Olde Raleigh: Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 2

Whiskey Society Barrel Proof batch 2

"Velvet Flame"

MSRP: $99.99

Mash: undisclosed percentage of 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley [2, KY+IN]; 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley [TN]; 99% corn, 1% malted barley [IN]; 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley [IN]; 68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley [2, CO+WY]; 100% corn [TX]

Proof: 118.9 proof

Age: 4 (TX) to 20 (TN) years old

Nose: overall soft but layered complexity, you're met with a vanilla cola syrup, sweet oak, subtle pecan, red apple, soft leather, and a backbone of shortbread cookie

Palate: oh man. The subtle complexity of the nose drives into the palate, but presents differently. It starts with an almost cherry twizzler, vanilla taffy, and fresh tobacco, leading into sweet oak, chewy nougat, leather, and finishing out with a gingerbread like cherry vanilla cola

Finish: a medium finish with gobs of cherry vanilla cola, leather, and ginger bread like spice

Rating: Hoard it (Out of Hoard, Buy, Try, Pass)

Thoughts: there is a deep complexity here that is as layered as the makeup of the barrels used. Olde Raleigh has been making killer bourbon blends since they started, and I've been drooling at the idea of a barrel strength version. This meets all of my hopes, and straight up exceeds expectations. This drinks incredibly soft, with a velvety/creamy mouthfeel, almost as if it were extremely low proof. But it is not. The layers and complexity are awesome, but the true achievement here is working with so many vastly different bourbons and making something so beautifully cohesive. The extended time taken to blend this slowly is well apparent. I'm beyond impressed, and the value here is awesome. If Olde Raleigh is not on your watch list, it needs to be.  What's the deal?: Olde Raleigh is a pretty new distillery, having only opened it's doors in 2021. The owner/master blender Brandon McCraney is an Air Force veteran and Raleigh native who has proven that he can blend with the best of them. The release of their cigar blend, Old Stogie, hit the scene hard and fast and started immediately making waves in all of the whiskey groups. Since then, they have expanded beyond their regular bourbon and cigar blend with a honey finish, coffee finish, barrel proof, and NC state barrel proof rye. Olde Raleigh also launched a whiskey society where they steadily release limited editions and experiments throughout the year. The whiskey society has proven to not only be a place for limited editions, but a testing grounds of sorts for what could become larger scale releases. The first release of their barrel proof bourbon was restricted to the whiskey society members. However, this second batch has seen limited distribution as well as availability on their online shop.

What truly makes Olde Raleigh stand apart, is that they are blending barrels from so many sources across so many states. It is very typical to blend using Indiana and Kentucky whiskey, but adding in Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming is something that I can't recall being done before. I have had more than a few blends that had big and bold whiskey and the different profiles seemed to right each other for dominance. That has never seemed to be the case for Olde Raleigh across the few expressions that I have tried so far.

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