Review: Hirsch The Single Barrel Bourbon Double Oak Second Edition

The latest release from Hirsch is a second edition of its Single Barrel Double Oak release, Kentucky distillate made from 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley, bottled at 9 years old. The first 8 years were spent in a new American oak barrel, char #4, followed by another year in a #1 ultra-light char barrel. Hirsch says the finishing barrel was done at a lower proof than in the first edition, should you be looking for a point of comparison with the earlier release. (We unfortunately haven’t tasted it.)

There’s no shortage of barrel influence here, the nose providing a grand gesture of charred oak, fresh herbs, fresh tobacco, and hints of anise. Heady and rich, there’s a light smokiness that evokes the cooperage in a way that few other whiskeys manage to do, for better or worse. If you’re at all shy about the power of wood, there’s no need to apply here.

The palate surprises as it switches things up quickly, the initial attack evoking darker fruits including figs and dark berries, maple, and toffee. Surprisingly sweet and rounded, the whiskey segues into notes of bittersweet chocolate and mocha, all laced with swirls of blackberry jam. The longer it sits in the glass, the more these elements really begin to coalesce, melding into a decadent experience that finishes on insistent notes of vanilla and brandied cherries. A splash of water does wonders to help bring it all together, really plumping up the fruit and concluding on a reprise of maple.

Quite difficult to put down, it’s my favorite release from Hirsch in years.

112.4 proof. Reviewed: Barrel #GLD23034.

A / $150 / hotalingandco.com [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]

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