The independent bottler Wolf Spirit does flavor in a big way, and they recently announced their brand Puncher’s Chance will see the fifth release in its portfolio of award-winning whiskeys.
Puncher’s Chance THE UNIFIED BELT is a limited-release, three-cask blend of bourbon and Irish whiskey, serving as the follow up to Puncher’s Chance THE UNDISPUTED Bourbon.
The Undisputed won a Platinum Medal and Best in Show 2nd Runner Up honors at Tony Abou-Ganim’s TAG World Spirits Awards in the American Bourbon Single Barrel category.
The distillers at Wolf Spirit noted that the barrels for The Unified Belt were sourced by IJW Whiskey Company of Louisville, Kentucky and crafted by IJW Master Blender Steven Hughes.
The Unified Belt is the first cross-category whiskey blend from Wolf Spirit. It sees a four-year-old high-rye base Kentucky straight bourbon distilled with a proprietary yeast and aged to four years in barrels featuring a #4 alligator char aged at a traditional rickhouse in Danville, Kentucky.
The mash bill is 70% corn, 20% rye, 10% malt. That whiskey is then married to a four-year-old Irish whiskey crafted from 100% malted barley and proprietary yeast, then aged in former bourbon barrels in a palletized warehouse in Ireland.
The blender added further complexity and depth with a third cask, a 14-year-old bourbon finished in first-fill Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry casks for up to 15 months. That mash bill is 84% corn, 8% rye and 10% malt.
“Like we did with Puncher’s Chance THE LEFT CROSS, which was finished in Jamaican rum casks, we wanted to push our creativity to create a truly multidimensional whiskey experience,” said Umberto Luchini, founder of Wolf Spirit. “The bourbon and Irish whiskey created an intriguing blend, but I think it was the addition of the 14-year-old bourbon finished in sherry casks that really created something unexpected and special in THE UNIFIED BELT, which is the hallmark of the Puncher’s Chance brand.”
The distiller’s notes show The Unified Belt as having notes of dark fruit, orchard fruit and cocoa, balanced with layers of warm oak and baking spice. The finish is long with hints of vanilla and baked green apples. The Unified Belt clocks in at 96 proof and has a suggested price of $149.99 for a 750ml bottle.
The brand name of Puncher’s Chance itself is a boxing reference, denoting that almost anyone is capable of a knockout punch, no matter what the odds. For the uninitiated in the boxing arena, a unified belt or champion is a boxer who holds at least two world championships of major sanctioning bodies in their respective division, lending the name well to a rare bourbon/Irish whiskey blend.
Earlier this year, Puncher’s Chance renewed a deal with the Professional Fighter’s League to bring its whiskey to the MMA community, while partnering with MMA legend Bruce Buffer.
You can find The Unified Belt at retailers nationwide and online at https://ourwolfspirit.com. Check out their socials on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Sips & Sites & Bites 
Leave a comment