Saturday, April 24, 202, the men of Rickhouse Ramblings, along with Mike’s brother Phil and two representatives from the Davidson County ABC store, trekked up to Charlottesville, Virginia. Our goal was simple–pick 3 amazing barrels from the Ragged Branch Distillery. We all feel confident that we accomplished our mission. There is still time to reserve your bottles-you do NOT want to miss out on this awesome opportunity!! Just fill out the Order Form!
Barrel #1: Ragged Branch Double Oaked Wheated Barrel Proof
Our first mission of the day was to find our barrel of Ragged Branch Double Oaked Wheated Barrel Proof. This would prove to be our biggest challenge of the day as the distillery had approximately 10 different barrels for us to nose and taste our way through. Each of the barrels provided different aromas and flavors on the palate. Some had dominate flavors of cinnamon while others featured flavors strong with rich tobacco. At the end of the day, we believe we located a barrel that offers a well balanced experience – a fantastic nose that leads to rich, expressive flavors on the palate. Barrel #1155, we are excited to introduce you to the Rickhouse Ramblings Family!
Barrel #2: Ragged Branch Double Oaked Signature Bourbon
After a brief break and snacks in the Hunt Cabin, it was back to the Barrel Barn to pick barrel #2. This time around we were concentrating on Ragged Branch’s Double Oaked Signature Bourbon barrels. This particular Ragged Branch expression happens to be a favorite of Rickhouse Ramblings. As we tasted through these barrels, decadent rich flavors of dark chocolate and caramel really jumped out of our glasses. We tasted through multiple barrels before landing – quickly and unanimously – on barrel #1668. This barrel is really going to be a treat!
Barrel #3: Ragged Branch Straight Rye Whiskey
The last, however not least important of the day, was the selection of our Ragged Branch Straight Rye Whiskey barrel. In order to locate the winning barrel, we tasted 4 different possibilities. Each of these barrels had pleasant qualities on the nose and palate. After sifting through them all, the group landed on barrel #635 which we affectionately dubbed “The Dirty Barrel.” This barrel had seen a generous amount of leakage spill upon its barrel head and had become unable to be signed by the team. So instead, we had to sign the barrel’s blank side and mark our territory.
Rickhouse Ramblings would like to thank Alex Toomy and his team at Ragged Branch for their hospitality on Saturday. We are excited to bring these 3 fantastic barrels into the Triad area for our many friends and followers to enjoy!
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