Ten years in oak would be the entire selling point for many whiskeys. Stillman’s Sonder treats it as the beginning, applying an 18-month program of analysis, blending, re-barreling, finishing, and proofing to two mature expressions assembled by Wisconsin’s Dancing Goat Distillery.

The 94-proof Straight Bourbon combines whiskey aged in North and South American oak, with several components receiving a second barrel maturation. During the final six months before bottling, gradual dilution and encouraged oxidation are used to soften the structure without burying its chocolate, strawberry, baking-spice, and oak character. The result takes a more deliberate route than the escalating proof and scarcity surrounding many limited bourbon releases.

Stillman’s Sonder 10 Year American Single Malt is bottled at 96.4 proof and begins with whiskey distilled at MGP in Indiana. Three rounds of selection, blending, re-barreling, and finishing draw on virgin oak at multiple toast and char levels, ex-bourbon barrels, Wisconsin brandy casks, Cognac casks, and Calvados casks. Dancing Goat finishes, blends, and bottles the whiskey in Cambridge, Wisconsin, using the varied cask program to layer orchard fruit and baking spice over the malt rather than disguise its age.

Both 750 mL expressions are priced at $69.99. The American Single Malt is currently available online, while the Straight Bourbon is presently sold out at Seelbach’s. Shipping eligibility varies by state.