5 Wine Barrel Aged Spirits to Enjoy
Wine barrel aged spirits
A distiller and a winemaker walk into a bar...
Distillers often experiment with aging techniques, knowing the vessel a spirit ages in will influence the finished product. But producers face layers of opinion, tradition, and standards when planning their next product. The rising trend of spirits aged in wine barrels has created a fun blend of two worlds, bringing to market notable expressions that throw staunch traditionalism to the wind.
Here are five wine barrel aged spirits to enjoy.
High West Distillery The Prisoner's Share
$174.99, 750 ml | 101 proof
High West Distillery The Prisoner's Share photo credit High West Distillery
High West Distillery in Utah, well known for its distinct high elevation whisky program since 2006, makes an annual, limited release of an expression called The Prisoner’s Share, finishing straight bourbon and rye in The Prisoner red wine barrels. First introduced in 2022, this limited-release is a favorite for High West, and the 2026 edition, released at the end of May, is notable, with a complex mash bill, no chill filtration and deeply layered flavors.
High West’s Director of Sensory QA & New Product Development, Tara Lindley, says, “We've been experimenting with wine, spirit, liqueur, beer, and other specialty cask finishes for well over a decade. In many cases, those experiments start in our Single Barrel program, which allows us to explore new ideas on a smaller scale and really understand how a particular finish interacts with the whiskey.”
Because of this history of experimentation, Lindley says that they are fortunate to have partnerships with some great wineries, including The Prisoner, and the red blend that inspired The Prisoner’s Share concept. She says “it made perfect sense to explore what those barrels could bring to whiskey…The Prisoner barrels also bring complexity from both French and American oak. We often see layers of dark fruit alongside subtle toasted oak notes, particularly from the French oak influence. Together, those elements can enhance texture, creating a richer, more velvety mouthfeel while adding notes of dark chocolate and baking spice to the finished whiskey.”
Looking beyond The Prisoner’s Share, Lindley is excited to continue playing with finishing. “Different wines, spirits, and types of oak each bring their own character to the whiskey. Most recently, we experimented with Italian Taurasi barrels in our Single Barrel program, and the results were stunning. Experiences like that are what keep us curious and continue to push the boundaries of what's possible with finishing,” she says.
Tasting Notes:
Medjool dates, dried cranberries, smoked apples with vanilla custard, fig, clove, crystallized ginger, boysenberry and star anise finish.
Espolòn Extra Añejo
$69.99, 750 ml | 80 proof
Espolòn Extra Añejo
Typically, in the world of tequila, “Añejo” is the furthest an expression gets in its aging process. But Espolòn, the Highland distillery at Casa San Nicolás in Arandas, Jalisco, has taken things to another level with their ‘extra-aged’ launch of the Extra Añejo. While extended aging in American Oak is known in this category, the Extra Añejo is finished for six months in French Chardonnay casks, a technique that brings a brighter dimension to the finished product.
Master Distiller and Maestro Tequilero Jesús Susunaga Acosta says, “I’ve always appreciated the complexity wine barrels can bring, so finishing the liquid in French Chardonnay casks felt like a natural choice. The result is a tequila that can stand alongside aged spirits while remaining accessible for more people to experience.”
He joined the Campari Group in 2021, the company that holds Espolòn Tequila, and has helped guide the brand into its next chapter while honoring the legacy of founding distiller Cirilo Oropeza. The core lineup is Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo, with the addition of this new Extra Añejo, Espolòn’s most premium expression that Acosta launched in June 2026.
It is aged for two and a half years in American Oak and finished for six months in the French Chardonnay barrels, a technique that Acosta says creates something unexpected. "With Extra Añejo, we wanted to push the character of our flavor profile while staying true to what makes Espolòn unmistakably itself, and the double-cask approach adds new layers of flavor."
Acosta also serves on the faculty of Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, where he teaches and mentors students pursuing careers in spirits, helping preserve and advance Mexico’s tequila heritage for the next generation.
Tasting Notes:
Caramel, vanilla, toasted oak and sweet spice.
Cedar Ridge Distillery The QuintEssential American Single Malt Whiskey
$59.99, 750 ml | 94 proof
Cedar Ridge Distillery The QuintEssential American Single Malt Whiskey
Cedar Ridge is a distillery and a winery, so it makes perfect sense to play around with merging of the two concepts. Master Distiller Murphy Quint has created the QuintEssential special release, the distillery’s American single malt whiskey finished in a mix of wine casks, including estate port, Madeira-style dessert wine, and estate Marquette wine.
He says that for this particular blend he was inspired by a classic peated sherry. “I was looking for barrels with strong notes of fig, raisin, and plenty of earthiness from the peat. But more than looking for specific flavors, I was focused on choosing barrels that simply played well with one another.”
More than anything, Quint focuses on integration in his blending program.
