Final Notes:

Immediately following the initial release of Ben Holladay Bourbon, my mind shifted to this next batch. I began pulling samples right away knowing I would have a wider selection of barrels to narrow down for batch two. This batch shares traditional bourbon characteristics with the first release, but you’ll find subtle differences that result in noticeable flavor variations.

Having more barrels of age to choose from made my pulls easier and more difficult at the same time. I liked having more options to work with, but the wider selection made it challenging to narrow down with so many desirable barrels on hand. I settled on 44% from the first floor and 56% from the fifth floor.

Overall we had a loss of 31.1% which was close to what we expected. Barrels aged on lower floors of ironclad rickhouses result in higher yields compared to those on the upper ricks. When dumped, the proof of lower level barrels is also slightly lower in comparison.

Initially, I was hesitant to contribute a larger percentage from the first floor due to concerns that the bourbon would have less character, but not in this case. The barrels have added delicate aromas and sweetness to this batch. The oak influence from the fifth-floor barrels is still very much present, but the ratio resulted in a well-balanced batch.

Once I became confident in my barrel choices, we weighed each one, dumped and combined them into what I felt was the perfect combination for Ben Holladay Bourbon batch two. The empty barrels were passed along to a few local breweries to repurpose for a barrel-aged beer. I look forward to sampling those brews once released.

After taking in all the feedback from the initial batch, I’m anxious to see how this flavor profile is received. I’m just as proud and confident in this release as I was of the first one. I believe it’s only going to get better from here as the legacy of DSP-MO-5 continues.