223. Peerless Double Oak Bourbon Review

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts Jim and Mike. So grab a glass of your favorite bourbon and kick back.

Hello everybody, I'm Jim Shannon. And I'm Mike Hyatt. And this is the Bourbon Road. And today, Mike, we're once again at Jeff the Bin Farm. We've got a great bottle in store for everybody today. Something that not everybody's had a chance to have.

Not everybody. It's a new release that's out there. I think September timeframe is when it came out. And then, you know, so it gets released then at the distillery. And then the distributors get it and they hold on to it a while. And it takes a while to get to the store. And then the store will hold on for a while. until they feel it's right to hit the store. Now it's kind of that bourbon hunting season and now they're starting to pop up here.

They're starting to pop up and you know I first saw it at our old stomping grounds down here at the barrel room. They had it on the shelf and I tried it there and I thought wow that's something we need to get on the show and it's just hitting stores around us. So Well, it's the Peerless Double Oaked release and something new from them, something they hadn't done before.

Well, I love some double oak, right? Matter of fact, you know, we've had Woodford double oak on the show several times. I'm hoping this is as good as that. Now from my understanding, this is a non-disclosed mash bill, but we do know this is a four-year-old bourbon that was finished in a second barrel.

It spends four years in the primary barrel, and then it's switched over to a new barrel. So both new barrels. both new barrels. And that second barrel is meant to introduce a little more sweetness, some more wood sugars, right? And, uh, and give it a little, a nice finishing. Now how long it spends in that second barrel, I'm not sure. Um, but I will tell you this, it's, it's some dark whiskey.

It is some dark whiskey. Now what you do want to know about Peerless is that it's non-chill filtered, right? They always go at barrel strength. Um, sometimes their barrel strengths are a little bit lower in that a hundred and to 125, I would say. What's this one, Jim? This one's 107.1. So that's not a bad barrel strain. It's not a pallet killer, right? Right. And it's always a sweet mash with those guys, right? Yeah, always a sweet mash. The great Pat Heist out there will tell you that a sweet mash won't give you that big Kentucky hug that most people are looking for a bourbon. But newer bourbon drinkers, whiskey drinkers kind of like that sweet mash.

Now we've always been big fans of Peerless. We've been down there a couple of times to do interviews with them. Caleb and Corky have both been on the show at different times. We've had a number of their expressions. We've tried some of their really off the wall stuff too, like their Absinthe finished rye. We've had some pretty good stuff from them and they do get beat up a little bit on price. But you know what? Today's bottle cost cost us $89, which is not a bad price.

Really? When it comes to double oak, Tom, that's coming down from their $125 bottles down to this.

Yeah. Now this is 134 at the distillery. So if you go into the distillery and buy it off the gift shop shelf, you're going to pay 134 for it. I think total one has it for 80. I paid

town with $9 more for it because I bought it from a small shop in my hometown. But you also saved a 25 minute drive there and a 25 minute drive back, right? Right. Exactly. So that to you spending that nine more dollars at a small shop is a well worth it. We've talked about that a plethora of times. Right. Right.

Well, Mike, I think we should probably get right into tasting this. Let me first talk a little bit about the color. I mentioned a few minutes ago that it's kind of a, it's a dark whiskey. And I think that that double introduction to a barrel is going to give it a little bit more of a dark color. This is a dark, but this one's like, It's got that reddish hue to it, like a red, deep red amber, like a cherry wood.

That's why I say I got some cherry wood out on the front porch. It is that cherry red kind of color, cherry juice, or even that cherry red. If you've ever really cut down a giant cherry tree, it'll have that reddish hue to it.

Right. I say we go ahead and check it out. Cheers. Cheers.

It's got that chocolate going on.

It does. It does have a bit of chocolate on the nose. It's, uh, it's got a little bit of, uh, like, uh, a spicy bite to the nose a little bit. And, you know, I kind of expect a little bit of that from peerless, you know, their, their bourbon has a bit of a peppery note to it. So I would expect to see a little bit in here too, but it's got a rich nose on it. It's a chocolatey, a little bit of, uh, A little bit of orange peel, maybe.

You know what this makes me think of that oak that's just coming out there? Cause it is a lot of oak and stuff. As our good buddy, Chris Cruz, Cruz customs flags. Oh yeah. Hey, it is Christmas time. It's coming up. You want to get those gifts. He makes some nice American flags out of used bourbon barrels, right? He does repurposes them, recycles them, whatever you want to call it. combat veterans making flags that you can display in your house. You got one displayed on your bar. I got one displayed in my house. He also makes some other items out of those bourbon barrels. He's got a nice charred oak cup that you can drink bourbon out of. He's got some key holders. He's got state key reholders and stuff. You want to check Chris Cruz out at Cruz Customs Flags. Buy some of his products. veteran owned, veteran operated, and veteran made, you won't find a better Christmas gift. I agree completely, Mike. Now we've got to get back to this whiskey.

