Another superb, chocolaty experiment in Woodford’s Master’s Reserve Collection.

There has been distilling on the Woodford Reserve Distillery site for more than 235 years, making it the oldest Bourbon distillery in Kentucky. Now owned by Brown-Forman — one of America’s largest wine and Spirits companies — it has been refitted and set to expand. Since the beginning, the folks at Woodford have been influential in the development and codifying of Bourbon production. In short, they helped invent the Spirit as we know and love it today.

Woodford’s Master’s Reserve Collection is their high-end, limited edition release. Beginning in 2013, each one is an experiment in Whiskey-making… each one is unique… and all Whiskey fans look forward to it with great eagerness. And that tasty tradition extends into 2019 with Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Chocolate Malted Rye — the fifteenth in the series.

When you toast grains the flavor profile starts to change. The natural sugars AND proteins combine in different ways, developing sweetness and complexity. It’s more than “just” caramelization. Toast the grains too long or too hot and it gets smoky. Toast them just long enough at just the right temperature and it gets chocolaty. That’s what they did here — the mash bill is 70% corn,15% chocolate malted rye, and 15% malted barley. And they bottle it at a near perfect 45.2% ABV.