Buzzard’s Roost Char #1 Bourbon Whiskey

Char #1 is the technique that defines Buzzard's Roost, and this bourbon is named for it. Most bourbon barrels are charred to level #3 or #4 — a heavy alligator skin of carbon that filters harshness but buries the wood's toasted sugars. Buzzard's Roost, launched in Louisville in 2019 by Judy Hollis Jones and Master Blender Jason Brauner as one of the few woman-owned and led whiskey brands in the country, went the other way: proprietary barrels developed with Independent Stave Company, seasoned at least 18 months, precision-toasted, then charred just 15 seconds to the lightest level in the industry, so the whiskey draws on caramelized oak rather than charcoal. Brauner, who built his reputation curating single barrels at Louisville's Bourbons Bistro, calls the barrels a spice rack, and the brand claims to be the first to use Char #1 for secondary maturation. The bourbon starts as four-year-old high-rye MGP distillate — 59% corn, 36% rye, 5% malted barley — re-barreled into those casks before bottling at 105 proof (52.5% ABV). Launched July 2022 for the brand's third anniversary. Expect brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, honeyed vanilla, and buttery caramel on the nose with baked apple underneath, opening into cherry, dark fruit, plum, and layered baking spice with a sweet malty cereal note, finishing long and warm with fruit, vanilla, and a pinch of spice. The Whiskey Wash found the proof gives an intense, flavorful heat up front that mellows to a spiced finish. Built to stand out in an Old Fashioned, and easily sipped straight.

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