Jefferson’s Cognac Cask Finish Rye Whiskey

This is one fun marriage that won’t get boring anytime soon.

When you have a cool, 8th generation grandmother who was arrested as early as in 1799 for selling booze, you can only try not to let her down. It’s what Trey Zoeller and his father Chet are doing. Founded in 1997, Jefferson’s Bourbon is all about honoring the past (and, obviously, one of the Founding Fathers who liked to make his own dram back in the day), while not getting stuck there. Keeping the innovative Spirit alive, one of their most famous offerings is the Voyages collection of ocean aged Whiskey. It’s exactly what it sounds like – Whiskeys, aged on the ocean. Well, on a boat, to be precise. Grandma must be proud.

And since you can’t expect Jefferson’s Bourbon to do things like everyone else, their Cognac Cask Finished Rye is not like other Ryes, either. A small batch, premium Whiskey, this is not a marriage you’d see every day, but sometimes opposites complement each other. The combo of spice and edge of American Rye and the refinement and sophistication of Cognac turns out to be a match made in Spirit heaven, as Straight Ryes can get a bit one-dimensional, but not this fine dram. After maturation in new charred oak it’s aged for anywhere between 9 and 19 months and bottled at a verrry pleasant 94 proof, the character is complex, and the usual dry finish is replaced by a full mouth feel of honey and orange notes.