Ragged Branch Wheated Double Oak

Cost: $60 (edited) for 750mL bottle on Seelbach’s (I’m reviewing a sample, courtesy of u/Bailzay!)

Age: 5 years

Mash Bill: 68% corn, 16% wheat, 16% malted barley

Proof: 90

This is bottle 117 of barrel 1035. Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

Appearance: Deep red old oak (1.8). This is very oily. Makes a nice solid ring with a swirl and takes a good 15-20 seconds before finally starting to produce legs. Crazy thick looking for 90 proof!

Nose: This is really intriguing and nice with stewed plums and brown sugar, tobacco, and roasted corn. I’m also picking up an acidic/tart apple profile in the background. This is generally very sweet with a light earthiness attempting to balance it out but failing spectacularly to the jamminess of it.

Palate: This has a rather soft mouthfeel, and not nearly as thick as I thought it was going to be based on the appearance. It coats very well allowing you to pick up notes much easier than I’m used to from 90 proof whiskey. I’m getting lots of sweetness – a blend of honey, caramel, a little bit of that jammy plum note from the nose, and raisins. There’s a light spice note that shows up towards the end of the sip along with a hint of aged oak.

Finish: The finish is short to medium with a well executed balance of sweet and earthy notes. I’m picking up a sort of trail mix note with dried cherries, dried apricots, and roasted almonds and walnuts. The finish leans more into the earthier notes that were experienced previously such as tobacco and sweet oak. There’s an extremely light hug very high in the chest. This is a very nice finish but I wish it was longer.

Rating: 7.4/10

Overall: I love 90 proof bottles that have such clear and pronounced tasting notes and this bottle has that. It’s very sweet, probably one of the sweetest double oak/barrel expressions I’ve had. I do wish the mouthfeel reflected the appearance a bit more and the finish was longer. This had a very nice sweetness throughout the sip though with more and more earthy notes and some spice mixed in to balance out the sweetness as the sip evolved. Thanks again to u/Bailzay for sharing this pour with me!

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Widow Jane Decadence

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, WhistlePig PiggyBack SiB, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, JD SiB BiB, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Barrel Bourbon Batch T8ke, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08