I love the nose on it. I think, I think I kind of, I think I mentioned, you know, chocolate and a little bit of orange peel. Definitely a little bit of sweetness, but also a little bit of a peppery bite on the nose.

I could get that, that orange pill kind of a, a tart, um, this tartan peach, peach tart, like I'm trying to think there when I'm, you know, you get that tart smell to this. Like if you ever smelled a tart, like I'm talking like a pastry tart and it's got that smell to it, freshly baked. This kind of has that.

I always hear about cherry tarts. You could have a peach tart or a apple tart, right? Yeah, this is pretty good. Let's taste it. Cheers. Cheers. Very oaky. Definitely so. But it's got a combination of that aged oak and that new oak flavor to it. That sweetness comes across. Not, it's not pop rock in my tongue at all. It's not as peppery as I thought it might be. It's a little bit sweeter, but it definitely has a chocolate note to it that's prominent.

I'm getting a lot of campfire in this one right here. Nutella chocolate, all this is what I'm getting. I guess Nutella is not chocolate, is it?

Hazelnut. Hazelnut, yeah. It's hazelnut. But it's got something in it, chocolate, doesn't it?

I honestly don't know. I'm not sure what it is. It is good, though. Have you ever had Nutella spread on some toast or something? Um, I never had any before as a kid until I met my wife and you know, her growing up in Germany, they eat a lot of that Nutella over there. They do. Yeah. Europe's big on Nutella, not so much on peanut butter, much more on Nutella.

So not a lot of fruits to this for me. This is more, um, this is more oak wood, like a little bit of, um, citrus, little bit of brown sugar.

I could get that brown sugar on this. I still get a lot of that, that, you know, when we talk about chocolate, when you talk about double Oaks, um, you do get a lot of that baking chocolate in this right here. Not so much a sweet and sometimes baking chocolate has that a little bit of bitterness with it. And this has that.

Well, this, this has a slight astringent note to it. It's a little bit drying, a little bit tannic, not too bad. It's kind of balanced with that extra sweetness from the, from the wood sugars. Um, but I would say, I would say overall pretty, pretty darn good whiskey. I mean, I'm liking it a lot.

This probably a pass for me. Um, I don't know it a little bit too much Oak on this one right here. It is that campfire. I'm just trying to think where I would eat this with or pair it with. I would almost need to pair it with something that's sort of savory. Uh, you know, Steve Coons would probably say pair it with some, some of that hill belly prosciutto.

This would be pretty good with a, with a biscuit with a little bit of apple butter and some country ham on it. Yeah, that would probably pair well with this. Yeah.

Um, at 80 bucks, you know, that, I don't know,

That's why you like what you like. That's one thing for sure. Yeah.

I'm not saying pass it up at all. I mean, cause it is a special bottle and stuff. Um, I just have to think about what to drink. And I think it's a good whiskey. I just $80 to me is for a four year old. I don't know. I guess we are getting into those ranges where we have bought those bottles for that much. Right. Right. Um, Oh, it's not a four year old whiskey.

This is going to be extra age beyond four years. Not sure exactly how long, let's say it's probably a five or six year old whiskey, but definitely four years in the first barrel.

As I'm sitting here sipping, it is opening up that last sip. I just took a little bit sweeter. It is opening up a little bit and I'm getting that orange citrus in that a little bit.

Yeah, I'm wondering if this bottle isn't something that you should come back and talk to in about a week or so, you know, after it's been opened up and had a chance to, um, to mellow a little bit. I think that I am start as I continue to sip on it, I start to get a little bit more of the kind of the baking cabinet out of it. A little bit more, uh, not so much cinnamon, but a little more nutmeggy kind of all spice.

What I'm getting out of this, I was talking about that campfire, you know, when you take him overcook a marshmallow and that sucker catches on fire and it just crisps outside. I like that. Yeah. And I'm getting that in this right here. Not so much as a toasted marshmallow because toasted marshmallows cook perfectly and you make sure it's toasted outside. This one is, I caught the sucker on fire and I'm about to sling it in somebody's hair. Um, but you know, what's lovely about peerless and these sweet matches is you don't get that big giant Kentucky hug kicking you like a meal in the chest.

Yeah, 100 is having proof. You expect a little bit down there, right? Nothing.

Nothing. Not too bad at all. At our age, you know, you worry about those things because you don't want to wake up in the middle of the night with that mule standing on your chest.

