Cask of characters

TAKING CUES FROM THE SCOTCH WORLD, GUTHRIE’S WANDERFOLK SPIRITS IS GOING ALL IN ON CREATIVE BARREL-AGING.

By Brett Fieldcamp

By now, everyone knows the easy way to launch a small craft distillery. Buy a still and make some quick, simple vodka. Maybe an easy gin. Buy up some already made whiskey, slap a label on it, and act like you’re reinventing the wheel.

Well, sure, that’s the easy way. Now, how do you do it well and how do you make spirit snobs and whiskey connoisseurs — notoriously some of the hardest-to-please drinkers around — take notice?

If you’re Guthrie’s WanderFolk Spirits, the wisdom is in the wood.

“I’m just trying to gain as much knowledge as I can about maturation,” said Head Distiller and Director of Spirits Jeff Cole about the impressive barrel-aging program for their Same Old Moses brand of bourbon and rye whiskies.

Already, store shelves and bars across the state are seeing WanderFolk’s barrel-aged bourbon offerings, featuring explosively fruity expressions aged in barrels that previously housed tawny port, ruby port, and deliciously creamy Pedro Ximenez sherry.

But there’s an even deeper world of flavors currently developing in the WanderFolk rackhouse, with their drier, spicier rye whiskey aging in a whole new range of barrels, each inspired by the creative, richly flavorful barrel-finishings of the Scotch world.

But don’t start salivating just yet. When you’re zeroing in on a perfectly aged flavor, patience is the most important ingredient.

“We’re not going to sell it until it’s ready, and until everyone agrees that it’s ready,” Cole said.

But we can at least give you a little taste.

Same Old Moses Ruby Port Bourbon

The first of the readily available barrel-finished bourbons is a perfect example of Cole’s flavor objective: semi-sweet, fruity and drinkable. As a former bartender and backbar consultant, he knows what Oklahoma drinkers want.

“The things that do well here are rich with a little bit of fruity sweetness,” he said.

The two port-finished bourbon offerings fulfill either side of that description, with the ruby port covering the fruity element perfectly.

Tawny port is a touch older and a pinch drier than the fruitier ruby style, but when combined with bourbon, the result is slightlyoaked caramel and a bit of dark, dried fruit.

Aging in tawny port barrels is an age-old practice among single malt scotch producers to get a rich, hefty spirit perfectly suited to a peppery cigar.

Pedro Ximenez.

No matter what kind of whiskey you’re aging, a PX sherry barrel will impart a creamy, sumptuous character of toasted almond and vanilla cream in addition to the exceptionally dark, ripe fruit. The Same Old Moses bourbon takes to it beautifully, creating the most decadent of the currently available expressions.

Taking a cue directly from the world famous Nectar D’or from Scotch giant Glenmorangie, Cole is finishing a large batch of the spicy Same Old Moses Rye on sauternes barrels.

While Scotch producers just love experimenting with all the many various styles of sherry casks, Cole likes to use just one:

A luxurious, sweet, French dessert wine, sauternes barrel finishing makes for a bright, rounded, fruity whiskey. Add those notes to the spice and natural dryness of the rye and you get a wonderfully balanced, sweet spirit perfect for any cocktail or nightcap.

When will it be ready for the bottle? Only time will tell.

Anyone who knows about amarone wine knows that it’s all about ripe, smoked, dark fruit flavors, a stunningly flavorful foundation for barrel-aging that is all too often ignored by all but the most imaginative Scotch producers.

But “imaginative” is exactly what Cole and WanderFolk are shooting for.

The rye whiskey pulled from Cole’s amarone casks is loaded with all the dried cherry and lightly smoky oak spice that you could want, even as it’s still resting and maturing and just waiting for Cole and his team to find just the right time to bottle it.

Of course, you can always schedule a tour of the WanderFolk distillery and just ask nicely. Maybe you’ll get to taste it sooner rather than later.

Visit wanderfolkspirits.com.