A deeply tannic French oak cherry finish with dark chocolate, clove spice, and one of the more unique profiles of the year.
Stats
- Age: 4.5 yr
- Proof: 114 (57% ABV)
- Mashbill: 70% Rye│ 25% Malted Barley │ 5% Malted Barley
- Origin: Litchfield Distillery — Litchfield, Connecticut
- Finish: French oak casks which previously held cabernet sauvignon then cherry liqueur for 2.5 years (previous holding time unknown)
- Release: Limited Release (2025)
- MSRP: $68.95 (Litchfield Distillery) – Sold Out
- Benefitting: Building Homes for Heroes
- Collaborating Stores:
Tasting Notes
- Nose: A full-on cherry and oak bomb, opening with notes of cherry-filled chocolate lava cake, fortified mulled wine, and dense French oak tannin. Molasses and baking spice sit underneath the darker fruit profile, while a slightly astringent edge keeps the sweetness in check.
- Palate: The palate leans heavily into oak structure and mulled spice, carrying flavors of dark cherry cobbler, bittersweet chocolate, and clove. The tannins push right to the edge at times, but the lingering cherry liqueur influence keeps the whiskey from becoming dry.
- Finish: The finish is the standout, unfolding into layers of deep dark chocolate, dark cherry, and a delayed burst of clove-heavy barrel spice. It lingers long with a profile that feels somewhere between a heavily toasted double-oaked bourbon and mulled wine concentrate.
Finished whiskey often falls into one of two traps: either the finishing cask completely overwhelms the base spirit, or the secondary influence feels too timid to justify its existence. Litchfield Cherry Bourbon somehow avoids both.
This 114-proof French oak cherry liqueur barrel-finished bourbon, created in collaboration with multiple spirits retailers to support Building Homes for Heroes, delivers one of the more unconventional pours of the year. It’s dark, tannic, heavily spiced, and unapologetically cherry-forward — but underneath it all, there’s still enough recognizable Litchfield character to ground the experience.
This is not a safe bourbon. It’s also not remotely forgettable.
Presentation
Litchfield pushes its standard bottle design into full patriotic territory here. A metallic American flag backdrop replaces the more understated traditional label styling, while the artwork now depicts a soldier rolling a barrel in place of the original head distiller imagery.
The bottle clearly communicates the charitable partnership, participating retailers, and cause involvement without becoming cluttered. Even the included CT “Bourbon Bastards” tater sticker feels intentionally playful rather than gimmicky.
Distinctiveness
There’s still enough familiar Litchfield bourbon DNA present to remind you what’s underneath the finish, but the cherry liqueur barrel adds a genuinely unusual layer of depth that transforms the whiskey into something entirely different.
The result is one of the more distinctive finished bourbons released this year. It’s bold, tannic, dark, and heavily stylized — the kind of whiskey that will absolutely polarize drinkers but reward those looking for something outside the standard finished bourbon playbook.
“This is not a safe bourbon. It’s also not remotely forgettable.“
Transparency
As usual, Litchfield remains one of the more transparent producers in the space regarding what went into the whiskey itself. The finishing style, proof, and collaboration details are all clearly communicated upfront.
The owners were open in being unsure how long the cabernet sauvignon or cherry liqueur had rested in the French oak barrels before being dumped to hold the bourbon.
Value
At $68.95, Litchfield Cherry Bourbon enters a competitive range for what is ultimately a relatively young whiskey, especially considering the bourbon itself spent part of its life in finishing barrels. On age alone, some drinkers may hesitate, particularly in a market increasingly obsessed with older stated bourbon.
But this release earns back much of that value through everything surrounding the whiskey itself. The French oak cherry liqueur finish creates a genuinely differentiated profile that stands apart from the endless wave of sweeter, more novelty-driven finished bourbons currently flooding the market. Add in the limited nature of the release, the custom patriotic presentation, retailer collaboration, and the fact that proceeds support Building Homes for Heroes, and the overall package starts to feel much more complete.
Even when the oak occasionally pushes to the edge of over-extraction, this never drinks generic. For fans of bold, tannic, dessert-adjacent whiskey profiles, there’s real value here simply in how distinct the experience feels.
Buy if:
- You enjoy deeply tannic, oak-forward bourbons
- You appreciate finished whiskeys that feel truly unique
- You’re a fan of heavily toasted or double-oaked style pours
- You want a finished bourbon that avoids becoming overly sweet
Skip if:
- You dislike astringent oak or aggressive tannins
- You prefer lighter, brighter fruit-forward finishes
- You want traditional bourbon character to remain dominant
- You’re sensitive to bitter chocolate or mulled spice profiles
Verdict
Litchfield Cherry Bourbon is a whiskey that feels designed for a very specific audience — and thankfully, it fully commits to that vision. The combination of French oak tannin, dark cherry richness, clove spice, and bitter chocolate creates a profile that’s far more complex and daring than most cherry-finished releases on the market.
For me personally, the oak pushes right to the edge in the mid-palate. But the whiskey earns points for refusing to collapse into syrupy sweetness or artificial cherry candy territory. The finish alone is compelling enough to justify revisiting the pour repeatedly.
This is a bourbon that takes risks. More importantly, it actually tastes like it did.
For those who prefer numbers, here’s the full score breakdown:
- Nose: 5.75 / 7
- Palate: 5.25 / 7
- Finish: 6.25 / 7
- Presentation: 6.25 / 7
- Distinctiveness: 6.5 / 7
- Transparency: 7 / 7
- Value: 5.58 / 7
Bourbon Bishop Rating: 6.08 / 7 – Holy Heaven
Out-of-this-world. A true unicorn.
| Score | Descriptor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 | Hell No | Drain pour. Seriously undrinkable. |
| 1.1–2 | Purgatory | Bad, but could be worse. Only in extreme cases. |
| 2.1–3 | Only Earthly | Just okay. Best used as a mixer. |
| 3.1–4 | Bliss | Passable to Good sipper. Works well in cocktails. |
| 4.1–5 | Angelic | Good to great. Often high value for the price. |
| 5.1–6 | Divine | Top-shelf. Must-buy for fans of the style. |
| 6.1–7 | Holy Heaven | Out-of-this-world. A true unicorn. |
Disclosure: This bottle was provided to me free of charge for review. All opinions are my own.
About Litchfield Distillery
Founded in 2014 by the Baker brothers in Litchfield, Connecticut, Litchfield Distillery has built a reputation around locally sourced grain, bright spice-forward whiskey profiles, and a steadily growing inventory of well-aged stock. Producing bourbon, rye, American Single Malt, and a wide range of finished expressions, the distillery has quietly become one of the more distinctive craft whiskey producers in the Northeast.
What separates Litchfield is its willingness to embrace character over trend-chasing. Rather than leaning into heavily sweet bourbon profiles, many of their releases highlight fruit, baking spice, herbal complexity, and structured oak — a style that feels unmistakably tied to both New England and the distillery’s “Spirit of Hard Work” philosophy.
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