Thirteenth Colony Barrel Symphony Composition No. 1 Cask Strength Bourbon & Rye Blend 750ml

Barrel Symphony Composition No. 1 — a cask-strength marriage of straight bourbon and straight rye whiskey from Thirteenth Colony Distilleries in Americus, Georgia, presented in the brand's squat decanter bottle.

Most American whiskey blends dilute a good barrel with a cheaper one. This does the opposite: two mature straight whiskeys, one bourbon and one rye, each aged in oak and combined at full strength rather than cut to a standard proof. The composition number on the label marks it as the first in a series rather than a one-off.

Thirteenth Colony is one of the few Southern craft distilleries to build a reputation outside its own state. Georgia's climate runs hotter than Kentucky's, which drives whiskey through the wood faster and makes a decade in barrel a different proposition there than it would be further north.

Blending bourbon with rye rather than bottling either alone gives the sweeter corn-driven base a spine of rye spice — the sort of thing a distillery does when it has both styles mature enough to stand on their own.

Tasting Notes

• Nose: Caramel, vanilla and toasted oak with honey, brown sugar and warm baking spice.
• Palate: Rich and balanced — caramel and vanilla against rye spice, dried fruit and chocolate, with the weight cask strength brings.
• Finish: Long and elegant, with lingering sweetness, oak and spice.

Specs

• Distillery: Thirteenth Colony Distilleries, Americus, Georgia
• Expression: Barrel Symphony, Composition No. 1
• Type: A blend of straight bourbon whiskey and straight rye whiskey
• Bottling: Cask strength
• Release: 2026
• Size: 750ml

Explore the full Thirteenth Colony collection or browse all American whiskey at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is this a bourbon? Not exactly — it's a blend of straight bourbon whiskey and straight rye whiskey, which is its own category. Both components are straight whiskeys in their own right, so the blend sits a long way from the grain-neutral blends the word usually suggests.
• Where is Thirteenth Colony? Americus, Georgia. The distillery has built a following well beyond the Southeast on the strength of its cask-strength releases, and Georgia's heat works the whiskey through the wood faster than Kentucky's climate does.
• What does Composition No. 1 mean? It identifies this as the first release in the Barrel Symphony series. Later compositions use different combinations, so the number is how each release is told apart rather than a batch code.