I am a fan of the Bourbon Pursuit podcast and of their whiskies. If you are not familiar with them check out the AMA they recently did here at DMVWhisky. This review is for their Pursuit United Double Oaked Bourbon single barrel pick "Don't Call This Crème Brûlée" that Barrel Shoppe did.

Pursuit United takes a unique approach to their releases. They contract distill whiskies from three different distilleries and then create unique blends and finishes. This one got rebarreled and then the double-oaked bourbon is further enhanced with a curated selection of tasted and charred staves.

Mashbill:

• Bardstown Bourbon Co 78/10 rye/12
• TN Distilling Partner 80/10 rye/10
• Finger Lakes Distilling 70/20 wheat/10

Age: NAS

Proof: 108

Distilled: KY, TN, NY

Price: 75

Color: Medium amber

Nose: At 108 proof, the nose is very fruit-forward. It features distinct notes of cherry, vanilla, and Dr. Pepper.

Palate: The palate has a bit of a bite that benefits from a few drops of water and time in the glass. It reminds me of the McDonald's cherry pies when they use to make them with added notes of custard and light oak.

Finish: The finish is moderate with a creamy and oily mouthfeel. There are lingering notes of pepper and cinnamon.

Score: 6.8

Overall: This is a cherry bomb! Sweet cherry pie dominates this delicious bourbon. The mouthfeel is oily and rich and makes for a nice evening pour after dinner. For the price this is hard to beat for a truly unique single barrel bourbon. It is available for purchase online from BarrelShoppe.com

NOTE: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of Barrel Shoppe. I was not compensated by for this review. This is our honest review based on our tasting notes over several evenings with this pour.

WHAT IS TOTAL WINE GRAND RESERVE?

Total Wine has a rewards program with different tiers based on how much you spend. You get 10 points for every $1 spent. Their top tier is called Grand Reserve and requires 25,000 points each year to get and maintain the status. Normally this requires spending $2500.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF GRAND RESERVE?

• $5 rewards for every 5000 points earned
• Digital deals
• Record of past purchases
• Military benefit eligibility
• Birthday Deal
• Member-only events
• Free classes
• Free wine gift bags or reusable totes (2 per month, max $3.99 value each)
• Free magazine (6 per year, $12 or less)
• Priority Access to select products

WHAT IS PRIORITY ACCESS?

Priority Access is basically Total Wine's program for allocated bottles. Throughout the year you can sign-up for events and if randomly selected you can purchase an allocated bottle. They do this for bottles like Pappy, GTS, OF Birthday Bourbon, etc. This is the main reason why people try to get Grand Reserve status.

HOW CAN I EARN GRAND RESERVE WITHOUT SPENDING $2500?

Normally you have to spend $2500 every year to get and maintain Grand Reserve status. BUT if you want to get it without spending $2500 here is how to do it. Whenever they open a new store they typically will offer 5x points (use to be 10x) for the first month or so on any purchases at the store. So if you spend $500 and get 5x you will earn 25,000 points, which is enough for Grand Reserve.

The latest grand opening is in Lubbock, TX and currently has "Collect 5x points on your total purchase." deal. The details are:

>Bonus Points are valid towards both Member Status and Rewards Dollars. Points calculated based on dollar amount spent on qualifying purchases. Must present phone number or member number in store at time of purchase. Offer not combined with any other Total Wine & More coupon or discount. Not valid on previous purchases. Offer intended for people of legal drinking age only. Offer valid through 6/16/2026. Lubbock, TX location only.

Obviously if you don't live near a store that is having a grand opening this isn't so easy. The trick is finding when a new store is opening (doing a Google search works) and then finding someone in the area who can help... usually not too hard if you belong to some of the various discord or FB groups as people are usually willing to help each other out. You can buy bottles online that equal the $500+ and then you can have the person pick them up for you.

IS IT WORTH GETTING GRAND RESERVE?

For some people it is, especially if they already spend a lot at Total Wine. I know a lot of people who have the status and have been able to get some great allocated bottles. Me personally, I have never been able to get any allocated bottles with my Grand Reserve status and do not plan on trying to maintain it. I find Total Wine's prices are often higher than other area stores and they are not convenient for me. When I got it last year they were doing 10x points for the DC store grand opening so I only had to spend $250. Now that they are only offering 5x it may not be worth it unless you already plan to spend that at a Total Wine.

For background on the Black Maple Hill check out this previous post:

Black Maple Hill Release Party at Jack Rose

Old Commonwealth 10 Year Batch 3 goes live tomorrow, Friday May 22 at 11am ET at OldCommonwealth.com. No password or CAPTCHA. $199.99. One (1) bottle per person, per household

WSR showing available and ability to order online. Limit 1.

https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/bourbon/small-batch-bourbon/wl-weller-special-reserve-bourbon/p/13538750

EC15 Showing available at both store. Best to call to confirm.

https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/bourbon/small-batch-bourbon/elijah-craig-15-yr-sgl-brl-bourbon/p/2126281239

B K Miller Meats & Liquor drop today, Thursday May 21st

May 21, 1959 - Sixty-seven years ago today, the bourbon industry lost Colonel Albert Bacon Blanton. He started at what was then called the Old Fire Copper Distillery (now known as Buffalo Trace) at 16 years old as an office boy, worked his way up to president by 1921, and spent 55 years there. During Prohibition, he secured one of only six medicinal whiskey licenses in the country, keeping the lights on when most distilleries went dark. Then in 1937, the Kentucky River flooded and devastated the distillery grounds. Blanton had operations back up and running within 24 hours.

Beyond keeping the distillery alive, Blanton transformed the campus by adding gardens and a clubhouse, and expanding production enough to stay operational through World War II. But the thing he's most associated with was Warehouse H. It's a metal-clad rickhouse, and Blanton had figured out that its unique temperature swings were creating something exceptional in the barrel. He made a habit of pulling choice barrels from it to share with special guests. A personal ritual that was known well inside the distillery walls but nowhere else.

That changed in 1984, when Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee honored his former boss by creating Blanton's Single Barrel, the first commercially available single barrel bourbon ever released, pulled exclusively from Warehouse H. The distinctive bottle and the collectible horse-and-jockey stoppers became instantly iconic, but the bigger story is what that release did to the industry. American whiskey went from commodity to something worth seeking out. Every single barrel program that exists today traces back to that moment.

Follow ThisDayInBourbonHistory on Instagram

Looks like TW removed these bottles from the allocated drop for Grand Reserve members.

They are showing Weller SR as available, but it is now out of stock.

Showing WSR available in store. Best to call to confirm.

ServedNeat has some pretty good deals today including the lowest online prices I have seen in awhile for Blanton's Gold and SFTB.

ServedNeat.com

EC15 and OF7 show available. Best to call to confirm

Wild Turkey announced the release of their Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition. It is a 16‑year‑old, non‑chill filtered, 120‑proof Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, crafted from barrels primarily aged in Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson rick houses. Retail price is $400.

The Gold Foil Edition will be available in-store starting from May 2026. DMVWhisky will post details about their online release as soon as they announce it.

DETAILS