An 11-Year Crusher From Ass Pocket Whiskey

In the old Delta juke joints, a flask of whiskey was known to many as an “ass pocket” - something you kept on you so you could keep it in you. Good whiskey, wherever you were, whatever you were up to.

Today, led by founder Derek Trucks, APW brings that spirit back, trading the unnecessary preciousness of the modern bourbon world for good-timing, premium whiskey made for drinking.

Ass Pocket Whiskey (APW) has made quite the splash in the industry since early last year, when Derek and his brother David joined us in the Seelbach’s studio to taste their Brotherly Release.( the pair of 15-year and 9-year bourbons shared the same parent distillery and DNA, with a mash bill of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.)

Since then, we’ve seen continued hits, including the 10-year The Search collaboration with festival visionary Danny Wimmer and, most recently, their oldest release yet, a 20-year Tennessee whiskey.

Today, we’re back with Release No. 6, a 100-proof, 11-year Kentucky Bourbon now available to crack open in two-packs, each arriving in a collectible box.

The nose is filled with mixed fruits: think orange, lemon, lime, dried cranberry, cotton candy grape, and coconut. It’s gently fragrant and softly spiced, with plenty of buttery sweet oak.

The palate snaps immediately on the front with fruit and cream, but quickly moves into effervescent spice and waves of citrus as drying sweet oak and toffee come into focus. The more you sip, the more layered the flavors grow.

The finish settles back into cozy custardy vanilla, plenty of caramel-dipped oak, sugar-lined spices, and subtle smoked cherry.