Dancing Goat Returns with 11-Year "The Spaniard" and "I Would Rye 4 U"

One of the most under the radar release series we do here at Seelbach's has to be the Dancing Goat Sourced Whiskey Series. We've seen 21 year light whiskey, 7-year Colombian oak aged straight bourbon, corn whiskey finished in cherry bitters, bourbon and malt blends, bourbon and light whiskey blends and more. That said, these continue to be some of the best value products we release - and always for the flavor curious. I may go as far as to say these two releases today are the best releases so far in the series, and two of my favorite releases we've had all year long.

Their seventh release in the series was a bit near-and-dear to my heart, as the first time we released this product was a 7-year barrel I, and my former podcast co-host Drew P. Whiskey, brought to Seelbach's. Today, we are back four years later with Release 010 The Spaniard: now an 11-year-old corn whiskey finished in Spanish oak barrels.

This 2-barrel blend was aged 10 years in once used bourbon barrels and finished in new Spanish oak for over a year. The result is a pour that when I blinded it on folks, most of them thought it was a teen Turkey release costing 4x the price. A fantastic pour at a fantastic value.

The nose is candied and elegant. Sparkling candied orange peel meets sweet leather and aged oak, sugary pepper notes, softly smoked butterscotch, baker’s chocolate, and Dr Pepper before giving way to a pleasant, softly musty earthiness.

The palate begins viscous, like an old-fashioned soda, before moving into rich oakiness and a myriad of beautifully supportive baking spices and tobacco. There’s a mature leather and oak presence that combines with dark cherry and milk chocolate notes, ultimately finishing with an effervescent, syrup-like Dr Pepper concentrate and just a strand of candied orange.

The finish remains creamy with vanilla, fig, and raisin, along with tinges of sweet tannins, toasted citrus peel, and a sweet interplay of mixed spices.

Their twelfth release in the series revisits their port finished rye we saw in release 002 and again in release 008, now 11 years older and continuing to get better and more complex each time we see it. I know we just said it with the recent K. Luke Sherry finished rye release last week, but this is another bottle that will be fighting the battle of 2026 Finished Whiskey of the Year contenders.

Intoxicating. Date bars, blackberry jam, leathery wine, thick caramel, and tons of sugary fruits, including cranberry, raspberry, raisin, and strawberry, move into balsamic figs and bitter orange.

The palate is dense and syrupy, gently prickly with dark fruits and a long, damp wine saturation. Still, there are plenty of caramel and fresh berry notes before the deeper tannins creep in, and even then, it’s coating like a buttery, boozy juice box.

The finish is long but not heavy, offering plenty of coating fruitiness while allowing more of the candied rye citrus and oaky herbal tones to shine. This is a well-executed, mature finished rye.