Woodford Reserve – Masters Collection Cherry Wood Smoked Barley (75cl, 45.2%)

The 12th release in the Woodford Reserve Masters Collection, a Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 45.2% ABV (90.4 proof) in a 750ml bottle. Part of the malted barley is smoked over cherry wood before mashing, so the smoke carries through fermentation and triple pot still distillation into the spirit. The bourbon then matured in new charred American white oak. Cherry wood smoke is described as lighter, fruitier and sweeter than peat smoke. The nose combines cherry smoke with caramel, vanilla and grain. Fruity smoke, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla and rounded malt show on the palate, and the finish is medium to long, with cherry smoke, caramel and warm oak.