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Woodford Reserve isn’t just one of the most popular premium American whiskeys on shelves today. It’s also among the most innovative. The Kentucky distillery’s penchant for pushing the categorical limits of flavor stretches back nearly two decades to when it first launched the Master’s Collection. Each release in the series would defiantly bring to bottle something entirely novel to an industry that was—and still is—stubbornly traditional. Now the brand introduces the 20th expression to the lineup with a delicious callback to where it all began.
“Madeira Cask Finish is a tremendous way to celebrate 20 years of the Master’s Collection,” says master distiller Elizabeth McCall. “In 2007, Woodford Reserve was among the first bourbons to finish in wine casks. It was quite controversial at the time, but is now a common practice by other distillers. This 20th expression marks that historic milestone, with a new Madeira wine cask.”
That aforementioned finishing cask is seasoned with a style of sweet fortified wine native to the eponymous Portuguese island chain, off the northwestern coast of Africa. As McCall readily admits, its usage in secondary maturation these days is abundant. Angel’s Envy, Thomas S. Moore, and Breckenridge are but a few notable brands currently offering a Madeira finished bourbon.
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To stay ahead of the trend, this latest Master’s Collection ditches the bourbon label altogether. McCall has actually spun a wholly unique marriage of liquids in what can most accurately be described as a blended American whiskey. Specifically she combines bourbon, rye, and wheat whiskeys—all of which were individually finished in Madeira—with a separate, un-finished stream of fruit-forward Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey.
Brad Japhe
The result yields a holiday-sized bowl of cranberry and candied walnuts. The bright auburn liquid noses with notes of clove-spiced molasses and carries more of the same across its unctuous body. It sips with nary a trace of heat, bottled at the familiar 90.4 proof point typical to most releases in the Woodford portfolio.
A blended American whiskey might not seem that radical on its face. Indeed, it’s one of the more enduringly popular substyles out there. But most of them rely heavily on neutral grain spirit to come away with a light, facile liquid destined for the bottom shelf. McCall has taken an opposite tack, using elegant, high-end components to synthesize a full-bodied whole—one which confidently wears its $180-a-bottle price tag.
Yes, it tastes unlike most of its contemporary Madeira-finished counterparts. Yet novelty isn’t nearly enough. To achieve a lasting level of success, innovation has to be in service of spirits that sip wondrously. With 20 years worth of supporting evidence, Woodford seems quite committed to that cause.
Related: I’ve Tried Hundreds of Whiskeys. This Tennessee Bourbon Is the Smoothest I’ve Ever Tasted
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