Puncher’s Chance Bourbon Unveils Oldest Whiskey to Date Featuring Jamaican Rum Cask Finish

Puncher’s Chance Bourbon has released its oldest whiskey to date: The Left Cross. (Photo: Wolf Spirit)

On Tuesday, Wolf Spirit’s Puncher’s Chance Bourbon announced its oldest whiskey to date. Puncher’s Chance Bourbon: The Left Cross is aged for 14 years in new American oak barrels before being finished in freshly dumped 12-year-old Jamaican rum casks for two to six months.

Produced by Master Distiller Kevin Curtis and Master Blender Stephen Hughes of IJW Whiskey Company and bottled at 96 proof, The Left Cross is made from a mash bill comprising 84% corn, 8% malt and 8% rye.

Selling for a suggested retail price of $150 per 750-milliliter bottle, only 2,000 bottles of The Left Cross are available at fine spirits retailers and online.

The brand says the rum finish imbues the whiskey with Jamaican rum’s distinct “funk” – adding “rich flavors of brown sugar, ripe bananas, and sweet baking spice reminiscent of Bananas Foster.”

The Left Cross is the second limited-edition release from Puncher’s Chance, following January’s release of THE D12TANCE.

“Like its predecessor THE D12TANCE, our journey with THE LEFT CROSS is about taking an older whiskey and experimenting with unique finishing techniques – in this case dark Jamaican Rum casks,” Umberto Luchini, founder of Wolf Spirit, said in a news release. “Our objective was to use the rum finishing to coax out more of the existing characteristics from the whiskey while adding a unique hint of sweetness. It’s a special craft to finish such a mature bourbon, but the masters at IJW Distillery have done an exceptional job finding the right balance.”

The name The Left Cross is a reference to Jamaican heavyweight fighter Donovan “Razor” Ruddock, a southpaw known for his left cross punch.

Last month, Puncher’s Chance brought sports TV personality Charlie Moore on board with the brand as a financial partner and ambassador.

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