Toasted Bourbon Blind: Elijah Craig vs Redwood Empire vs Jack Daniel’s
Toasted Barrel Bourbon
There are blind bourbon tastings.
Then there is putting an actual blindfold on Heather and handing her whiskey while B sits across the table knowing exactly what she is drinking.
This seems responsible.
Welcome back to Tortured Bourbon, where this time we wanted to answer a deceptively simple question:
Can you actually recognize toasted whiskey when you can't see the bottle?
To find out, we put three very different approaches to toasted oak head-to-head:
Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel
Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Toasted Triple Finish
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Heritage Barrel
Three American whiskeys.
Three different approaches to oak.
Three different proofs.
And one Heather who has absolutely no idea what B has poured into her glass.
Because apparently merely covering the bottles wasn't dramatic enough anymore.
Why Do a Toasted Bourbon Blind Tasting?
“Double oaked” and “toasted barrel” whiskey have become huge parts of the modern bourbon world.
The basic idea sounds simple enough.
Traditional bourbon is aged in a new charred oak barrel. Producers can then take that mature whiskey and move it into another barrel that has been toasted, charred differently, or constructed from another species of oak.
That second interaction with wood can add another layer of sweetness, spice, vanilla, caramel, roasted flavors and oak.
At least that's the theory.
But bourbon drinkers also know how powerful labels can be.
If you hand someone a bottle famous for toasted oak and tell them what they are drinking, there's a pretty good chance they're going hunting for toasted marshmallow, caramelized sugar and oak before the whiskey even hits their tongue.
Take the bottle away?
Now things get interesting.
Take Heather's eyesight away?
Apparently that's where B decided this channel needed to go.
Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel
We start with probably the most recognizable toasted bourbon in the lineup.
Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel takes Elijah Craig Small Batch and gives it additional maturation in a second custom-toasted new oak barrel.
It is bottled at 94 proof, putting it right in the middle of this tasting from a proof standpoint.
The appeal of Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel is fairly straightforward: take a familiar Kentucky bourbon profile and increase the influence of toasted oak.
That can create flavors commonly associated with caramel, vanilla, toasted sugar, chocolate, baking spice and roasted oak.
And because Elijah Craig helped make modern toasted bourbon a major category for whiskey drinkers, it enters this blind carrying a reputation.
Unfortunately for Elijah Craig, Heather cannot see the label.
Which means reputation gets exactly zero points.
Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Toasted Triple Finish
Then Redwood Empire looked at the idea of using one toasted barrel and apparently decided that wasn't complicated enough.
Pipe Dream Toasted Triple Finish Bourbon takes the Pipe Dream base whiskey and uses three different toasted oak influences:
French Oak
Hungarian Oak
Garryana Oak
The whiskey is bottled at 92 proof, making it the lowest-proof whiskey in our tasting.
But the interesting part isn't really the proof.
It's the wood.
Different oak species can influence whiskey differently, bringing various combinations of spice, fruit, tannin, sweetness, vanilla and deeper wood flavors.
Instead of trying to create one large blast of toasted American oak, Redwood Empire is approaching the problem from several directions at once.
Which gives Heather a pretty obvious assignment:
Can she actually tell?
Will those different toasted woods jump out immediately?
Will Pipe Dream taste dramatically different from Elijah Craig?
And perhaps more importantly...
Will Heather even like it?
Because recognizing something and enjoying it are two entirely different things.
That distinction has caused more than a few arguments at the Tortured Bourbon table.
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Heritage Barrel
Our third bottle causes one small problem with calling this a pure toasted bourbon blind.
Jack Daniel's Heritage Barrel is technically Tennessee whiskey, not bourbon.
Yes, we know.
No angry email required.
But it absolutely belongs in this tasting because of how Jack Daniel's uses its barrel.
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Heritage Barrel uses the traditional Jack Daniel's mash bill and charcoal mellowing process, but the whiskey goes into specially prepared barrels featuring a high-toast, low-char treatment.
It also enters the barrel at a lower proof than many modern bourbons and ages for at least seven years before being bottled at 100 proof.
That makes Heritage Barrel the highest-proof whiskey in our tasting.
Jack Daniel's describes a profile built around soft oak, honey, brown sugar and candied fruit.
On paper, it should be different enough to separate itself.
But paper isn't drinking the whiskey.
Heather is.
Blindfolded.
While B sits approximately four feet away looking much too pleased with himself.
Three Different Approaches to Toasted Oak
This is where the blind gets interesting.
Elijah Craig uses a second toasted barrel.
Redwood Empire uses several different types of toasted oak.
Jack Daniel's changes both the toast and char treatment of the maturation barrel.
So while all three bottles fall into the broader world of whiskey influenced by toasted oak, they are not accomplishing that flavor in exactly the same way.
That gives us several questions to answer.
Does Toasted Bourbon Really Taste Different?
Can Heather actually identify the whiskey with the strongest toasted character?
Does the 100-proof Jack Daniel's immediately stand out from the 92-proof Redwood Empire?
Does Elijah Craig deliver the classic toasted bourbon profile?
Can the different oak species used by Redwood Empire be detected?
And when all the technical stuff is pushed aside:
Which whiskey tastes the best?
That's ultimately the only question we care about.
The Trouble With Knowing What You're Drinking
One of the reasons we keep returning to blind tastings on Tortured Bourbon is that bourbon is absolutely loaded with expectations.
Price matters.
Age statements matter.
Distillery names matter.
Bottle designs matter.
Availability definitely matters.
If you finally find a bottle you've spent six months searching for, your brain doesn't magically forget all that work when you pour it.
You're expecting it to be special.
And maybe it is.
But the blind gives every whiskey the same chance.
A $50 bottle can beat something twice the price.
A famous label can get absolutely wrecked.
And a bottle you've ignored for years can suddenly become the one you want another pour from.
That's the fun.
For Heather, we're simply taking that philosophy to its logical and admittedly ridiculous conclusion.
No labels.
No bottles.
No clues.
And now...
No eyesight.
B Knows. Heather Doesn't.
There is one more wrinkle in this particular blind.
B knows what's being poured.
Heather does not.
This gives B the opportunity to sit quietly, smile suspiciously, and watch Heather confidently explain why a whiskey definitely cannot possibly be the exact whiskey she is currently drinking.
This is one of life's little pleasures.
Heather, meanwhile, gets the harder job.
She has to evaluate each whiskey purely through aroma, flavor, mouthfeel and finish.
No visual cues.
No proof written on the bottle.
No familiar label.
Nothing.
If toasted oak really has a signature, this is where it should reveal itself.
Toasted Bourbon: Hype or Real Flavor?
The rise of toasted and double-oaked whiskey creates a larger question for bourbon drinkers.
Are these bottles actually delivering something meaningfully different?
Or has TOASTED simply become another word capable of making us reach for our wallets?
There is no single answer.
Different producers approach toasted oak in completely different ways, and that's exactly why this tasting works.
Elijah Craig gives us the familiar second-barrel approach.
Redwood Empire brings multiple oak species into the equation.
Jack Daniel's changes the barrel treatment itself.
Three philosophies.
One table.
One blindfold.
Which Toasted Whiskey Wins?
We're not going to spoil that here.
But as usual, we judge what is actually happening in the glass.
Not the bottle.
Not the price.
Not the internet hype.
And definitely not B repeatedly looking at Heather like he knows something she doesn't.
Which, unfortunately for Heather, he does.
Pour yourself something good and join us for the Toasted Bourbon Blind.
We suffer through bourbon so you don't have to.
