Pinhook 5 Year Old Cask Strength Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey
Pinhook 5 Year Old Cask Strength Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey is a 750mL Kentucky straight bourbon — aged five years, bottled unfiltered at cask strength and distilled at Castle & Key, the restored Old Taylor Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: Cask strength — 118.2 proof on the release bottling; exact proof varies by barrel
- Size: 750mL
- Age: 5 years
- Style: Kentucky straight bourbon, single barrel presentation, unfiltered
- Mash bill: 75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley — non-GMO, locally sourced grains
- Distillery: Castle & Key (the original Old Taylor Distillery), Frankfort, Kentucky
- Water: Kentucky groundwater, limestone-filtered spring water from the distillery source
- Presentation: Pinhook's signature magenta wax
- Origin: Kentucky, USA
The Vintage Approach, One Barrel at a Time
Pinhook treats bourbon like wine: instead of replicating the same whiskey every year, it blends and bottles in annual vintages that highlight the best attributes of that year's barrels — the best whiskey, not the same whiskey. Its cask strength bourbon is built for drinkers who want that vintage character undiluted: five years in Kentucky rickhouses, bottled unfiltered at full barrel proof. This release carries extra history, too — it comes from the first Pinhook cask-strength vintage distilled at Castle & Key, Colonel E.H. Taylor's original distillery, restored on the banks of Glenn's Creek. Each Pinhook bottle celebrates a thoroughbred — the brand is named for the practice of buying young horses on their pedigree. Browse the Pinhook collection, more bourbon, and the full whisky shelves at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
Pinhook's notes for the vintage: a warm, rich nose of molasses, roasted peanuts and caramel, leading into a dense palate of baked apricot, vanilla and burnt sugar — exceptionally balanced and elegant for a whiskey at this proof.
How to Enjoy
Start neat in a Glencairn and give it a few minutes; cask strength bourbon opens in the glass. A few drops of water or a single large cube will pull the apricot and burnt sugar forward and soften the proof's heat without losing the density.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does cask strength mean? The bourbon is bottled at the proof it came out of the barrel, without the dilution most bourbons receive before bottling, so the flavour arrives undiluted and unfiltered.
Where is Pinhook bourbon distilled? This vintage was distilled at Castle & Key in Frankfort, Kentucky — the restored distillery Colonel E.H. Taylor built — from non-GMO, locally sourced grains.
What is Pinhook's vintage approach? Rather than chase an identical profile every year, Pinhook bottles annual vintages blended to showcase that year's barrels at their best, and names each release for a promising thoroughbred racehorse.
How old is it? Five years in Kentucky rickhouses.
Full proof, unfiltered, five years in the making — order Pinhook 5 Year Cask Strength online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.