Proof & Wood Idle Hands 5 Year Old Bourbon Whiskey

A small-batch beauty, made together with a defunct NY Whiskey bar.

What’s in the name? Well, it’s inspired by two of the most important things a blender and bottler must take into account: the proof a Spirit is bottled at and the wood of the barrel it was aged in. Founded by Dave Schmier in Connecticut, Proof and Wood Ventures Inc. is all about buying, aging, bottling, and selling mostly American Whiskey. Recently, they’ve started adding Rum and other Spirits like a Dutch Genever to their lineup, including a Dutch genever. These guys develop brands and sourcing high-quality Spirits from all over the world to bring them to your home bar. And they’ve got anything from cocktail-friendly to super-premium collectors’ editions. Top notch stuff.

This Idle Hands Bourbon was made together with the now-defunct NY Whiskey bar called, you guessed it, Idle Hands. This is a fantastic small-batch Bourbon that’s based on a high-rye mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. Distilled in 2015 in Indiana and aged for at least 5 years in new American oak, this small-batch beauty brings rich flavors of caramel, vanilla, fruit, baking spice, and oak notes at a pleasant 95.2 proof. Savor it neat or add a few drops of water to really open it up.