Red fruit medley | Vanilla frosting | Cinnamon | French oak

Cherry cola | Black cherry | Vanilla | Caramel

Seasoned oak | French oak | Baking spices | Grape | Lingering barrel char

Filibuster Distillery was initially based in Washington, DC, not far from the Capitol Building (hence the name), before moving to Virginia. The company prides itself on strong character and freedom of expression. Their bourbon and rye both feature what they’ve dubbed the “Dual Cask” process, which is a secondary aging step finishing their whiskey in wine-seasoned French oak barrels for 60-90 days.

The whiskey’s aroma is very fruit-forward with a medley of red fruits dominating up front. From there, sweet vanilla frosting, cinnamon, and rich French oak round out the delightful aroma. Cherry overtakes the palate with cherry cola and black cherry notes that blend, offset by traditional flavors of vanilla and caramel. The finish leads with seasoned oak and French oak before layering in baking spices and grape.  

Since we last reviewed Filibuster Straight Bourbon Finished in French Oak Barrels, Filibuster Distillery has moved away from blending with MGP distillate. Although it results in a lower age statement, it’s nice to see a bottle from Filibuster Distillery made with Filibuster Distillery-distilled bourbon. If you only read the bottle’s front label that mentions French oak, you’d be surprised by the onslaught of red fruit scents on the whiskey’s nose. That’s because the French oak barrels wine seasoned, and the 60-90 day finishing time is influential to say the least.

Although the whiskey tastes young and thin, with some youthful notes pulling through, it works well against the strong finishing flavors present. The whiskey’s proof may only be 90, but it packs a lot of flavor, and I can see many wine-finished bourbon lovers taking to this release. With strong fruit notes combined with classic bourbon flavors sandwiched between layers of French oak, seasoned oak, and barrel char, there is a surprising amount going on. I look forward to seeing what a little more aging will do to help fully round this out.  

The bottle in review comes from batch #87, bottle #2,648.