“A lot of people assume I’m just taking the best barrels I can find and putting them together, but that’s not really the case. I actually prefer to work with barrels that are slightly off-balance. Those barrels bring strong, distinct features to the blend, and I balance out their weak spots by selecting other barrels to round them out,” he explains.
And as a winery and a distillery, wine barrel maturation is a central component to their spirits. “Don’t get me wrong, I love working with classic casks like sherry butts and port pipes, but what I’m most excited about is using barrels that previously held wine from our own vineyards, especially some of the more unique cold-climate varietals that most people haven’t heard of, like Marquette, La Crosse, and Elvira. These casks impart flavors that are specific to our land and our climate, and that sense of place is very exciting to me,” says Quint.
Tasting Notes:
Stone fruit, peat smoke, malt, leather, sugar.
Bridgeland Distillery Glenbow Single Malt Porta Rossa Finish Whisky
$95.00 (CAD), 500 ml | 105 proof
Bridgeland Distillery Glenbow Single Malt Porta Rossa Finish Whisky
Multiple Canadian Whisky Award winner, Bridgeland Distillery in Calgary, Alberta makes an intentional Port-style single malt. Rather than importing Port barrels from Portugal, which can require a sulfite treatment for the long transport into Canada, Bridgeland crafted their own Port-style fortified wine from California-grown Tempranillo grapes, the same variety as Tinto Roriz in Portugal.
The Glenbow Single Malt is first fully matured in charred American Oak where it develops notes of cereal from the malted barley. The oak combined with Calgary's dry climate and high elevation creates a taste older than it would seem on the nose and palate. Next, the spirit finishes for one year in freshly emptied French Limousin Oak casks that previously held the distillery's Port-style fortified wine.
Daniel Plenzik and Jacques Tremblay of Bridgeland Distillery
Owner Daniel Plenzik chose the French Limousin Oak not only for their tannin and crème brûlée tasting notes, but because they are crafted only 20 minutes away from his family's farm in Piedmont, Italy.
He says, "We love Port finished Single Malt Whisky, however because access to freshly harvested Port barrels is delayed long enough, considering the distance we are from Portugal, we did not feel comfortable purchasing these barrels…The time between our fortified wine port style harvest and re-filling with our Glenbow Single Malt whisky was a matter of an hour making it ideal conditions for the whisky.”
Plenzik explains that in general, they utilize charred American Oak barrels for their Whisky and toasted French Limousin Oak for their brandy, eau de vie and port style fortified wines, imparting more tannin and delicate oak characteristics. In this special release, they specifically chose both barrels for different reasons. The charred American Oak for the Glenbow Single Malt Whisky imparts cereal notes of the malted barley, combined with both virgin and used oak in combination with their dry and high elevation climate, making the single malt whisky taste older than it would seem on the nose and palate.
They plan to continue experimenting with blending and aging techniques as well. “We are looking at working with other BC wineries to see what potential wine finishes we can work with that marry well with our whisky and brandy!" says Plenzik.
Tasting Notes:
Dark chocolate-dipped cherries, hints of orange peel, fruit-forward.
Branch & Barrel Vintner’s Select Red Wine Barrel Finished Bourbon
$65.00, 750 ml | 100 proof
Branch & Barrel Vintner’s Select Red Wine Barrel Finished Bourbon
This theme of experimentation and pushing the envelope is the wheelhouse for Branch & Barrel, based in Centennial, Colorado near Denver. Master Blender Mitchell Nester is quick to take on a new project, and has numerous award-winning special limited-releases to prove it, some of which have employed wine barrel aging. “Basically, wine barrels give us a whole new palette of colors to paint with when it comes to flavor that we don't normally have access to. Branch & Barrel and myself, in particular, love to work outside the box and explore not only what has been done but what can be done with flavor in whiskey and wine is an invaluable tool to explore that space,” he says.
For their very first wine barrel collaboration, the distillery partnered with a small winery in Parker, Colorado to create an expression with a base of the flagship Bourbon finished for six months in a barrel that held a Cabernet Sauvignon and Marselan Blend. It was so limited that it was only available in the Bourbon and Branch tasting room.
Master Blender Mitchell Nester
Nester says this was an example of how many of their wine barrel aged creations come to be. “The wine barrels were selected for a few different reasons. Most of these were partnerships with a local winery where they wanted to age a specific wine, and we took what was given back as an opportunity to do something unique.”
Moving forward, he is certain that the distillery will continue to work with wine casks. “I think that wine and bourbon will always have a place together…wine adds a height and fruit to bourbon you can't get anywhere else. I would be very interested in using orange wine on one of our wheat barrels to see what subtlety we can coax out of that combination of orange and chocolate. I would also be very interested in seeing what can be done with white wine and whiskey. I know there have been a few of those finishes floating around the market, but the idea of taking something like a sav blanc or albarino and adding rye whiskey to it is something I consider very interesting.”
Tasting Notes:
Red berries, red plum, dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, mint.