Chicken Cock 8 Year Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey Review

If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the whiskey world in recent years, then surely you’ve noticed “double oaked” whiskeys of all kind proliferating on shelves. Once upon a time, such a label might be expected to imply bourbon or rye whiskey that had seen time in a finishing barrel, such as fortified wine or another style of spirit. And although those “finished” whiskeys are still popular, most products labeled as “double oaked” these days instead imply whiskey finished in a second newly charred or toasted barrel. The industry-wide experiment with toasting barrels thus meets up with the double oaked phenomenon, yielding a wide range of different types of double oak experiences. Still, I haven’t seen something quite like this new release from Chicken Cock before–Chicken Cock 8 Year Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey.

The conception of Chicken Cock Double Oak goes back to a barrel shortage that the industry was navigating in 2014, when the rising demand for American whiskey (which has barely abated now) meant that cooperages were falling behind in terms of how many new barrels they could supply to keep up with that demand. As a result, some Kentucky distilleries known for bourbon had no choice but to start putting more of their newly made spirit into used bourbon barrels, rather than freshly charred ones. This effectively changes a whiskey’s fate forever–once it’s been in a used barrel, it will never qualify for the label of “bourbon.” Instead, these products are used in a variety of other American/Kentucky whiskeys. Chicken Cock, on the other hand, took some of that spirit that had aged for 7 years in used barrels, and then stuck it in freshly charred oak for the first time, where it went through a second, 18 month maturation at Bardstown Bourbon Co. The result is an unusual fusion of styles, alike to bourbon and yet not quite legally the same. All in all, this release has been aged somewhere over the 8 years mark, and bottled at 46% ABV (92 proof). It carries a somewhat steep $100 MSRP.

I was inherently curious here, mostly because of the unusual process being used. Can an extended secondary maturation in newly charred oak replicate a long maturation in a new barrel? Or will there be some different quality here that wouldn’t be present in your average bourbon? Let’s give it a taste and see.

On the nose, my initial impressions are of caramel corn and toasty cornbread–it’s a little on the grain-forward side, but the oak is certainly notable and present at the same time. Caramel green apples and darker berry notes mingle with a little bit of anise-infused milk chocolate, while the wood comes across with notes of wet oak and a little char.

On the palate, I’m again getting the chocolate and the apple, with darker fruitiness as well that perhaps suggests fig jam. There’s almost something grape-like to it. This is paired with delicate anise and cinnamon spice, though there are flashes of a more youthful graininess as well. The profile doesn’t take long to turn in a more warm, oaky direction, with significant char and a modest drying tannin. All in all, it’s mildly sweet and sips quite easily, with only a slightly prickly ethanol heat.

All in all, I’d say that the finishing period in those newly charred barrels does easily enough find a way to contribute a significant char/roastiness to the finished profile, though overall Chicken Cock Double Oak doesn’t strike me as all that exotic. You’re paying for a respectable age statement here, along with the promise of the double oak process, but I don’t know if it quite does enough to stand out from other offerings on the shelf, especially at a $100 MSRP price point. At the very least, it’s an easy and agreeable sipper.

Distillery: Chicken Cock Whiskey
Style: Kentucky whiskey
ABV: 46% (92 proof)
Availability: 750 ml bottles, $100 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.