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Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris, always seeking to innovate with new flavor ideas for whiskey, discovered a unique flavor technique: toast rye grain long enough and it begins to taste like chocolate. Thus was born his newest whiskey — Woodford Reserve Chocolate Malted Rye Bourbon. This limited-selection and one-time-only product is being released this month in the United States and globally as part of Woodford Reserve’s celebrated Master’s Collection.
“The rye malt was roasted to a level that its natural sugars caramelized into a dark chocolate note,” Morris said. “This special bourbon even surprised me as it matured in our warehouses. Each time I tasted it, the chocolate notes became even more pronounced.”
The product, with a suggested retail price of $129.99, has hints of dark chocolate and spice and presents at 90.4 proof. The mash bill is 70% corn, 15% chocolate malted rye, 15% distillers malt.
“Woodford Reserve Bourbon has a complex and balanced flavor profile that includes a hint of chocolate,” Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall said. “Chocolate Malted Rye takes those cocoa notes to a new level. Everything we do at Woodford Reserve goes back to our core belief that flavor is everything.”
