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A double-wood technique that’s barking up the right tree.

Grain & Barrel Spirits is a trailblazing powerhouse of innovation, forging ahead to connect the world's best artisans with thirsty consumers worldwide, all from their HQ in Charleston, South Carolina. The Chicken Cock label hatched all the way back in 1865, making it one of the most seasoned Bourbon brands in the book. It was such a hit in Paris (Kentucky, of course) that even during Prohibition, folks couldn't get enough of it and smuggled it around in nondescript tin cans. Unfortunately, the Chicken Cock Distillery met a fiery demise in the 1950s, but in 2016, it was rescued by Grain & Barrel Spirits, ensuring that the flavor keeps flowing for the coming generations.

The Chicken Cock team is quite persnickety about their wood — so much so that they handpick every single tree used in crafting their barrels because they refuse to settle for mediocre logs. Their Double Oak 8-Year-Old Whiskey is a testament to their mindset. They used the double-wood technique, which means aging it twice in American oak barrels to squeeze every last delicious drop out of that mouth-watering flavor from the oak. The resulting sip is (if you follow the liquid logic) twice as nice with a heavenly blend of vanilla bean, waffle cone, ripe berries, and warm baking spices, culminating in a velvety-smooth finish that's perfect for sipping neat — anything else would be punishable by Whiskey purgatory.

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