But it does have a medium finish. I would say that's my call on it anyway. Perfect. Perfect. Yeah. Um, I would, uh, for me, it's a buy for me. I think, uh, probably wouldn't go to the gift shop and grab a bottle. That's a little bit too much for me, but if you can find it, let's say total wine for 80 bucks and that's okay for you. If you like a little bit of pepper, a little bit of a sweet Oak, I should say a lot of sweet oak, probably a little bit more than a little. If you like that unfiltered, that creamy, heavy, silky mouth feel, I would say give it a shot. This is a little bit special.

I think at 80 bucks, I'm like you, 80 bucks I'd probably pull the trigger. Um at 100 and what'd you say 134th gift shop? Yeah, I just It would be really hard pressed because at 134 I'm probably going to wild turkey and trying to pick up a special bottle there Or i'm driving down to heaven hill trying to buy a special bottle, right? Um, or uh trying to buy a pick I guess that's my thought process on that 135 stuck in my head and i'm like, oh that's It's pricey. Even for us, that's a pricey bottle.

Well, Corky Caleb, my hat's off to you for stepping out of the box and doing something a little bit different here. You're not the first to have a double oak whiskey, but I think you did a good job in crafting it. I think it's pretty tasty. I think a lot of people are going to really like it. I think there's going to be people on both sides of the fence, Mike. I think we're going to find people who think it's amazing and they got to have another bottle. Then we're going to find others that go, yeah, that was pretty good, but I'm good with a single bottle.

Well, obviously. It tastes pretty good because I, you're still got some in your glass, but I done killed my glass. So, uh, for me, I'm with you, Jim, uh, very tasty bottle, but I think people will be on the fence about it. Give it a try. If you're in a bar, that's where you got to first try it out. Right, Jim? Absolutely. I had tried it somewhere and I just can't for the life of me figure out where it's from, um, where I tried it out. And I think that is true that you got to kind of sip on it because I just had a sip of it. And it maybe was at the barrel room where I tasted it. And I was like, yeah, that's not for me, but I wish I would have had a bigger glass and sat there and kind of experienced it. That's kind of that lesson you learn when you're drinking whiskey, you know, don't rush it.

Fair enough. Our listeners get to hear both sides of the story. They get to see both aspects of both. Sometimes we agree on bottles, sometimes we don't 100% agree on bottles. But you know what? That dichotomy, that difference of opinion is what makes it strong. I'll just come over to your house and keep trying this thing. Yeah, absolutely. I'm looking forward to trying it another week. Well, Mike, where can people find us on the internet?

So you can find us at Instagram, Facebook. Twitter, TikTok, YouTube. Um, that's it. That's the only places you can find us. There's no more other places you can find us, not Twitch, not discord. We're just not doing it. Yeah. So check us out. There's, you can also find us out in our, private Facebook group, The Bourbon Roadies. You gotta answer three questions to join that group. 2,500 people. Are you 21? Do you like bourbon? Hell yes. Everybody loves bourbon. You're even gonna love this double barreled peerless right here. come in there. Um, just don't be rude in our group. Um, we ask everybody to be nice to each other. If you're drinking from the very bottom of the shelf, 10 high whiskey, which kind of got me started out in whiskey, uh, to the very top. If you're drinking Pappy, Hey, don't knock people for it. That's what they like. Right, Jim.

That's right. Absolutely. We do two shows a week. Every week you'll hear a short episode from us, one like today's or reviewing peerless double oat, uh, where we take a single bottle. We kind of dive deep on it. We let you know what we think, whether you should buy it. Whether you should try it at a bar, whether or not you should just ask your friend for a pour. We'll let you know what we think about it. Every Wednesday we do a longer episode, about an hour long, where we'll do a deep dive on a subject we'll have a guest on. We'll explore a topic. Mike and I will get into a little bit more detail. We'll get you to work and we'll get you home, about 30 minutes each way. We'd love to have you listen to both shows every week. Um, we also have a website called the bourbon road.com and Mike, what do we have on that website?

We got our articles, we got reviews on there. Like the review of this peerless right here, our great friend Adam, he puts those up there for us. You want to check those out, but the main thing for this Christmas is we want you to come in there and buy some of our swag. It's one of our Glenn Karens, one of our t-shirts, one of our bourbon bullshitter t-shirts. We got some flask in there, decanters. We got all kinds of stuff in there. Come in there, purchase that stuff. You're supporting a veteran owned and operated business. We would really appreciate it.

We'd love to have you listen to both shows every week. We also like to hear from you. If you've got an idea for a show, if you'd like to reach out to us, you can always reach me on email at jim at the bourbonroad.com. He's Mike at the bourbonroad.com. But as we always say, probably the best way to hit us up is on our DM on Instagram. I'm jshannon63. I'm Big Bourbon Chief. And we'll see you down the bourbon road.