This week I went to the Laws Whiskey Sanctuary for one of their monthly Whiskey Wendnesday tastings. If you are in the Denver area, absolutely come by. Great room, great whiskey, and incredibly passionate and knowledgable folks to discuss everything from basic to the most in-depth distilling topics.

The August event was called "Breaking Down the Blend: The Evolution of Laws Bourbon Finished in a Cognac Foeder". In all honesty, I signed up not knowing what most of that meant, but give me a drink and tell me I'll learn something and I'm in. This night didn't disappoint. The image above is the setup when we walked in - 4 different whiskeys on deck, each one defined with where it applies to the process. Here's the paper all the pours were sitting on with a few more details on the source barrels.

Again, when I sat down, I had no idea what this meant yet, but also again, the Laws crew, Brand Director Casey Rizzo, founder Al Laws, and Head Distiller Sam Poirier were about to explain it all. I'll need to go back a few more times to remember and understand it, and I recommend you do, too, but I can assure you, it was well worth the time. You can read and watch some of the details in this post from a few years back. They've been keeping it going since, so each batch is unique as the full batch continues to evolve.

Bourbon ISO Cognac Barrels for Lasting Relationship

In short, everything starts with their Four Grain Straight Bourbon aged for over 4 years in 255 liter barrels. In my book, that's a great start for anything. The next step puts that batch into 350 liter French Oak cognac casks for a secondary aging. We asked if the Laws crew knew which brand of cognac the barrels came from, but they said that information was not available from the cooperage.

Side note, I had no idea how far casks were traveling around the world, how valuable they could be, and that an entire business could be focused on barrel supply. There are still career opportunities for coopers in the modern world. People who can build, maintain, and manage wooden barrels are still essential to maintain production in modern distilleries.

Following stage two, another round of aging happens in 400 liter barrels before that batch gets added into the 50+ year old 1,600 gallon French Oak Cognac foeder for the third aging cycle.

Finally they use a [solera process[(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solera) for the last step, pulling out only a portion of the full foeder batch, and replenishing the foeder with additional bourbon from the previous stage.

I realize that description isn't very detailed. Please don't let my juvinile description taint your interest. I was overwhelmed, and my notes didn't even make sense. That often happens to me on tasting nights. Al and Sam explained it a lot better with many more details and facts that I will ever understand. Stop by and ask them and it will be much better.

I mentioned before, I'm not an evolved taster, but even I was was amazed at the shifting flavors and heat profile from step to step: the first, second, and third Cognac barrels, a sample pulled at cask strength from the Cognac foeder, and finally a taste of this year's Cognac Foeder release all opened up unique aspects of the original bourbon in unexpected ways. Some flavors would come to the front, while others laid back, only to switch positions in the next batch.

Listening to Al and Sam walk us through the flavors, the things they learned and discovered along the way, and getting to taste the fruits of their effort was a stellar experience. I highly recommend it when you are in town, and I also recommend taking a chance on a bottle for yourself. Check around for both past releases and the most recent, or stop by the Laws Whiskey House to pick up a bottle while they last. They'd love to talk with you.

Be sure to check the pours list, and send us what you think we should try! We're always looking for something new!