Bourbon Barrell Armida

Pears are all about timing. Ripeness can’t be rushed. And once it’s arrived, it can’t be postponed, either. How do you know? By paying close attention, using your senses to tell when the flavor and texture are just right, and then trusting your instincts to catch the perfect moment.

In that sense, ripening pears is a lot like making whiskey. Inspired by the care and attention of great orchardists, we created Armida as a celebration of fall flavors. It’s a blend of three straight bourbon whiskeys finished separately in pear brandy, Jamaican rum, and Sicilian amaro casks. The ripe floral notes of the pear brandy usher in a palate rich with tropical sweetness and studded with dried citrus and spice. We release it once a year, right when the first pears appear in markets — and just like ephemeral autumn fruits, it’s only available for a limited time. 

While constructing the blend for this whiskey, Joe was taken by how nostalgic some of the combinations of flavors were. Joe’s mother’s family had a farm in the northeast where he would often spend time in the summer and autumn. These brisk, orchard fruit memories inspired many of the first test blends and so, Joe named the project after his mother’s formal name, Armida.