In the world of American whiskey, toasted-barrel finishes are nothing new. In fact, Michter’s claims to have kickstarted this trend with the release of a toasted-barrel finish of its US*1 Bourbon more than a decade ago. Nowadays you can find this type of secondary maturation used by many different brands, and one of the best blenders in the business, Barrell Craft Spirits, just added to the mix by introducing a new toasted-barrel version of its already excellent Dovetail expression.
For the uninitiated, a toasted-barrel finish means that the whiskey is given a secondary maturation in a barrel that has been toasted and not charred. “Toasted oak finishes introduce an expansive set of aromatic and structural variables to a whiskey—particularly in a blend,” Barrell Craft Spirits founder Joe Beatrice told Robb Report. “Depending on toast level and cooperage style, you can lean into coconut shavings, vanilla bean, caramelized sugars, roasted nuts, cocoa, coffee, gentle smoke, and warm baking spices… [as well as] softened wood tannin, richer viscosity, and a silkier mid-palate.” He also warns that too long in toasted oak can flatten or mute the palate, something that he believes Dovetail avoids.
While bourbon and rye whiskey is legally required to be aged in new charred oak barrels (really “containers,” per the TTB’s language), both categories can be finished in other types of casks. Barrell Craft Spirits does just that, sourcing barrels from many different distilleries around the country, as well as Canada, and blending them into cask-strength expressions that are often finished in a variety of barrel types. Dovetail, for example, is a blend of whiskeys that were distilled in Indiana and Tennessee and finished in rum, port, and Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels before married together and bottled at barrel-proof (note that Dovetail is labeled as “whiskey” and not “bourbon” or “bourbon finished in X cask” because the primary components were initially aged in used barrels).
The new Toasted Dovetail is part of the brand’s Black Label Series, which is supposed to “showcase cutting-edge blending methods and techniques which set the expert blender apart.” The core blend is the same and finished in the same types of barrels as the original, before being bottled at cask strength of 123.8 proof. But it gets a long 33-month secondary maturation in toasted American oak, and this is what makes it different (and, apparently, worth paying a significantly higher price for). We did not get to try Dovetail Toasted yet, but the official tasting notes describe it has having “layers of caramelized sugar, warm spice, and rich oak,” and overall being a more decadent and complex version of the original.
There are, of course, other toasted finish expressions out there for you to try, including rye and sour mash whiskeys from Michter’s. Elijah Craig added a toasted-barrel finish to its lineup a few years ago, and other brands like Penelope, Wheel Horse, Woodford Reserve, and Peerless have their own versions. If you’d like to try Dovetail Toasted for yourself, you can find it available to purchase directly from the BCS website or at specialty retailers around the country (SRP $200) now.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker
