Most of you know Breaking Bourbon as a source of bottle information, releases, and whiskey reviews. Over the years, we’ve selected over a 100 single barrels and even done some light blending, but this is far beyond that. At the beginning of 2026, we took this one layer deeper: A collaboration with a distillery on a whiskey product that involved multiple finishing barrels, real-world availability, and cost challenges – all on a larger scale. Now almost a year in the making, Dragon’s Milk Origin Breaking Bourbon Collaboration Series: Orchard & Ash, is finally here. We’re inviting you behind the scenes to show how this release came together.

We wanted to explore something more interesting than a single barrel pick for our club. Moreover, we wanted to push boundaries into unexplored flavor territory. After reviewing and experiencing nearly every product of New Holland Brewing & Distilling Co., the company behind the Dragon’s Milk Origin brand, it seemed like a perfect fit. Their unique distillate and flavor profile, coupled with the wide range of finishes they had already explored, sparked our interest and showcased the opportunity.

Everyone agreed it would technically remain New Holland’s product (we neither invested in nor received any fee related to this product), but we wanted creative control to run alongside New Holland’s insight and experience. From our perspective, the chance to take part in the curation side of the process, as viewed from our editorial and consumer lens, ultimately shaped our interest.

The first step was an experimental search for finishing barrels. We started big, requesting barrels rarely, if ever, used in bourbon finishing. The list shrank as sourcing challenges arose, cost containment came into focus (we set a boundary early on to keep the final on-shelf cost as close to $100/750mL as possible), and the timeline tightened, with a goal of reaching consumers before year-end. Ambition ultimately ran into sourcing and reality constraints. But doubling down on searching and concept led to barrels we were excited about. Here they are, and why we landed on them.

#1 Harvest Spirits Farm Distillery Ex-Pear Brandy Barrel (used)
Freshly emptied pear brandy oak which we expected to lend bright apricot and stone fruit notes.
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#2 Kádár Lélek Hungarian Ash Barrel (new)
Toasted Hungarian ash which we expected to layer caramel and oak with balanced fruit character.
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#3 Canton Spirit Legacy Hybrid Barrel (new)
American white oak staves and Hungarian oak heads which we expected to bring caramel and toasted oak; we chose a medium toast with a light char.

Needless to say, just getting to that point and actually getting the barrels in-house took some time and a lot of back and forth, but New Holland’s persistence delivered. We flew out on June 19th and met with the team to sample through a wide range of Origin straight bourbon barrels to decide what should go into each finishing barrel. The ex-pear brandy barrel was freshly dumped and, as a result, intensely aromatic, and it was immediately clear that it would most likely become the anchor for the blend.

After tasting through the range of base barrels, we landed on three, each selected based on its likelihood of working well with the specific finishing barrel we intended it for. But there was a fourth base barrel that stood out, and while its flavor profile was too overpowering on its own with deep, rich oak, leather, raisin, and even a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal note, we wanted it somewhere in the blend. We decided to top off the Kádár Lélek Hungarian ash barrel with about 10 gallons, which turned out to be enough, as it came through surprisingly strong in the finished individual component.  

The New Holland team monitored finishing along the way, then pulled samples from each after approximately 3 months for us to blend. We worked the blends up and down, testing all ranges of combinations and getting feedback from some of our Patreon members and fellow bourbon enthusiasts on what they liked best. We finally arrived at our winning combination:

• 52% Harvest Spirits Farm Distillery Ex-Pear Brandy Barrel
• 11% Kádár Lélek Hungarian Ash Barrel
• 37% Canton Spirit Legacy Hybrid Barrel

The final blend was proofed down to 100 based on numerous factors: balancing flavor, drinkability, and on-shelf price point to find the sweet spot where everything came together. The inclusion of the ex-pear brandy barrel really dialed in Dragon’s Milk’s fruit-forward flavor profile, and the two complementary barrels added layers of savory and sweet notes. The bottles are being sold exclusively via Seelbach’s, with early access to our Patreon members announced earlier in the week.

This blending project was fun and a great learning experience. Huge credit is due to the team at New Holland Brewing & Distilling Co., who worked diligently through the process and weren’t afraid to take risks. Now we’ve got our sights set on edition #2.

Tasting Notes‍

Ripe pear and gooey caramel lead the aroma and are quickly joined by bright, juicy citrus. Toasted nuts and seasoned oak add depth, while a hint of cinnamon and chocolate malt balls round things out. The palate is rich and bright, with deep caramel and dense seasoned oak forming the core. Juicy pear and dried apricot bring concentrated fruitiness, complemented by sweet brown sugar and buttercream frosting. Light pear carries into the finish and is accented by nutmeg and pops of American and Hungarian oak. A lingering Hungarian ash note emerges on the backend and gives the finish a more distinctive, dynamic character as it fades.