Spirit Of The Week: Widow Jane The Vaults 2022 Bourbon
For the fourth chapter in its anticipated series, the Brooklyn distillery handpicks 14- to 19-year-old bourbons.
It’s that magical time of the year when many labels across this great land release their year-end flagship expressions, such as Widow Jane.
For autumn 2022, the well-awarded Brooklyn distillery dropped the latest gem in its always-anticipated The Vaults series, which perennially blends their oldest and rarest whiskies. Widow Jane The Vaults 2022 is no exception.
Maxim highlighted Widow Jane recently, when we celebrated Tequila Ocho using bourbon barrels plucked from their Widow Jane’s Red Hook rick house to age Ocho’s superb Reposado. So it’s clear their barrels are well coveted by others and themselves.
For the fourth chapter in the Vaults series, Master Distiller Lisa Wicker selected bourbons resting in this same rick house, all aged between 14- and 19-years-old and blended them to perfection. This will be Wicker’s last Vaults expression, as it was recently announced that she’s amicably leaving the New York distillery she helped put on the map.
Just like every other year for the Vaults, Wicker selected a specific, unique wood to finish the blend. For 2022 the veteran Master Distiller opted for Missouri Ozark oak casks that spent three years seasoning in the open air of their Red Hook HQ. Widow Jane explains the “tight-grain oak” from the Ozark trees delivers hints of vanilla, smoke and spice to the whiskey.
Finally, as with all Widow Jane releases, the final mix is proofed down—but not too much, as Vaults 2022 still boasts a punchy 49.5% ABV (99 proof) ABV—with pure limestone-filtered water sourced direct from the nearby Rosendale Mines in upstate New York.
They credit this mineral water for the whiskey’s round mouthfeel and long finish. Only 2,000 cases of Widow Jane The Vaults 2022 bourbon will be sold. $261
Follow Contributing Spirits Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.
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