A uniquely Pennsylvania rye-heavy bourbon meets 11 months of heavy-toast, medium-char oak for a smoky, spicy, remarkably balanced pour.
Stats
- Type: Finished Bourbon
- Age: 4.5 Year
- Proof: 107.3 (53.65% ABV)
- Mashbills: 51% Blood Butcher Corn │ 40% Pennsylvania Rye │ 9% Malted Barley
- Origin: Liberty Pole Spirits — Washington, Pennsylvania
- Finishing Cask: Double oaked in a heavy toast, medium char barrel.
- Finishing Time: 11 months
- Bottle: 394 of 499
- Release: Limited release, blended, finished
- MSRP: $74 / 750 mL (via Liberty Pole Spirits SOLD OUT)
Tasting Notes
- Nose: Dense apple wood, roasted bell pepper, maple and hickory smoke lead the way. There’s a subtle sourness underneath it all that adds some tension to an otherwise rich, wood-forward nose.
- Palate: The palate starts fairly light before quickly building into denser barrel spice and hot-ramping pepper. Molasses sits underneath the spice and oak, giving the whiskey some darker sweetness without turning it into a dessert pour.
- Finish: RC cola, hickory smoke and dark chocolate linger alongside espresso bean and graham cracker. The smoke is substantial but remarkably controlled, adding depth rather than overwhelming the underlying whiskey.
There are plenty of double-oaked bourbons on the market now, but Liberty Pole’s Double Oaked doesn’t taste like it’s simply following the established formula. The combination of its unusual high-rye, Bloody Butcher corn distillate and nearly a year in a heavy-toast, medium-char finishing barrel produces something distinctly its own.
Presentation
Liberty Pole consistently does a nice job balancing vintage character with modern simplicity, and this bottle is no exception. The old-school markings and coloring give it a rustic feel, while the maypole/liberty pole dancer graphic adds a distinctive visual element without competing with the deep, dark whiskey inside.
My one thought is that a special release this unusual could benefit from a little more visual distinction from Liberty Pole’s standard lineup. The bottle is attractive and understated, but the whiskey inside is anything but ordinary.
Distinctiveness
Full marks here. My closest points of reference are Michter’s Toasted Barrel and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, particularly in the way the oak develops gradually rather than simply dumping a pile of char and sweetness onto the palate.
Even those comparisons only go so far. Liberty Pole’s unique base distillate paired with a distinctive double-oak treatment creates a whiskey that stands apart from the increasingly crowded double-oaked category. There’s a pronounced hickory-smoke/barbecue quality, but it never becomes the one-note barbecue bomb that some heavily treated bourbons can become.
This is not your average double oaked bourbon.
“This is not your average double oaked bourbon.”
Transparency
There’s very little mystery here, and that’s exactly what I want from a craft whiskey. Liberty Pole provides the age, proof, mash bill, finishing treatment, finishing duration, toast level and char level.
At 4.5 years in its initial aging plus 11 months of finishing, the whiskey gives you a clear picture of what went into the bottle and how it got there. That’s excellent transparency, particularly for a whiskey where the finishing process plays such an important role in the final profile.
Value
At $74, this initially looks a little ambitious for a craft bourbon with 4.5 years of primary aging.
But the math makes more sense once you consider the whole package: nearly six years of combined maturation, an unusual base distillate, 11 months of secondary oak, heavy toast, 107.3 proof and a flavor profile that genuinely distinguishes itself.
Craft whiskey has real production-cost challenges at this scale, and quality doesn’t necessarily come cheaply. Here, though, the final whiskey feels like it earns the asking price rather than asking you to pay extra simply because it’s craft.
Buy if:
- You want a genuinely distinctive double-oaked bourbon
- You enjoy hickory smoke and barrel spice
- You like high-rye bourbon with some heat
- You want a craft whiskey with excellent transparency
Skip if:
- You prefer soft, sweet double-oaked bourbon
- Heavy smoke and pepper aren’t your thing
- You’re looking specifically for a traditional double-oak profile
- You want a bourbon where the oak takes a back seat
Verdict
Liberty Pole’s Double Oaked is one of those bottles where the finishing treatment actually feels like a meaningful extension of the whiskey rather than the entire point of the whiskey. The Bloody Butcher corn and 40% Pennsylvania rye base already gives Liberty Pole something distinctive to work with, and the heavy-toast, medium-char finishing barrel takes that in a surprisingly smoky, savory direction.
