Exploring the Dark Arts...

Last year during a visit to Dark Arts Whiskey House of Lexington KY, we embarked on one of the most fun and freewheeling barrel selections we have ever done (aka tasted so many barrels, haven’t the foggiest as to how many we tried that day.) And it wasn’t for a lack of great options - there were many lovely bourbons in the mix - it was the unique opportunity that a producer like Dark Arts can offer. They have the flexibility and depth (and willingness) to keep pulling more – which gave us the opportunity to push the bar even higher, from great to truly exceptional. In the end we walked away with 3 remarkable barrels of bourbon, including a unique wine finish (extremely excited to finally be featuring a Sauternes cask, a personal favorite of multiple team members), a Japanese oak / Mizunara finished, and a first of a kind for our whiskey club - a premium barrel option. Read on for all the notes on our Q1'26 Whiskey Club barrels. 🙌
 
Barrel BST10, aka the Honey Pot, was distilled in Indiana from MGP's high-rye mash bill using 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. It was aged in new American oak for 8.5 years before being finished in an ex-Sauternes barrel. The whiskey was bottled without chill filtration at a barrel proof of 117.6. The dessert wine finish is apparent on the nose which offers scents of honey, peach, white grape juice, caramel, and citrus. The palate is also sweet, with the rye spice providing a lovely balance. Flavors include sweet citrus, honey-nut cheerio, white raisin, nougat, and caramel with some clove and black pepper spice joining on the mid-palate. The finish leaves you tasting sweet oak, raisin, caramel, and a touch of baking spice.
 
Barrel 17A09, the Spice Rack, was also distilled in Indiana from MGP's high-rye mash bill using 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. It aged for eight years in new American Oak in Kentucky before finishing with Mizunara staves. The whiskey was bottled without chill filtration at a barrel proof of 116.9. The nose offers scents of toasted oak, sandalwood, toffee, cocoa powder, and a touch of baking spice. The palate is bourbon-y with complementary rather than dominant contributions from the Mizunara staves. Flavors include caramel, vanilla bean, toffee, clove, black pepper, and a sandalwood spice lurking in the background. The finish is long and pleasant with notes toasted oak, chocolate, and baking spice.
 
Barrel T95 is our Business Class bottling, distilled in Indiana from MGP's high rye mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. This one was deemed to be simply too good to mess with, so after maturing for 10 years it was bottled unfinished and without chill filtration at a barrel proof of 132.88. This is old, high-proof, high-rye MGP at its finest. The nose features clove, peppercorn, allspice, cardamom, and cinnamon with base notes of rich oak, vanilla, and dark caramel. The palate begins sweet with flavors of dark caramel, toffee, french vanilla, and jammy red fruit before rich oak, leather, peppercorn, and rye spice join on the midpalate. A lengthy finish weaves back and forth between earthy oak / tobacco and sweet citrus with a touch of mint. An absolutely beautiful example of mature, undiluted, high-rye bourbon.
 
And a little about Dark Arts - known for finished whiskies that leap out of the glass with potent yet balanced flavor profiles, they do not distill whiskey, and are refreshingly candid about it. They are a blending, rebarreling, and finishing house. Co-founded by David Peet and Macaulay Minton in 2023 in Lexington, KY, Dark Arts seeks to create unique, very small batch whiskies using advanced maturation, blending, and finishing techniques.  Peet, a veteran entrepreneur and whiskey lover, is the CEO. Macaulay, who previously managed the single barrel program for Wilderness Trail, is the head whiskey maker, aka Chief Alchemist. When you craft whiskies this good, you can call yourself whatever you want.