Soft wheat grain | Snickerdoodle cookies | Floral | Grape pie | Noticeable cognac barrel finishing influence | Fantastic

Light brown sugar | Aged oak | Raisins | Dark berries | Earthy base | Hints of leather | Nicely highlights its age

Cinnamon spice | Snickerdoodle cookies | Fleeting dark berries | Long lingering spice | Pleasant

World Whiskey Society (WWS) was established in 2020, and according to the company’s website “comprises an ultra-premium collection of rare expressions previously unavailable to even the most sophisticated whiskey enthusiasts.” WWS seeks out whiskeys from around the world, noting they have “a singular goal in mind - uniqueness - before selecting a distillery partner to join WWS.” The company is transparent with the mashbill of the whiskey in the bottle and stands out in the crowd with their elaborate bottles. The company states that “for this Limited Edition of 600 bottles, we are thrilled to bring you the world's first American Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in barrels that previously held Grande Champagne XO Cognac.” It should be noted however that the front of the bottle states that the bottle count was only 352.

Right out of the gate, this whiskey lets you know it’s not kidding around. Its nose delivers a banger, with fantastic cognac-influenced notes mixed with scents right out of a bakery in the morning. The palate sees its focus switch to a more earthy undertone, however, it still maintains a hint of sweetness thanks to veins of dark berries and brown sugar. It ends with a long lingering spice that is preceded by baking notes and berries. All in all, this is a really well done finished bourbon.

This 10 year old bourbon originated from a distillery in Oklahoma, though the exact source is not disclosed. Presumably, a good candidate is Prairie Wolf Spirits (part of the Wander Folk Spirits family), which opened in 2012 as the first legal distillery in Oklahoma since prohibition. What’s interesting to note is that early releases from most new distilleries usually aren’t fantastic. Whether the original source just happened to hit it out of the park early on, or World Whiskey Society has an impressive knack at sourcing and blending barrels, the only thing that counts is the end product. And while I’d love to know more about the distillery this originated from and how long it was finished in Cognac barrels, there is no denying that the end result is one delicious sip.

The bottle being reviewed is number 27 of 352 and comes from Cognac Edition number 74.