Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

Coming at you today is a fresh review to kick off the new year. This is actually a review I began in 2024, but the additional time of hanging out in the review pipeline has given me a chance to taste Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon and even cook with it, and I’ve got a thought or two here that I am excited to share, including a recipe suggestion. Strange, I know! Let’s do this.

Author

John H.

CATEGORY

Review

POSTED ON

January 31st, 2025

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Bib & Tucker rolls across the review desk today with a product they’ve dubbed “Double Char Bourbon”. Terms like this are sometimes confusing, or even misleading (not that it’s intentional on behalf of the brand), so first I want to talk a bit about the product and the finishing process they are using so we can understand the nomenclature and the liquid itself.

Inspired by the turn of the century in America, when food was cooked on the open flame, this new bourbon from Bib & Tucker Small Batch Bourbon is aged twice to create savory smoky notes and an exceptionally smooth finish. -Bib & Tucker

According to the brand, Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon is first aged for six years in the rolling hills of Tennessee in new white American oak, followed by a minimum of five months in a second heavily charred and smoked new barrel. One can assume the Double Char title comes from the fact that all bourbon must be aged in new charred oak (as they tell us this product is), and they have followed that up with a second finish in yet another charred barrel.

I suppose we aren’t sure if the secondary finishing barrel is American oak, but that doesn’t truly matter in terms of qualifying as bourbon, so it’s not really a make-or-break detail. Just something worth noting to the curious consumer.

As bourbon drinks are likely to expect, secondary aging (also known as finishing) is a process that impacts the overall flavor of the product. A lot of brands will finish in used barrels, so I found it interesting that Bib & Tucker is using new barrels for their secondary aging. That’s a point worth noting as well because of the impact of new barrels opposed to used barrels (where new barrels can impart far more flavor in a shorter time).

This unique fire-forged double char aging method creates the rich and deep flavor of Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon. – Bib & Tucker

Now that we’ve covered the product and the process behind it, I suppose we should really move to the important part: the tasting. Below you’ll find my notes and final thoughts about the product, and even a cocktail suggestion for the curious reader.

Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon Tasting Notes: A rich nose with smoky and savory layers that move between brown sugar, maple candy, and a heavy vanilla medley into a dash of baking spice on the palate. The palate is interesting with some great chewy vanilla notes, and it pulls me back in for another sip, although the finish isn’t quite hanging on as much as I had expected with the richness of the nose.

Bourbon Finder Grade: B

Final thoughts…

As seen via the “bourbon rolls” in the image above, Bib & Tucker really tailors their product to suit the bourbon drinker who enjoys themselves a great meal or cocktail, and to that end, I have a recipe to share.

I’m personally a fan of making my own sauces, dressings, and marinades. I think the whiskey fan who feels even moderately interested in an upgrade to their BBQ game may find some value in my bourbon BBQ sauce (and if you’re reading this over a cup of Fin & Field Coffee I can say that Bib & Tucker Double Char works really well in a mug of coffee).

John’s Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 large shallot
  • 1/3 cup malt vinegar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon
  • 2 1/2 tbsp molasses
  • 6 oz can of chipotles in adobo sauce (chopped)
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tbsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Method: I prefer to grate/microplane the shallot, but you can go for a fine dice as well.  The simplest way to make this rather straightforward sauce is to put all liquid ingredients (aside from the bourbon!) together in a saucepan over medium-high heat then add in the diced shallot, sugar, chopped chiles, etc..  Bring this up to a boil, and back it down to a simmer and whisk together until reduced by about 25%.  Cut the heat, add in the bourbon, and blitz together with immersion blender until smooth.  Let the sauce cool and store in the fridge until needed.

Be sure to tag me if you decide to add some Bib & Tucker to your coffee, or if you decide to tinker with my BBQ sauce recipe.  Thanks for reading along!

The Bourbon Finder thanks Bib & Tucker for graciously providing sample/s of their product and images used in this post. Being able to try new things in the whiskey space, without strings attached, is an opportunity we greatly appreciate. Per our review ethos, we provide objective reviews and commentary on media samples of spirits and products; remember, friends, these are the good old days of whiskey!

Our grading system: As mentioned in our About Us page, we’re excited to share bourbon with our friends, family, and readers. There are enough critics, cynics, and curmudgeons in the whiskey world as it is, so our goal is to foster the bourbon community in a positive way by bringing fun and entertaining content whenever possible–as such–we decided that applying precise scores to whiskey was simply too serious for us (and didn’t accurately showcase variability in taste from day to day). We use a simple grade school system to apply a grade to the whiskeys we review because we feel it is indicative of the whiskey’s grade for us on that particular day. A grade of a “B” today may very well be a “B+” or even a “B-” on another day, so rather than focusing on a precise score today that may not stand the test of time, we are just sharing our overall grade of that pour for that one tasting. Pour a bit and enjoy, friends, these are the good old days of whiskey!

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