Angel’s Envy Adds a New Bourbon to Its Signature Series for the First Time in More Than 10 Years

When Angel’s Envy master distiller Owen Martin joined the brand in 2022 after a six-year stint at Colorado-based Stranahan’s, he set out to innovate while still maintaining the Kentucky whiskey’s traditions of testing experimental secondary finishings. He released two back-to-back hits by the fall of 2023: the distillery’s first-ever Cask Strength Rye, which was finished in Sauternes and toasted oak barrels, alongside a Port-finished Cask Strength Bourbon. 

This month, with the release of Angel’s Envy Triple Oak — the first new expression to join the distillery’s award-winning Signature Series in more than a decade — Martin continues his mission with a bourbon matured in three types of barrels sourced from around the world: Hungarian oak, French oak, and Chinkapin oak from Kentucky.

Chinkapin, which grows as far north as New England and whose habitat reaches all the way down to northwestern Florida and south-central Texas, was a considered decision for Martin.

“I think you’re really just seeing us try to flex our muscles as a blending team,” says Martin. “We were thinking about what we could bring to the table: Can we do something that uses three different types of oak but isn’t over-oaked? That’s why we kind of wanted to use Chinkapin specifically, because we knew we were pulling Hungarian and French oak from Europe, but we also wanted to use the oak that’s in our backyard, even if it’s a lesser-known one."

"That’s part of the fun,” he adds.

As with all bourbon, the new make began its maturation process in new American white oak casks. In Triple Oak's case, that means No. 3 char barrels, or barrels that have been toasted by flames for 35 seconds — milder than the oft-used No. 4 (also called the alligator char, which tops out at 55 seconds under flame). The whiskey was then divided into Hungarian, Chinkapin, and French oak — with the first two resting for at least six months — before being blended again in varying percentages. 

The French oak distillate, which rested for at least three months and clocks in at a relatively mild 114 proof, provides 20% of the whiskey's composition. This is blended with 40% that uses the Chinkapin finish (117.2 proof) to impart a creamy yet spice-forward flavor profile. The Hungarian oak (119.1 proof) rounds out the final 40% and brings an oily viscosity and notes of baking spices.

“That French oak on its own would be so overpowering, but I’ve found that at the 20% mark or so, you get a lot of the spice,” says Martin. “You get it on the finish but it rounds out, especially when you have other components in there.”

Juggling three distillates with such different profiles and proofs is a challenge on its own, but goes to highlight the important work of Angel's Envy's blending team, and how essential the process is to create quality whiskey.

“The broader idea of blending is to create balance. And by that, I mean grains and distillate and fermentation being one pillar, the primary maturation [and] new oak being another, your finishing barrel character being a third, and the proof that you do it at being a fourth,” says Martin. “And all these are things you’re sort of pulling up and down until you find it all snug in the right spot. For me, the finishing cask is just one of the pieces I’m playing with when it when it comes to Angel’s Envy. No matter what we’re doing — whether it’s spirits or wine or new oak barrels — it’s figuring out how that all locks into place with the age or the proof of the bourbon.”

The result is a structurally balanced bourbon that stands out in its versatility. It noses and drinks quite well on its own, opens up with a few drops of water, and works well as a cocktail component. Unlike its Signature Series predecessors, Angel’s Envy Triple Oak will also be widely available across all 50 states.

“This is really amazing to me because it’s innovating on the largest scale I’ve ever worked on. It’s the largest new release I’ve ever done,” says Martin. “The Cask Strength Rye was 20-something barrels and the bottled-in-bond was maybe 29 barrels. And while it’s nice to do fun, limited pieces like that, for this, my friend in Oakland can go to his liquor store and buy it, and so can my friend in Austin. Like, if anyone wants this, they can walk down the street — they don’t have to wait in a line. We talked about approachability and accessibility in terms of flavor. But how cool is it to make a bottle that’s good, not going to break the bank, and you can get anywhere?”