Tasting notes

nose

Fried dough, kettle corn and mulling spice, with vanilla, dried banana, caramel and fresh bread

palate

Almond croissant and baked apricot with bright stone fruit, vanilla and oak, light in body, with a trace of white pepper

finish

Short and balanced; cinnamon sugar, cola fizz and black pepper

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

This is the lower-strength bottle in Pursuit's United line, bottled at 88 proof. Pursuit Spirits is a Louisville house founded by Kenny Coleman and Ryan Cecil, the hosts of the Bourbon Pursuit podcast, and it does not run stills of its own. It picks barrels from partner distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee and New York, blends them, and lists all three mash bills on the label. The whiskey is sourced, and the bottle says so.