Barrel char | Dark chocolate | Aged leather | Burnt caramel | Light smoke & clove

Caramel | Vanilla extract | Blackberry | Sweet oak

Barrel char | Robust oak | Rye spice | Clove | Lingering spicy oak

Double oaked bourbon continues to be popular among bourbon drinkers, but surprisingly, very few have released a true triple oaked whiskey (or “double double oaked,” which it is described as). There’s probably a good reason for it, as finding balance and nuance while having the bourbon flavors stand out against the heavy oak notes is likely a fool’s errand. Many thought that Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked Bourbon was triple oaked, but alas, it was only a clever, if not somewhat misleading name.

High Bank Distillery Co.’s Whiskey War Double Double Oaked is, in fact, a true triple oaked whiskey. Using a blend of straight whiskeys, it undergoes a second and third entry into new oak barrels. If the whiskey’s name didn’t already give it away, the color and aroma certainly suggest this spent a good amount of time getting to know the barrels it was aged in.

The aroma begins with heavy barrel char before dark chocolate, aged leather, burnt caramel, and clove layer in. The palate offers caramel, vanilla extract, blackberry, and sweet oak. The finish further layers in more barrel char, oak, rye spice, and clove.

While it’s no surprise that oak dominates the flavor profile, the whiskey shines in its balance. Being triple oaked and coming in at 117 proof, you’d expect this to be like taking a bite out of a barrel stave, but it’s far from it. All of the whiskey’s oak notes are beautifully tempered and layered in a way that they hit at different times and intensity. Though there isn’t a wealth of other flavors present, the ones that are: caramel, vanilla extract, clove, and rye spice, play well with the bourbon oakiness.

Whiskey War Double Double Oaked is a beautiful proof of concept that shows that a triple oaked whiskey can be done, but more so, it can be done well.

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The bottle in review is from batch 05.