Batch 3 Toasted Barrel, Barrel Strength Bourbon

Proof: 118.8 proof

Yield count: 1,784 bottles

Toasted Barrel Finish 3 Months

75% Medium and 25% Heavy new Toasted Barrels from Kelvin Cooperage

Tasting Notes: The nose is plush, rich, and buttery right away. Smoked maple, blackberry jam, orange peel, clove, and a dried leather note that grows more prominent the longer it rests.

Huge toasted vanilla come to the front of the palate here, but not without the toasted marshmallow exterior. The palate is viscous and coating, with a savory maple and brown sugar growing more prominent as you sip. This extra depth to the toast level rolls off some of the more jagged spice from batch 2, and grows closer to what one may expect when reaching for a toasted bourbon.

The finish is long, spiced, and trailing - a bit more akin to Batch 1 with its toffee, charred marshmallow, oak and leather tannins.

About the brand: K.LUKE Whiskey Company owner and blender Jonathan Maisano made his first single barrel trip to Kentucky in the summer of 2014.  Since then, he has tasted over 1,600 barrels and selected more than 400 to be deemed as Maisano Hand Select Single Barrels for retail.  Jonathan is also a first level certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers.  He uses this extensive sensory training when evaluating aroma and flavor profiles in whiskey barrels as there are many similar traits in both wine and whiskey when searching for nuances.  

K.LUKE Whiskey Company small batch blends are created by sourcing from several different distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana with different mash bills up to 36% rye and ages. This allows the focus to be on building multilayered and exciting blends instead of the individual components used to create each blend. Jonathan creates several blends based off his notes and ratings of their barrel inventory, then all blends are run through several rounds of blind tastings with blends being adjusted one barrel at a time by taste (Jonathan and Jennifer do all the blind tastings) until a favorite is decided for bottling.

This is TheSpiritOfBlending.