2XO Sneakerhead: The Bourbon We Never Would Have Picked

Sometimes you need to stop choosing your own bourbon and let someone else put something in your glass. That's how we discovered 2XO Sneakerhead Blend at Evergreen Liquors in Louisville. We told an incredibly knowledgeable bartender what we liked, asked him to pour us something we hadn't tried—and ended up liking his recommendation enough to bring a bottle all the way back to Australia. This week we're revisiting that bottle and finding buttery hazelnuts, candied orange, chocolate, oak and even some popping candy. We also get into Dixon Dedman and the story behind 2XO, what "Two Times Oak" actually means, why this expression has a sneaker on the label, and why a high-rye bourbon can still surprise someone who doesn't normally go looking for high-rye whiskey. The moral of this one is pretty simple: try new things.