Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Maple Wood Finish

Intro: This is the 2010 release, bottling #5, in the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection of special release bourbons. Prior years have featured Seasoned Oak, Sonoma Cutrer wine barrel finish, 1838 Sweet Mash, and Four Grain bottlings. Woodford Reserve claims that this is the first bourbon ever finished in barrels made from sugar maple wood. No age statement is given for the preliminary oak aging or for the aging in maple wood.

Nose: Light maple syrup, very slightly medicinal, vanilla, caramel, light fruit, a hint of chocolate.

Taste: Piquant delicious spice reminiscent of a 12 yo Willett bourbon. Maple flavour and maple sugar sweetness are quite obvious. Oak flavours are very strong here. Some caramel and vanilla are present. There is also a little fruit.

Finish: Long sweet maple flavoured finish. Oak is also prominent.

Balance: This has nice crisp strong spicy bourbon flavours combined with the maple finish. The company is extremely proud that their coopers succeeded in producing whiskey barrels made of maple wood-- an accomplishment considered impossible by many. The maple wood barrels were toasted but not charred prior to use. I think Woodford Reserve succeeded very well with this flavour matchup, though there will be many bourbon purists who will not like maple flavour and sweetness obvious in their whiskey. This maple flavour is the usual profile of a Tennessee Whiskey, which acquires the maple flavour not through barrel aging, but through filtration through sugar maple charcoal just prior to bottling. Overall, this is a very tasty and interesting whiskey.

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