Woodford Reserve Baccarat Edition Review

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I often talk about whiskey releases fitting into certain categories based on their prices. “Mid-range” bottles are around $50 while “Premium” bottles are over $90. “Ultra-premium” bottles usually start around the $250 mark. But there exists a tier of bottles that are so expensive that I don’t believe anyone has came up with a term for what to call them. I’m talking about bottles that cross the $1,000 threshold. Woodford Reserve Baccarat Edition is one such bottle.

Back in 2019, there weren’t a lot of distilleries that had a $1,000+ bottle in their portfolio. Michter’s had Celebration and Buffalo Trace had their O.F.C. line. Some producers like Kentucky Owl created gimmicks like Dry State. But for the most part, producers weren’t convinced that the market existed for bottles at this price point. Bourbon was more of a “common man” drink than Scotch, so producers kept prices low.

Sometimes, it’s all about the packaging

It turns out the folks at Woodford Reserve cracked the code on how to convince consumers why they should buy a $2000 bottle. They partnered with one of the world’s premier crystal producers, Baccarat. Baccarat had been producing high-quality crystal for royalty and other elites for over 250 years. Their crystal has held some of the finest cognacs and Scotches in the world. Woodford believed that their pedigree would be the perfect match for such a vessel. Baccarat agreed.

Chris Morris – the master distiller of Woodford Reserve at the time – worked on a program to design a bottle worthy of the price they were going to charge for it as well as figuring out what kind of whiskey to put into it. The bottle design that was chosen was meant to evoke the feel of a standard bottle of Woodford Reserve (look past the flared base) and was given subtle touches of elegance with real gold lettering on the front and a hefty topper with raised “WR” initials.

For the bourbon, Morris obtained XO Cognac casks from France to finish standard Woodford Reserve inside of. I have tried searching for which Cognac maker the casks were sourced from, but nothing turned up except this picture of samples being drawn from the cask at Woodford to see how it was coming along.

If typical Woodford Reserve bourbon contains 5-to-7-year-old bourbon, then the three additional years in a Cognac cask would make the final product one of the oldest products I’ve seen come out of Versailles, Kentucky distillery (even though the Cognac cask aging time technically doesn’t count).

I want to add that the picture above seems to indicate that the Cognac finishing cask(s) was aged in Woodford’s Warehouse C. It’s not heat cycled due to the doors being permanently open to allow tours to walk through it. The majority of Woodford’s bourbon is aged in 4 enormous palletized warehouses out of sight from the main campus. I’m only bringing this up because the oak extraction from these French Oak barrels (which aren’t typically charred on the inside, btw) should be a bit more tame than if they were aged in a heat-cycled warehouse. If you’re ever on a tour at Woodford, keep an eye out for these!

The last time Woodford did anything similar to a project like this was the 2015 Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection “Brandy Cask Finish” release which saw their bourbon finished for two additional years in American brandy casks. Woodford is not a stranger when it comes to barrel finishes, but don’t expect to ever see a true Cognac cask finish in anything other than the Baccarat Edition.

Baccarat is a success and continues to be produced

What started out as a one-off limited time offering has slowly evolved into an annual release. There was even a special “Kentucky Derby 150th Anniversary” edition that came out in 2024 using the same decanter. That release was limited to just 150 bottles with a special leather carrying pouch, gold leaf lettering on the topper and a slight tweak to the bourbon formula. It saw additional finishing time in a barrel made from wooden staves that were seasoned inside of the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs. This release was priced at an incredible $15,000 per bottle or to put it in modern terms – enough for a trip into space on a Blue Origin rocket.

But getting back to the bottle at hand, what WR Baccarat is most revered for is the decanter it’s bottled in. Most consumers that buy this bottle aren’t even doing it for the whiskey inside – they’re doing it because it’s rare, expensive and the has all the hallmarks of a luxury thing that they can display to friends. Average enthusiasts would want it solely to re-use the bottle to store something better in it or make it into an infinity bottle of some sort. I’ve thought about it myself.

So how does Woodford Reserve Baccarat taste? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose is surprisingly woody – much more so than standard Woodford. This excites me because Woodford rarely smells this polished and mature. The Cognac influence makes itself immediately known. I’m not talking about just the grape/plum scents, but also this slightly earthy scent that’s almost like the floor sweepings from a dunnage warehouse. Additional scents include a slight smoke note (which is common with Woodford I’ve found) and Cherry Cordials. I even detect a bit of a melted butter note – is that from the Cognac or the bourbon?

Palate: The flavors on my tongue taste familiar, but they clash with the grapey, fruit-forward flavors (fig and plum) of the cognac influence. On the plus side, the wood flavors seem softer and not as astringent as typical Woodford bourbon. There is a dusty funk to the dram that I doesn’t compare to the dusty funk that older bourbon gets, so I’m imagining it’s due to the influence of the old Cognac cask. I find an odd flavor that I can only describe as “mothballs.” Many of you might think that is a terrible note to find, but it brings a certain kind of character with it that isn’t entirely gross. I can also find baker’s chocolate, burnt caramel and red grape juice. I am also finding the same earthy element that I noted on the nose.

Finish: After the sip is complete, only light flavors exist as the rest just drop off. There is a sweet syrupy note with some residual oak and tobacco flavors. But the Cognac still remains and provides more grape must and damp forest floor notes for you to ponder over. I wish this was a bit longer in the tooth.

Score: 7.2/10

Overall, Woodford Baccarat is a fine finished bourbon that’s improved by the Cognac cask it spent time in. The whole dram smells and tastes refined and polished in a way that most Woodford products do not. The Cognac influence doesn’t overwhelm the base bourbon, but then again that isn’t much of an issue when we’re talking about a 90.4 proof bourbon as a whole.

One of my chief complaints with this bottle is how the finish taps out from the experience leaving your mouth wanting more. I know I beat this dead horse a lot with Woodford, but I believe the blame lies solely on the proof here. I’ve had some terrific Cognac finished bourbons (Belle Meade used to make a killer one) where the finish would last and last and last. That doesn’t happen here and it’s a shame. The nose and palate were some of the best Woodford has put together so far.

Final Thoughts

Obviously price is going to get brought up at the end, right? There’s no way around this point. It’s not meant for people like you and me, it’s meant to be a rich man’s plaything. A bottle to show off to your yacht buddies who are going to know exactly how much you spent. So if it’s all about showing off how much disposable income you have, this bottle is for you. For enthusiasts on a budget, there are hundreds of bottles that they’d pick ahead of this one if they were given $2k to go nuts with.

There is one final thing I’d like to point out – and that’s Chris Morris’ influence on a product like this. After years of writing, reading and listening to various content in the bourbon world, it’s become apparent how Chris’s passion doesn’t seem to lie with just bourbon, but the finer things in life. I’ve seen him talk just as studiously about financial matters like he would with bourbon. It’s also no secret how much he loves Scotch – to the point where he’s spent possibly the most time of any of the big Kentucky distilleries producing products that focus on malt. He’s even had a hand in the premiumization of Brown-Forman brands as a whole from 2018 onward (he has talked at length about King of Kentucky). I have no doubt that the Baccarat collaboration exists because he wanted to further serve to elevate the brand’s status.

Is Woodford a better company because of products like this? I’m not so sure. Bourbon could never stay a secret forever and now that its popularity has risen, it’s all too clear that there exists a tier of people who are willing to spend the money on bottles like this. But between you and me, this is one bottle I don’t feel bad about not buying.