Review: Woodford Reserve Distillery Series – Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Finish
For its first Distillery Series whiskey of 2026 (and the first we’ve reviewed in a a few years), Woodford Reserve takes us to an increasingly popular place: wine-finished bourbon. This expression begins with fully mature Woodford Reserve Bourbon, then finishes it in French oak cabernet sauvignon barrels of unstated origin and for an unstated length of time.
Red wine and bourbon don’t always mix perfectly, so let’s see how master distiller Elizabeth McCall has turned this one out.
Woodford Reserve Distillery Series – Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Finish Review
The nose immediately connotes that some changes are afoot: While the whiskey exudes classic notes of well-aged Woodford, there’s a fruitier edge that’s immediately detectable, showcasing baked apples and cherries in syrup, plus some mint. A charry note eventually comes into focus, pushing past woody barrel notes and into burnt wheat bread, and the longer this sits in glass, the more insistent it becomes. It’s all a hint of what’s to come.
The palate is something else altogether, immediately striking the tongue with the off flavor of raw, rising bread dough. A gumminess fills the mouth right away, complemented by flavors akin to sourdough, green wood, and nutty sesame paste — perhaps a bit of bay leaf in the mix. To call this a savory whiskey would be an understatement, and the fruit on the nose is all but absent on the palate. That’s a frequent, almost iconic, issue with red wine barrel finishing, which somehow always seems to suck all the fruit and sweetness out of a bourbon and leave behind the tannic grape stems and pulpy must that went into making a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. Woodford has had far better luck finishing whiskey with other varietals. This one’s a miss.
90.4 proof.
C+ / $60 (375ml) [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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