Description
Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select is the flagship bourbon from the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky. Bourbon making on this site goes back to 1812, and the distillery is now a National Historic Landmark. Brown-Forman bought the old Labrot & Graham site back in 1993. Distiller’s Select followed in 1996, and today it is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby.
The recipe is 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley. Fermentation runs a long six days. Part of the whiskey is triple distilled in the copper pot stills at Versailles. It is then married with column-still whiskey from the Brown-Forman distillery in Shively. The bourbon matures in new charred oak barrels and comes out a clear, bright honey-amber. Woodford says you can find more than 200 flavor notes in the glass.
Start with the nose. You get rich dried fruit, mint and orange, with a dusting of cocoa and faint vanilla and tobacco. The palate is rich and chewy. Citrus, cinnamon and cocoa sit on top of toffee, caramel and chocolate. The finish feels silky, almost creamy, and it stays warm for a long time.
The trophy shelf here is crowded. Distiller’s Select took Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2013 and again in 2023. It won Best in Class and Gold at the International Spirits Challenge in 2012. It also earned Gold at the Whiskies of the World Awards in 2014 and 2016. In 2009 it added Platinum at the SIP Awards.
Enjoy it neat, or pour it over a single big ice cube. It mixes into a smooth Manhattan or Old Fashioned. This is an easy bottle to keep on your shelf.
