Candied cherries | Strawberries | Raspberries | Root beer | Sweet oak

Black raspberries | Raisin | Light pecan | Sweet oak

Rye spice | Leather | Light tobacco leaf | Milk chocolate

We haven't heard much from Traverse City Whiskey Co. in a while, but behind the scenes they’ve been busy cooking up their new Finishing Series line of whiskeys. The inaugural release features a 5 year old bourbon (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley) finished in port wine barrels, a 5 year old 100% rye finished in cabernet franc barrels, and a 5 year old bourbon (60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Malted Barley) finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry wine barrels. While nothing out of the ordinary on the surface, is there more to this series than meets the eye?

Most notably, the series features whiskeys that were all distilled by Traverse City Whiskey Co. at their Michigan distillery. This is unlike many of their releases that were sourced from MGP, as they have been ramping up production and slowly shifting towards their own distillate.

For the Sherry Barrel Finish Straight Bourbon, I instantly tasted the change in Traverse City’s bourbon that has occurred over the past few years. Now aged 5 years with another 9 months of finishing time, the bourbon has developed a nice body and roundedness. It takes its sherry finish with ease, offering a gentle, yet flavorful sip that will please most looking for a sherry finished bourbon. The nose is on the sweet and fruity side, with an interesting root beer back side that is unique and compelling. The bourbon’s palate nicely lays out black raspberry and raisin notes, before layering in pecan and sweet oak. Finally, the finish showcases the bourbon’s 36% rye mashbill by introducing a layer of rye spice before transitioning to leather, tobacco leaf, and milk chocolate.

This sherry finished bourbon doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way, but instead offers an approachable and delicately layered fruit-forward bourbon that most will find enjoyment with. Traverse City’s base bourbon seems to be at a perfect age to accept its sherry influence, allowing the fruitiness to pull through, but mature enough to still have a presence. Traverse City has managed to nicely fine-tune this sherry finished bourbon and keeps it from being overly dry, oaked, spiced, or sweet. While some may see this as taking the fun out of a particular sip, offering a nicely balanced whiskey can be just as satisfying.