Foley Family Wines & Spirits (FFWS) has released Gambit No. 6, a 6-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon finished in six distinct barrel types, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, apple brandy, Muscatel, Oloroso sherry, and Tokaji casks.
The 92-proof whiskey is the second spirits release from master distiller Chip Tate since he joined FFWS as master distiller for innovation in January 2024.
Tate, best known as the founder of Balcones Distilling, named the expression after the chess term for a calculated strategic move. He originally envisioned a double wine barrel-finished bourbon but found that four additional barrel finishes delivered “unique structure, palate, and finish”, according to a brand press release.
“The nuance of barrel finishing has piqued my interest since I started in the whiskey business more than 20 years ago, and access to these barrels opens a world of possibilities,” said Tate. “Gambit No. 6 is a testament to the depths of innovation, flavor, and craftsmanship we can achieve in whiskey making at Foley, building on more than 30 years of heritage as a family-owned, fine wine and luxury estates company.”
The base spirit features a mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. Roughly 15% of the whiskey was finished for 19 months in Cabernet Sauvignon American oak barrels sourced from Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery’s PreVail Wines.
Approximately 85% was finished for three months in Chardonnay French oak casks, also sourced from Ferrari-Carano. That portion was then divided among Oloroso sherry, Muscatel, apple brandy, and Tokaji barrels and aged for an additional 12 to 16 months.
All barrels were housed at Minden Mill Distillery near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where Tate monitored their progress.
Boarding on old oak this is suprisingly dark in color. Clear with semi-slow legs which do not linger on the glass. Tasted neat in a Glencairn after resting.
Opens with a lovely burst of flavor from the wine casks. Ripe red fruits, stewed orchard fruits, cinnamon, baking spices, raising, thick honey, cigar box, and baker’s chocolate.
We start with a nice cigar smoke balanced with sweet fruits and dry tobacco. Across the tongue we find stone fruit, apples, and wine esters at the back end. The complex red wines used to finish the whiskey provide a lovely undercurrent throughout the sip.
Smooth finish with sweet red grapes and almost a blackberry fade at the end.
If you like red wine finishes this is certainly one to explore. There is a lot going on with this many barrel finishes, and like so many things, there is a reason there are different types of wine. Some of the flavors between the barrels aren’t perfectly harmoneous, but do end up being smoothed out by the proofed whiskey.
Mr. Tate was the creator behind an earlier product I reviewed called Ampersand. I generally really enjoyed those products, and I’m excited to see Mr. Tate continue his foray into creative whiskey creation. I think this is a lovely product for fans of wine finishes. There is certainly plenty to explore here and the sweetness of the wine, I think, is inviting to otherwise non-whiskey people.
