Tasting notes

nose

Fresh ginger, glazed pear, sandalwood and cardamom, with toasted oak, vanilla bean and pancake mix

palate

Brown sugar crumble, candied ginger, vanilla and orange marmalade, with sweet vanilla cream, rye spice and white pepper

finish

Cacao, toasted oak and sandalwood, with hot cinnamon candy lingering

Mash bill

78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley from Bardstown Bourbon Co.; 80% corn, 10% rye and 10% malted barley from a Tennessee distillery; and 70% corn, 20% wheat and 10% malted barley from Finger Lakes Distilling. That is two low-rye bourbons and one wheated one, so the blend carries rye spice and a softer wheat sweetness together. Pursuit prints all three recipes on the label.

Why it's craft

Mizunara is a rare Japanese oak that adds exotic spice and dry, woody notes; Pursuit pairs it with infrared-toasted American oak, which adds a heavy vanilla note, so the second maturation uses both. The bourbon underneath is the same three-state blend as the rest of the United line. Pursuit Spirits is a Louisville house founded by the hosts of the Bourbon Pursuit podcast and does not distill its own whiskey, and the label says so.