Review #246: Pursuit United Twice Toasted Bourbon

MASH BILL: A proprietary blend of three bourbons:

• Bardstown Bourbon Co. 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malt
• TN Distilling Partner 80% corn, 10% rye, 10% malt
• Finger Lakes Distilling 70% corn, 20% wheat, 10% malt

AGE: NAS (Pursuit Spirits confirmed that the whole “United” line contains 4-7 year whiskey though)

PROOF: 108

COST: $70 for 750mL bottle (from Pursuit Spirits’ Whiskey Row location)

I picked up this bottle at Pursuit Spirits in September of 2025 when I visited their new Whiskey Row location. The Pursuit United Twice Toasted Bourbon was originally released around 2022 as part of the “Oak Collection” in their old packaging. This is one of the most finicky products that Pursuit Spirits puts out: each batch features about 10 barrels total of 3 different bourbons that go through a first maturation of 4-7 years in their original barrels. Pursuit then vats these 3 bourbons at an undisclosed ratio (Finger Lakes being the smallest component because a little bit of their wheat whiskey goes a long way, the Tennessee and BBCo components being about equal ratios) and allowing their profiles to marry during the finishing. The blend is finished in two vats using toasted American oak staves in one and toasted French oak in the other. They are allowed to finish for a few months (time varies by season), before finally blending both vats at a different ratio each time (finishing time can affect the ratio), proofing the batch to 108, and then bottling. So, there’s a lot of whiskey movement happing to make this expression, and because of that, they are only making 1 or 2 batches of this expression per year going forward.

One thing that stood out to me was the BBCo mash bill – it’s the well known Heaven Hill 78/10/12 mash bill. I was curious about whether this was intentional in trying to chase that Heaven Hill profile, because in listening to the Bourbon Pursuit podcast over the years, I’ve learned Kenny and Ryan (particularly Ryan, I believe) are fans of most things Heaven Hill. (I, too, think all of Heaven Hill products are great, and the 78/10/12 mash bill is about as close as it comes to a gold standard for mash bills.) However, after asking Pursuit about this, they said the simple truth is that after tasting 8 different mash bills BBCo had at the time, this HH copycat was simply the best to them. (Thanks to Joe at Pursuit Spirits for providing a lot of answers to my questions.)

Before I go on, let me just say that Pursuit Spirits has a slam dunk of a marketing tactic on Whiskey Row that stood out to me. Even though I only bought one bottle, they gave me a bright orange, reusable bag that has their name and logo on the side and dividers inside to make it convenient to carry 6 bottles in it. Even though I only purchased that one bottle from them, I put 4 other bottles from other distillers in that bag throughout the rest of the day and carried it around on whiskey row, constantly giving Pursuit the publicity. Genius! Now onto the whiskey.

This review is of batch 8CF, bottled in August 2025. Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Toasted oak color (1.7), moderately oily on the glass.

NOSE: Bright sweetness upfront with bolder, dark, earthy notes much deeper. Orange candy slices and vanilla cream give a slightly Dreamcicle like vibe. I also a get peaches and cherry, not dissimilar to a Dole fruit cup with peaches and cherries. Pushing that brightness aside there’s layers of seasoned oak, dark chocolate, cherry syrup, candied walnuts, and cinnamon powder. The bright sweetness and dark earth and spice notes are two very distinct layers on this nose.

PALATE: A syrupy mouthfeel coats the palate with ease. The 108 proof does very well at taming the proof heat while still allowing robust flavor. Chocolate ganache, vanilla crème, and buttery caramel combine at the middle of the palate and make me think of a Cadbury Crème Egg. Cinnamon and spicy oak join in and dominate briefly before additional sweetness shows up as cherry Dr. Pepper.

FINISH: Long finish. Some of the sweetness from the palate transfers over, but only briefly before earthier notes take over and bring this to a close. Burnt vanilla beans, caramelized sugar, and milk chocolate. Then cinnamon powder, cocoa nibs, and alcohol-soaked stone fruit. Well-seasoned, tannic oak remains a constant backdrop but doesn’t take a prominent role until the very end as the sweeter notes fade.

RATING: 7.5/10

OVERALL: There’s a nice adventure going on in this glass. From creamy dreamcicle to tannic oak, and from cherry syrup to cinnamon powder – there’s a lot going on here and a lot to unpack. It’s well layered each step of the way, always with the sweeter notes being pretty front and center but then dying off and revealing deeper spice and wood notes. There’s a great balance from the two toasted finishes, but I feel like the French oak influence leans a little heavier to me with robust chocolate, dark fruit, and spice notes. I would wager that while the finishing ratio isn’t disclosed, it probably leans a little heavier towards the French oak than the American oak.

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings

Check out all my reviews: Woodgrain & Whiskey.