Peach | Sugarcane | White grape | Pie crust

Fermented peach | Light vanilla | Kumquat

Stewed peaches | Sugared peach | Apricot | Mild oak

Purple Toad Winery & Distillery is located in Paducah, Kentucky, approximately 200 miles west of Bardstown, Kentucky. The company opened their doors in 2009, initially only selling wine from grapes grown on their vineyard. Only recently did they build an on-site still, unveiling their first clear spirits in December 2024. To make their fruit whiskeys, Purple Toad Winery & Distillery blends their homemade fruit wines with sourced Kentucky bourbons.

Instead of finishing their sourced bourbon in a wine barrel, Purple Toad tried something that is far less common. They took their peach wine and blended it directly with Kentucky-sourced bourbon. The result is an 80 proof sip that drinks more like an amplified fruit wine than a wine-finished bourbon. The resulting question then is: who is this for?

The blend’s flavor profile isn’t overly complex, and that likely has to do with the amount of peach wine that was used to blend this. Peach flavor dominates, and although it is sweet, it is careful not to be sickly sweet. Any flavors the bourbon might have brought to the table are drowned out almost completely, besides some very light pie crust, vanilla, and oak.

To Dosset Vineyards’ credit, Purple Toad Peach Whiskey is a unique sip. The addition of bourbon to the peach wine makes it drink more like a high-proof wine than a low-proof bourbon. I don’t doubt there is a market for a higher and sweeter proof pour that folks who want to like whiskey have trouble fully embracing because of the harshness they may experience. With a few ice cubes, this can act more as a pre-mixed cocktail if you need it to be.