Broken Barrel Whiskey

Heresy Rye
California Oak
Broken Barrel Bourbon
Cask Strength

Broken Barrel began with a man, an axe, a barrel and a dream. From its inception, the brand was intended to be different from all other whiskeys. Broken Barrel’s founder Seth Benhaim, had already found success with his first liquor brand of single bottle infused vodkas, Infuse Spirits (www.infusespirits.com). At age 29, Seth sourced his first barrels of bourbon from Owensboro, Kentucky to produce what would later become Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. The experiment involved sourcing used bourbon barrels, French oak barrels, and sherry casks from Spain – all to be used in the first ever Oak Bill™. 

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It was unsure how people would react to the concept of using different broken barrels staves to finish a bourbon whiskey. Back in 2017 and the looming eclipse and domination of every kind of barrel finished American whiskey had not quite come into full maturity. 

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Benhaim believed that there was a missed opportunity in traditional barrel finishing – namely the reliance on one type of barrel used to finish one type of whiskey. He wanted Broken Barrel to be an expansion of the barrel finishing concept, involving not only broken barrel staves (vs. intact barrels), but also the combination of multiple barrel types all finishing aged bourbon in tandem. Benhaim also believed blended whiskeys would be bracing options more suitable for stave finishing. Broken Barrel’s concept proved successful, with positive reception across a 17-state launch in late 2017.