Pursuit Spirits has unveiled the Oak Collection. Featuring specially blended bourbon and rye whiskeys that have been developed to pair with certain styles of secondary oak finishes, the series will include a variety of limited-edition expressions that highlight exploration and innovation. The series begins with two limited-edition expressions, Pursuit United Bourbon Finished with Toasted American and French Oak and Pursuit United Rye Finished with Sherry French Revere Oak.
“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.
For the initial debut of the Oak Collection, a new bourbon blend was introduced that marries two types of oak. “Finding the right blend and wood finish proved to be a challenge 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 together, it was split into two different containers where one was finished with Toasted American oak while the other was finished with French oak. After each achieved a desired flavor, the two containers were blended together 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 along with 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 (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 together at final proof before finishing with Sherry French Revere Oak. This release provides aromas of tropical fruits, coconut, and herbal tea. The initial taste has a creamy texture, 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 are 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 a SRP of $74.99.
For more information on the Pursuit Oak Collection, head over to the brand’s official website.
