Wenzel Distillery has launched the second batch of its Sherry Barrel Finished Bourbon, following Batch 1’s recognition as World’s Best Finished Bourbon at the World Whiskies Awards 2025. The Covington, Kentucky-based craft distillery made Batch 2 available on April 22, 2026, at its distillery and online, priced at $109 per 750ml bottle.
Just 679 bottles of the limited-edition release have been produced.
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The straight bourbon whiskey is finished in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at cask strength of 119.1 proof. Batch 2 was crafted by blending barrels of varying ages, with a minimum of seven years, and finishing times ranging from nine to 36 months.
The bourbon was originally distilled in Georgia by Ghost Coast Distillery, whose assets and inventory Wenzel acquired in 2023. According to the distillery, Batch 1 resulted from an unplanned extended finishing period in sherry casks.
“Between the timing of Ghost Coast filling these barrels, shutting down, Wenzel purchasing and moving them, and finally bottling them, an abnormal length of time had passed,” said Bill Whitlow, Wenzel’s president and brand ambassador. “Typically you would finish in a Sherry cask for less than a year, but this process led to it aging for a full three years in the secondary aging cask leading to some wild and intense flavors.”
“This was truly just one of those happy accidents you fall into now and then,” Whitlow added.
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Batch 2 incorporates a small amount of the original Batch 1 liquid held back during bottling, blended with barrels that were aged longer and finished more traditionally.
“We are excited to follow up Batch 1 with another release with intense character,” noted Whitlow. “The fruit and cocoa notes resonate from the small amount of Batch 1 that was held back and added into Batch 2. Blending some of the original with a few barrels that were initially aged a little older and finished more traditionally combined those notes with a slightly higher proof and more robust oak character.”
Official tasting notes from the brand describe cherry, dried fig, dark fruit, and cocoa on the nose. The full-bodied palate delivers red fruit, dark chocolate, rich oak, and cherry. The finish is described as long and rich, with notes of cherry, dark fruit, and milk chocolate.
Founded in 2022, Wenzel Distillery is the first bourbon distillery to operate in Covington since before Prohibition. The distillery is featured on both the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the B-Line.
