Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Nicholas Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon #2

As crazy as this looks to type, it’s been almost five years since the last time we were able to pry a Double Oaked barrel off of the team at Woodford. I had 200 bottles to offer up back in January 2020. They disappeared in 48 hours! You can’t blame the pandemic for that quick sellout either, that was even before the first known case in the States.

Woodford’s star has been on a steady but meteoric rise that rivals that of the entire bourbon industry. Six years ago, there was no issue buying a barrel of Woodford. Now, I have to twist J.P.’s arm and remind him that I’m not a cast member of the “Jersey Shore.”

J.P. is my go-to man at Woodford and he always gets a kick out of my Jersey negotiating skills. These single-barrel tastings are getting to be nearly impossible to book. Most distilleries that still offer private barrels insist on selecting the barrel for you. Yeah right – no chance!! I have a hard rule that if I’m buying a barrel and putting my name on it, I have to be the one to select it. Thankfully, the relationships I’ve developed along the Kentucky Trail have paid off and everyone has obliged.

I actually went down and picked a barrel back in January 2022. Incredibly enough, due to their crazy glass shortage, that barrel never made it’s way to Red Bank. That one still haunts me. I went down a few months ago to pick out this and the our Single Barrel 1 Liters of Bourbon. I could barely believe it when this one showed up last week. Everybody is going to love this one. It’s so dang good, it was probably worth the nearly five year wait!