Our First Seelbach's Buzzard's Roost Single Barrels

When you walk into Buzzard’s Roost, you quickly realize they do not just see barrels as storage. They see them as tools. When our staff took a trip to Kentucky for barrel picks in July, we were struck by how intentional their approach is. Toasting and double oaking are not simply finishing techniques here. They are part of a larger toolbox Buzzard’s Roost uses to guide whiskey into entirely new directions.
 
That vision traces back to Jason Brauner, whose pulse on the bourbon industry began with the opening of Bourbon’s Bistro in Louisville's Clifton neighborhood in 2005. More than a decade later, he and Judy Hollis Jones continue this chapter. The idea was simple but bold: create a bourbon brand built on rethinking how oak can shape flavor.
 
To make it happen, they partnered with Independent Stave Company to develop proprietary barrels that would act as more than vessels. They would be instruments. Every Buzzard’s Roost barrel starts with a Char #1, seasoned oak aged at least 18 months, and carefully designed toast profiles that unlock specific characteristics from the wood. Combined with secondary maturation and a willingness to experiment with double oaking, the result is a whiskey lineup that is as unique as it is deliberate.

The first of two barrels we have is a 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley bourbon double oaked in a new toasted, lightly charred (char #1) American oak barrel. Give this bottle a bit of air time before diving in, you’ll be rewarded for it!
 
The nose carries balanced, mature oak with a soft, perfumed quality. There’s a sticky sweetness that bounces between dark honey and sweet soy, unique and inviting.

The palate has a lovely, tight toasted oak note moving into buttery white sugar syrup. It’s a touch rum-like with a thick molasses-brown sugar pocket, but follows with a custard-like sweetness. The more you sip, and especially compared to the 72937 toasted barrel, you’ll find that custard and blackberry syrup continually build with each sip. 

The finish is just the right amount of toasted marshmallow crust and cane sugar sweetness, with a warming, semi-dry berry lingering (think blueberry syrup on cheesecake).

One of the more approachable double-oaked bourbons we’ve offered recently.

The second barrel we have is a 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley bourbon double oaked in a new, heavily toasted American oak barrel. This is a toasted bourbon you may find hard to put away, a pour that builds with each sip, so don’t be afraid to go back for another.
 
The nose is approachable for a toasted bourbon, especially given its heavy char. Instead of exaggerated young wood notes, you’ll find sweet, clean sugars, dried cherry and apricot, and a softly warming cedar.
 
The palate is heavy and gripping, sizzling with clove and toasted oak just the way you want a toasted bourbon to, before easing into brûléed maple and dark chocolate. 
 
The finish is long and dense, layering flavors from berry to spice to sweet oak, back again to brûléed maple and a rich citrus oleo.