Photo courtesy: Pursuit Spirits
The Oak Collection starts with a curated blend of whiskeys that has been developed to precisely pair with certain styles of secondary oak finishes. The result is a union of flavors where the original blend shines through while the secondary finish provides perfect balance.
The Oak Collection will be an ongoing series that provides exploration of whiskey tastes and constant innovation. This initial release will feature two limited expressions, Pursuit United Bourbon Finished with Toasted American and French Oak and Pursuit United Rye Finished with Sherry French Revere Oak. Both will be available in limited quantities with an SRP of $74.99.
“I guess you’re not a real whiskey company until you have a toasted release,” says Co-Founder Kenny Coleman. “In all seriousness, the Oak Collection creates a better whiskey than traditional rebarreling because it allows us to develop a custom blend to match a particular wood finish.”
This line extension marries the concept of Pursuit United by blending different distillates, states, barrel types and aging environments with various oak types to develop unexplored taste profiles.
Pursuit Spirits – The Oak Collection
“Finding the right blend and wood finish proved challenging because there are many variables at play,” says Co-Founder and blender Ryan Cecil. “My goal was to complement the whiskeys being used. I did not want to hide them behind the flavors of the wood.”
The Pursuit United brand provides the flexibility to use any barrel and achieve a blend that works with different wood finishes. After testing multiple blends, oak types, and finishing times from a few days to a couple of weeks, a perfect union was found.
Pursuit United Bourbon Finished with Toasted American and French Oak uses a proprietary combination of three different straight bourbon whiskeys.
After the barrels were blended, they were split into two containers. One was finished with Toasted American oak, while the other was finished with French oak. After each achieved the desired flavor, the two containers were blended again for the final product. The nose is met with a flamed orange peel followed by dusted dark chocolate roasted nuts. The chocolate notes continue with a hazelnut spread and cherry cola on the palate. Familiar notes of toasted oak, cloves, and black pepper are prominent on the finish.
The bourbon whiskeys included in the proprietary blend are from three different distilleries:
TN – Undisclosed but NOT in Tullahoma (80% Corn, 10% Rye, 10% Malted Barley)
IN – MGP (Ross & Squibb) (60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Malted Barley)
NY – Finger Lakes Distilling (70% Corn, 20% Rye, 10% Cherry Smoked Barley)
Pursuit United Rye Finished with Sherry French Revere Oak uses the same award-winning and proprietary blend as the flagship using three distillates from two different distilleries. The barrels were blended at final proof before finishing with Sherry French Revere Oak. This release provides aromas of tropical fruits, coconut, and herbal tea. The initial taste is creamy, like warm fruit cobbler, followed by brown sugar. The finish leaves soft spices and hints of cocoa.
The three rye whiskeys are from two different distilleries:
MD – Sagamore Spirit (A: 52% Rye, 43% Corn, 5% Malted Barley / B: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley)
KY – Bardstown Bourbon Co. (95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley)
Pursuit United Bourbon Finished with Toasted American and French Oak and Pursuit United Rye Finished with Sherry French Revere Oak is limited to 300 6-pack cases and is bottled at 108 proof.
They will be available in very limited quantities in IL (Binny’s only), KY, MO, NM, TN (Knoxville market only), TX and online at Seelbachs.com with an SRP of $74.99.
About Pursuit Spirits
Ryan Cecil and Kenny Coleman first met while creating the podcast Bourbon Pursuit. For years, they got to interact with the brightest individuals in the bourbon whiskey industry. They learned what it takes to create, select, and blend great whiskey. Their goal is to cater to the whiskey enthusiast while adapting to a new market by selecting the best barrels and bottling uncut and unfiltered.
Pursuit Spirits is rooted in providing consumers an uncommon whiskey experience with access to unique whiskies. Learn more at pursuitspirits.com
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