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Classification: Straight Bourbon Finished in Toasted Oak and Port Barrels
Company: New Holland Spirits
Distillery: New Holland Brewing Company
Release Date: September 2025
Proof: 120.7
Age: NAS (Company website states aged more than 5 years before finishing)
Mashbill: 70% Corn, 25% Malted Barley, 5% Rye
Color: Chestnut
MSRP: $100 / 750mL (2025)
Baking spices | Chinese cinnamon | Peppercorn | Fennel seed | Red Hots candy | Toasted oak | Cinnamon
Stewed cherry | Stewed raspberry | Raisin | Prune | Cinnamon | Licorice allsorts
Red Hots candy | Cigar wrapper | Spicy cinnamon | Dry seasoned oak | Lingering toasted oak
Dragon’s Milk Origin Toasted Barrel 2025F "Candy Shop" is a boldly spiced, stewed-fruit-forward bourbon, offering a unique and brooding sipping experience for fans of finished whiskeys.
New Holland Spirits’ second 2025 batch of their Dragon Milk Toasted Barrel series includes three new releases, which include one standard toasted oak finish, one also finished in an ex-sherry barrel, and this release, which was finished in an ex-port barrel.
The company’s toasted barrel finished bourbon continues to be a standout among finished bourbons every year. This is the second time they also finished in port barrels, and the results are surprisingly quite different. Though New Holland dubbed this release “Candy Shop,” the results aren’t as sweet as you’d expect. A more apt name would be “Pie Shop” for the number of fruit pie flavors that overflow from the whiskey’s flavor profile.
“Candy Shop” features an aroma that is very baking spices-heavy. Chinese cinnamon, peppercorn, fennel seed, lead, before Red Hots candy and toasted oak get introduced. The palate offers notes of stewed cherry, raspberry, raisin, and prune with a pronounced influence. There is also a licorice allsorts candy flavor that is present, but not overpowering. The finish brings back the Red Hots candy note from the nose, and brings in cigar wrapper, spicy cinnamon, and dry seasoned oak.
This is a very grounded fruit-forward finished bourbon that lacks some of the brighter fruit notes the standard Dragon’s Milk Origin offers. For those lucky enough to have tasted or owned previous batches, “Candy Shop” is a fun diversion from what the brand typically offers. It’s a much more brooding pour, with its heavy notes of stewed fruit. It might not be the best place to start for first-time drinkers of the brand, as it tastes over-finished and overshadows the excellent flavors the base bourbon typically brings. One constant with Dragon’s Milk Origin Toasted Barrel is that it continues to be a one-of-a-kind pour.
