Onyx & Amber Commodore's Cut #5

Commodore’s Cut
Four stars. Four pillars of service.
Each Commodore’s Cut barrel is personally selected by CAPT Don “Willie” Williamson, USN (Ret.), and released only when it meets the standard of those who serve—Military, Law Enforcement, Fire & Rescue, and EMS.

Commodore’s Cut No. 5
Barrel MGR02-HH1 earned its place as Cut No. 5. A well-aged rye is a bold thing by nature, and this one—distilled at MGP in Indiana and matured more than eleven years—was given a second life: double-oaked in a bourbon barrel from Heaven Hill, one of Kentucky’s most respected family distillers, then rested at altitude in Colorado. That bourbon-seasoned oak is what rounds the rye’s edges and layers caramel and vanilla over its peppery backbone. At 117.36 proof it has presence to spare, yet stays smooth and easy to savor: a bold rye, mellowed. For a palate that appreciates backbone and polish in equal measure, this is a pour worth slowing down for.

A Second Turn in the Wood
A rye finished in a bourbon barrel is a road less traveled—most rye never leaves its first oak. This is the second time we’ve taken a Commodore’s Cut rye back to bourbon-seasoned wood: Cut No. 3, finished in one of our own bourbon barrels, showed us how much a bold rye gains from that second turn. So we brought this one back to the barrel to finish the mission. There’s a quiet symmetry in that—like those we raise a glass to, the best are the ones who go back and see it through.

Released in Honor
Released on the eve of Veterans Day, Cut No. 5 honors every man and woman who has worn the uniform in service to our nation—past, present, and future. There is a quiet symmetry in marking a day born of the eleventh hour with a whiskey eleven years in the making. November 10 is also the birthday of the United States Marine Corps, and this release raises a glass to 251 years of the Corps and to all who have answered the call across every branch. 

A single barrel yields only so many bottles. Once it’s gone, it’s gone—the pleasure and the burden of something made once and never again. What remains is a bold pour worth raising, and a salute worth making.

Commodore’s Cut is a salute to those who serve—and giving back is at the heart of everything we do. With each release, we make a charitable contribution to an organization supporting one or more of our four pillars: Military, Law Enforcement, Fire & Rescue, and EMS.

Our Salute
Every Cut has a cause. The cause for Cut No. 5 is Semper Fi & America’s Fund.