2XO Icon Series: The Sneakerhead Blended Bourbon

2XO’s newest blend pays tribute to master blender Dixon Dedman’s love of sneaker culture. Though the precise recipe is undisclosed, it’s made using the same ingredients as other Icon Series blends: two Kentucky bourbons, one of which has a high-rye mashbill, that come from different distilleries. As was done with previous releases, a portion of the 6 year old high-rye bourbon was finished in new oak barrels with No. 3 and No. 4 char.

The defining feature of 2XO is its focus on the impact of oak on whiskey. But Dedman achieves that oak influence in different ways. While Gem of Kentucky, 2XO’s prestige $200 single barrel bourbon, is finished in new charred oak, the Icon Series, featuring one-off blends like this new release, blends both finished and unfinished bourbons. The Oak Series whiskey, which is an ongoing series, gets flavor influence from pieces of charred oak threaded through the links of stainless steel chains, which are inserted into the barrel during maturation.