West Fork Whiskey Co. Distiller’s Collection Double Oaked Bourbon Quick Review

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My reviews tend to be long-winded and very in-depth. I know that many readers don’t have the time or patience to read them all. This is why I have decided to create a “Quick Review” format. I’m not going to cover backstories, distilling methods or anything like that if I know I’ve covered it in a previous review of a similar bottle. You’ll find that a lot of these quick reviews will be based on single barrel picks because their backstory is usually the same with the exception of the group that picked them.

Introduction

A lot of people outside of Indiana have heard of Old Hamer Bourbon, but few of them know that its parent company is actually called West Fork Whiskey Co. That’s because early on, West Fork Whiskey decided to make a clear distinction between their own whiskey they made in-house versus the whiskey that they sourced from MGP. So if you’ve never heard this before, Old Hamer (and the rest of the Hamer brands) contain sourced bourbon or rye whiskey from MGP while West Fork Whiskey products are made at their distillery(s) in Indianapolis and Westfield.

West Fork Whiskey Double Oaked Bourbon

West Fork’s early products were not good. Their distillate needed a lot more time in the barrel and had tons of youthful notes. But West Fork did what any good craft distillery should do and re-evaluated their procedures to make better whiskey. Those changes occurred sometime around 2018 or 2019 when they began to introduce new mash bills while also increasing their barrel size to 53 gallons instead of the previous 30 gallon (or smaller) ones. This has resulted in a noticeable shift in profile from their early whiskies.

Now that the barrels are starting to gain some age, West Fork is spreading their wings a little bit more and taking some creative liberties. One of them is double-oaking their new wheated bourbon recipes. If you’re new to their lineup, the recipe they used is unique in the fact that they also use rye grain in the mash bill along with corn and wheat. As odd as that sounds, I’ve tasted it couple years ago and found it to be on the right track as far as young bourbon goes.

The bourbon I’m reviewing today is only aged for 3 years before entering a secondary barrel to be finished for an unspecified amount of time; but I’m guessing it was at least a year. I picked up this bottle in early 2024 at the distillery. So how does it taste? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: A very chocolatey, but young nose. Classic scents like vanilla and caramel are hamstrung by off-notes like green wood, dry cardboard and a slight astringent note. Baking spices include cinnamon and nutmeg.

Palate: Every sip sets hot on my tongue. Notes of Mexican Hot Chocolate, chili powder and red pepper flakes make this a challenging drink. Sweet notes like caramel sauce tries to fight dry oak and cornmeal, but there is no getting around the youthful notes that are here. Occasionally, I find a fruit note similar to cherry, but it’s not nearly as much as the label would suggest.

Finish: Sweet and slightly tangy notes fizzle away along with the heat from peppercorns and chili powder. The best part of the finish are the notes of chocolate and caramel, but otherwise there isn’t a whole lot else to experience.

Score: 5.9/10

West Fork’s first attempt at double-barreling their own bourbon is a success and shows that the brand is moving in the right direction. This isn’t going to fool anyone that it’s older than 3-years-old, but it’s one of the better tasting 3-year-olds on the market. For every negative profile note I find, there are at least two positives. Plus, the price was very reasonable for a release like this, coming in at under $70. I hope they continue to release this kind of bourbon every year so we can experience how it’s developing.