Color: Medium golden amber Nose: Sweet nose of maple? Molasses? Leather, apples, the faintest of alcohol whiffs. Palate (drank neat): The sweetness of the nose carries over to the palate on the very first sip, with a syrupy mouth feel. Very mild chest hug. There's a lot going on with this stuff. Spice, cooling mint, a bit of smoke, and something akin to "grape" hits on the back of the tongue. Yes — grape! Was not expecting that. Huh! I'd have thought this was one of those "Sherry" or "Port" cask expressions. The added element of the double oak is also very prevalent. Finish: Fairly long grainy, minty, slightly smokey, somewhat buttery, graham crackery finish. This was one of four bottles that I bought today with some gift cards I received for Christmas. The other three were bottles that I've had in my sights for a while. But this 2XO was a "game day decision' — with a little help from the reviewers here, of course. Color me impressed! 4.0 stars. But I could easily see this getting a bump in the future.
About this bottle
French Oak is the second in the brand's Oak Series, an ongoing series which features more everyday offerings. Here, American whiskey blender Dixon Dedman inserts chains of charred French oak into bourbon barrels with a moderate amount of rye in the mash bill recipe. Available nationwide beginning September 2024. (SRP $49.99)
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 3 parsed reviews.
Rich oak vanilla cinnamon nose with caramel and rye with notes of leather and oil, a rich vanilla and caramel body, oak and leather with maple syrup and soft cookies, a velvety silky smooth mouthfeel w/ a gentle spice, a smooth finish of vanilla, oak, & caramel, with sweet smooth nougat. Tasted neat.
Nose: bitter oak nose, nutty Palette: up front similar to a castle and key, grainy, buttery, tannins buy watered down
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
