Texas is a big state with a big appetite for whiskey, and there are some great distilleries there making excellent bourbon, rye, and single malt. One of these is Fort Worth distillery TX Whiskey, which just announced the release of its latest Experimental Series bourbon—the oldest to date from this relatively young operation.
TX Whiskey was founded in 2010 and is now located on the grounds of an old golf course (which it calls the Whiskey Ranch) just outside of downtown Fort Worth. The core blended whiskey, which launched in 2012, includes sourced spirits in the mix, but the distillery now has a range of very good in-house produced bourbon along with several cask-finished expressions. The distillery was acquired by French company Pernod Ricard in 2019, and is part of an American whiskey lineup that also includes Jefferson’s Bourbon and Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville.
This new bourbon is the 12th release in TX Whiskey’s Experimental Series, which has featured some unique blends and cask finishes. This whiskey is a bit more straightforward; it’s a 7-year-old bottled-in-bond bourbon, but an important marker in the distillery’s journey nonetheless. “While our experimental releases have explored new avenues and pushed boundaries, the 7-Year Anniversary Batch is a testament to our roots, offering a refined expression of where we started and where we’re headed,” said head blender Craig Blair in a statement. “Every experimental release is unique, whether it’s a finish, blend or specially aged product. The 7-Year Anniversary Batch… [has a] unique flavor profile reflecting the bold spirit of innovation we’ve cultivated at Whiskey Ranch over the last seven years.”
The whiskey was produced during the initial runs on the distillery’s large column still, and was put into new charred oak barrels in 2018. As mentioned before, it’s a bottled-in-bond whiskey, so here’s a quick refresher as to what that term means: The whiskey is at least 4 years old, bottled at 100 proof, aged in federally bonded warehouses, and the product of one distillery and one distillation season. We were not able to sample this release yet, but official tasting notes describe vanilla, caramel, roasted pecans, and red apple on the nose, followed by notes of crème brûlée, dark cherries, and warm oak spice on the palate.
The 7-Year Anniversary Batch is a pretty limited release, with just 1,700 350 ml bottles becoming available (SRP $40) at the Whiskey Ranch starting later this month. To celebrate the launch, there will be a party at the Ranch on Saturday, April 26, with live music, food, and samples of the new whiskey to try. You can also find the core lineup available to purchase now at websites like ReserveBar, and previous Experimental Series whiskeys can be found, albeit with extremely inflated prices, from some websites.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker