RD1

RD1 Spirits produces Kentucky straight bourbons with innovative wood finishing — the Small Batch (4-year, 70% corn / 21% rye / 9% barley), French Oak Finish (caramel, dark cherry, and smoke), Brazilian Amburana Wood Finish (sweet, spicy, and aromatic), and Double Finished Oak & Maple (rich maple and spice). All distilled and bottled in Kentucky.

Browse all bourbon at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Brazilian Amburana wood and why does it produce a distinctive flavor in bourbon?

Amburana cearensis is a South American hardwood native to Brazil and Bolivia — widely used in the aging of Braçaça and other Brazilian cachça expressions, and increasingly appearing as a finishing wood in American whiskey. Amburana is chemically distinct from American white oak, French oak, or any other commonly used cooperage wood: it contains high concentrations of coumarin, which produces a distinctive sweet, vanilla-like, cinnamon-adjacent aromatic compound, alongside natural lactones that add coconut and cream character. The result in a bourbon finish is a flavor profile unlike any standard oak finishing — intense sweetness, baking spice (particularly cinnamon), and a creamy richness that can make a bourbon taste almost dessert-like. The effect is more pronounced than a typical French or toasted oak finish because Amburana’s specific compounds are not found in standard cooperage woods. It is a genuinely unusual finishing choice that produces immediately recognizable results for drinkers who encounter it.

What does the French Oak Finish add to RD1 compared to the standard Small Batch?

American white oak barrels — the standard aging vessel for all bourbon — contribute vanilla, caramel, toasted grain, and a characteristic sweetness from the barrel’s charred interior. French oak has a tighter grain structure than American oak, releasing its compounds more slowly and contributing a different set of flavor elements: dried fruit (raisin, plum), dark spice, tannin with a silkier texture, and a subtle smokiness from the toasting process. When RD1’s Kentucky bourbon is finished in French oak, the American oak character (vanilla, caramel) provides the base, and the French oak adds the darker, more complex layer on top. The caramel and dark cherry notes that distinguish the French Oak Finish from the standard Small Batch come specifically from the interaction between the already-aged bourbon’s congeners and the French oak’s phenolic compounds during the secondary finishing period.