There are recognizable echoes of Michter’s Toasted Barrel and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, particularly in that gradual, low-and-slow oak development, but Liberty Pole ultimately lands somewhere else entirely. Hickory smoke, roasted pepper, molasses, cola and dark chocolate make for a memorable profile, and the balance keeps all that character from becoming excessive.
At $74, I’d have some hesitation if this were simply another competent craft double-oaked bourbon. It isn’t. The unusual distillate, transparent finishing process and genuinely distinctive flavor profile make the price feel appropriately matched to what’s in the bottle.
Bourbon Bishop Bottom Line:
A genuinely distinctive double-oaked bourbon where Liberty Pole’s unusual rye-heavy distillate meets smoky, savory oak without losing its balance.
For those who prefer numbers, here’s the full score breakdown:
- Nose: 5.6 / 7
- Palate: 5.6 / 7
- Finish: 5.8 / 7
- Presentation: 5.5 / 7
- Distinctiveness: 6.5 / 7
- Transparency: 7 / 7
- Value: 5.75 / 7
Bourbon Bishop Rating: 5.96 / 7 – Divine
Top-shelf. Must-buy for fans of the style.
| 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 sample was provided to me free of charge for review. All opinions are my own.
About Liberty Pole Spirits
Liberty Pole Spirits is a family-owned, grain-to-glass craft whiskey distillery founded by Jim, Ellen, Rob and Kevin Hough in 2016 in Washington, Pennsylvania. The Hough family built the distillery around a passion for Pennsylvania whiskey and the region’s deep connection to the Whiskey Rebellion and Monongahela rye tradition. What began as Jim Hough’s early experimentation with a 10-gallon still eventually became a family business, with Rob and Kevin overseeing production while the family collectively developed Liberty Pole’s whiskey and visitor experience.
Today, Liberty Pole produces its whiskeys at its distillery campus in Washington County, where it mashes, distills, ages and bottles its whiskey in Pennsylvania. Rye remains central to the distillery’s identity, including its effort to revive the traditional Monongahela style through its Old Monongahela Full Proof Rye. That whiskey uses a 61% rye mash bill with rye malt, wheat and malted barley, is sweet mashed and batch distilled, and enters the barrel at just 108 proof before being bottled at that same proof.
Liberty Pole’s lineup extends beyond traditional rye and bourbon into more experimental expressions, including peated rye, peated bourbon, specialty finishes and single-barrel releases. The distillery’s current campus also offers tours, tastings and whiskey-focused experiences, giving visitors a chance to see the production and barrel-aging operation behind its Pennsylvania whiskey.
Related Articles
Read my Lost Lantern United States of Bourbon Cask Strength review with tasting notes, value analysis, and why this 123-proof 50-state blend is the standout release.
Espy House Rye, 94-proof and bottled by Bardstown Bourbon Company, delivers a fruity, herbal, and approachable Kentucky rye with a lightly spiced finish and a visually striking bottle.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery 2026 blends 7-, 10-, and 11-year-old bourbons before a four-month Garryana oak finish. Here’s how it drinks.
Confused by whiskey terms like small batch, bottled in bond, NDP, cask strength, or mash bill? Here’s a plain-English whiskey dictionary that defines common whiskey words and actually makes sense.
Discover the best budget whiskey releases of 2026 so far. From Blue Bolt 107 to Keeper’s Heart Pot Still Whiskey and Wheel Horse Rum Finished, these five bottles under $50 offer outstanding flavor, value, and character.
Small Batch has no legal definition, but a growing number of independent bottlers and craft distilleries are redefining the term through transparency, intentional blending, and truly limited barrel counts.
Old Elk 10-Year Wheated Bourbon is a creamy, balanced 105-proof pour with caramel, banana bread, molasses and a lingering cherry-caramel finish.