Last year during a visit to Dark Arts Whiskey House of Lexington KY, we embarked on one of the most fun and freewheeling barrel selections we have ever done (aka tasted so many barrels, haven’t the foggiest as to how many we tried that day.) And it wasn’t for a lack of great options, there were many lovely bourbons in the mix, it was the unique opportunity that a producer like Dark Arts can offer. They have the flexibility and depth (and willingness) to keep pulling more – which gave us the opportunity to push the bar even higher, from great to truly exceptional. In the end we walked away with 3 remarkable barrels of bourbon, including a unique wine finish, a Japanese oak / Mizunara finished, and this beautiful gem of a barrel!

Barrel T95 is our “Business Class” bottling, distilled in Indiana from MGP's high rye mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. This one was deemed to be simply too good to mess with, so after maturing for 10 years it was bottled unfinished and without chill filtration at a barrel proof of 132.88. This is old, high-proof, high-rye MGP at its finest. The nose features clove, peppercorn, allspice, cardamom, and cinnamon with base notes of rich oak, vanilla, and dark caramel. The palate begins sweet with flavors of dark caramel, toffee, french vanilla, and jammy red fruit before rich oak, leather, peppercorn, and rye spice join on the midpalate. A lengthy finish weaves back and forth between earthy oak / tobacco and sweet citrus with a touch of mint. An absolutely beautiful example of mature, undiluted, high-rye bourbon.