Seattle Spirits Society Private Bottlings
Over the years, the Seattle Spirits Society has done four private bottlings, also known as barrel picks, for our membership. These exclusive bottlings were available only to our members and in limited quantities at select retailers, and are now among the most sought after bottles in our personal collections.
Buffalo Trace Single Barrel Select
Our first barrel pick of Buffalo Trace Single Barrel was a partnership with Downtown Spirits. We invited our members to vote for their preferred samples, and the sample that we nicknamed "smooth and creamy" ultimately was the favorite. Bottles were available to members and on the shelves of Downtown Spirits for a very limited time. This bourbon ended up being one of the top bourbons we ever tasted at a society meeting with a rating of 4.43/5. This was also the first ever private barrel release of Buffalo Trace in Washington State! Barrel ID#: 07-J-04-L-3-66. Barrel #070.
WhistlePig Old World Bespoke Blend
Our second exclusive bottling was done in partnership with Downtown Spirits and Mbar, where it would later be available for a limited time. Dave Pickerell, former Master Distiller at Maker's Mark and known as a founding father of craft distilling, and current Master Distiller at WhistlePig, flew in to Seattle to host the tasting and blending. The product was WhistlePig Old World Bespoke Blend, which blended various cask-finished ryes into an exotic finished product.
Working with Dave, and after 4-5 iterations, we arrived at a blend that we were really happy with of 52% Madeira, 40% French Sauternes, and 8% Port, resulting in a sultry midnight sipper if there ever was one. During the blending and tasting, Dave was bubbly and insightful, yet totally precise when mixing the samples, recalling his early days as a chemist. Ultimately, it was an unforgettable experience. Thank you, Dave, and rest in peace.
Woodford Reserve Personal Selection
We worked with Brown-Forman to do a Woodford Reserve pick in late 2018, tasting the samples with members in Pioneer Square and voting on the winner. The resulting bottles were liter sized and we committed to all 180 of them unlike past projects where we had split the bottles with other parties. Pickup was arranged through Bob's Lake City Liquors and the boxes of loot consumed the back of two large SUVs.
Benriach 15 Year Old Cask Selection
Our fourth barrel pick was a Benriach 15 year old Scotch, and was done in partnership with Total Wine in Bellevue in November 2019. As an added bonus, Brown-Forman Benriach reps wined and dined us at John Howie Steak in Bellevue to help seal the deal. The juice went into a former rum barrel in 2005 and was bottled in 2020 as a 15 year old at cask strength.
