Pursuit Spirits announced the release of Pursuit United XS Double Oak. Short for “Extra Special,” the XS series represents a premium evolution of the brand’s double oak whiskeys, taking barrel proof Pursuit United Bourbon and Rye through an extended secondary maturation process from custom craft cooperages. 

The inaugural release, Pursuit United XS Double Oak Rye, spent nearly two years maturing in custom American oak barrels from Seguin Moreau’s Napa cooperage. Yielding just 720 bottles at 126.2 proof, this ultra-limited release will not be distributed to retail or online channels. Instead, 92% of the allocation is reserved for existing P. Club members, with the remaining bottles offered exclusively to new members who join in person at Pursuit Spirits’ Whiskey Row location in Louisville, Kentucky.

Pursuit United whiskeys are built on a foundation of contract-distilled mash bills, yeast combinations, and custom barrel profiles that are expertly blended in Louisville. The XS Double Oak (XSDO) line elevates this process by re-barreling the final blend into curated, premium, full-sized finishing barrels built in partnership with craft cooperages around the world.

Kenny Coleman and Ryan Cecil got their first taste of whiskey aged in Seguin Moreau barrels during the initial formulation of Pursuit United Bourbon. The whiskey in those barrels was only 4 years old but had such a deep and rich color that it looked like it could have been 14. They purchased all they could at the time but the last remaining barrel was bottled as Pursuit Series Episode 063 which has its own fan following with only a few bottles remaining in existence.

To kick off the XSDO project, Pursuit commissioned multiple barrels from Seguin Moreau using American oak and char #3 with toasted heads. The same barrel profiles from the original formulation. These premium barrels are roughly six times the cost of a typical new barrel but it’s a taste profile worth paying for. They filled them with Pursuit United Barrel Proof Rye, a blend of straight ryes from Bardstown Bourbon Company and Sagamore Spirit, and began drawing samples.

“We pulled samples on these barrels for a year and a half,” Cecil, Co-Founder and Master Blender at Pursuit Spirits, said. “At six months, it was already good, but good is where most finishes stop. Every time we tasted it, the whiskey kept evolving. After 20 months, it reached what I consider whiskey of the year potential.”

“We’ve been developing our double oak program since 2022,” Coleman, Co-Founder and COO of Pursuit Spirits, said. “It’s a continual journey to find new ways to develop flavors for our core Pursuit United whiskeys. The intentionality with XSDO is making sure the barrels are not a commodity. Every release under XS Double Oak will feature barrels that are specifically curated for this project.”

92% of the 720 bottle run has been allocated to existing P. Club members. The remaining bottles are reserved for new P. Club members who join in person at Pursuit Spirits on Whiskey Row. There are no online sales, no shipping, and no gift shop allocation. The whiskey will also be poured at Trial + Error, the cocktail lounge beneath the Whiskey Row location. Availability begins Wednesday, October 14th, 2026 only at Pursuit Spirits on Whiskey Row with a MSRP of $149.99.

Read more: Pursuit Spirits Joins Kentucky Bourbon Trail

ABOUT PURSUIT SPIRITS

Pursuit Spirits is a Louisville, Kentucky-based whiskey brand founded by the innovative forces behind the number one bourbon podcast, Bourbon Pursuit. Their journey began with a deep curiosity and an unwavering dedication to the craft, leading them to seek out and blend exceptional American whiskeys. Rather than operating a traditional distillery, Pursuit Spirits has pioneered a modern, customized approach to blending, carefully selecting award-winning bourbon and rye barrels from multiple distilleries across the country. For more information, visit https://pursuitspirits.com/.