Proof: 110.9 proof

Age: 4-years 9-months

Finishing Barrel: Nocino 

Tasting Notes:  Oak and Panella brown sugar. There are clove and black pepper notes. The nose and taste work nicely together. The initial notes of sweetness fade to baking spice and fruit cake. The foundation bourbon adds hints of pecan, currants, and anise. The nocino just amps everything up with the addition of dried dates and spice. The finish adds to the dry notes with cocoa and cinnamon.

This is a project that has been a year in the making. It came from a conversation with my friend, Aaron Goldfarb. We were brainstorming some barrel finishes from his book "Hacking Whiskey". He mentioned that Watershed Distillery did a barrel-aged Nocino. The sweetened walnut liqueur with spices seemed like the perfect back bourbon to finish a bourbon. 

In September of 2019, Watershed started to send monthly samples of a 4-year bourbon dumped into a Nocino barrel. Initially, I thought this would be a 30-60 day finish. It ended up taking 9-months before the bourbon started hit the flavor profile I was chasing. It's been a long process but the finished product made it all worth it! I'm greatful that the Watershed team was will to work with us on this experiment.

Purpose: One of the best parts of creating a grain to bottle bourbon has been getting to know the growers producing the grains we use and the farmers who feed our spent mash to their livestock. These are hardworking, small business owners producing the agricultural good our communities need to thrive.

Ingredients: Our bourbon is made from corn, wheat, rye, barley and spelt, double distilled and aged in charred American Oak barrels.