course, you can get past the alcohol burn that likely plays a big role in the whiskey’s flavor profile.
Chocolate Whisper Redux is available for $100 per 375 ml bottle starting today at the distillery and on its website (shipping available to select states), as well as from some specialty retailers in Kentucky. You can also find other members of the Woodford lineup, including the recent Double Double Oaked release and the previously mentioned Chocolate Malted Rye, available for purchase on ReserveBar.
Source: Robb Report. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
