When Old Forester debuted its 1910 expression back in 2018, technically it was a new release for the distillery—a double-barreled straight bourbon, part of the Whiskey Row series that pays homage to practices from the brand’s 155-year history. But in actuality, 1910 is a revival of sorts.

The whiskey is a marker of an incident that happened in 1910 when a fire shut down Old Forester’s bottling line. There was a vat of mature bourbon awaiting bottling, but when faced with a delay distillery staff decided instead to move it into a second set of new charred oak barrels. When it was finally bottled, the batch was dubbed Very Old Fine Whiskey.

This was the first recorded case of a mature bourbon being re-barreled into new charred oak—a practice that is common now, but would have been unthinkable back then given the expense of additional barrels and labor, not to mention the fact that there wasn’t demand for such heavily oaked whiskey. These days, however, whiskey drinkers’ palates have shifted in favor of more robust, sturdier oak flavors, and many distilleries have responded with “double oaked,” “double barreled,” and other twice-matured bourbons.

Sometimes the second barrel is identical to the first. Other times, it will have been treated with a different level of char and/or toast. Old Forester 1910, for example, is initially matured in medium-charred oak, and then transferred into secondary barrels that are lightly toasted and heavily charred. Some distillers call the second aging period a finish while others maintain that it’s an extended maturation, since the barrel is standard for straight bourbon rather than one that has been previously used to age a different spirit or wine.

Semantics aside, Old Forester 1910 and many of its ilk showcase similar qualities—intense spice and sweetness, often deeply layered with dark vanilla, leather, and savory char. When you’re ready for a richer pour, try one of the bottles below.

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

Master distiller emeritus Chris Morris—who also happens to hold that title for Old Forester—created the first modern double-barreled bourbon with this 2012 release, setting a bar that many others have strived to meet. Because it came first, nowadays Woodford Double Oaked gets overlooked with so many newer, shinier offerings on the market. But it remains a paragon of the style and a deeply satisfying whiskey, with notes of rich caramel apple and warm spices on the palate after spending a year in secondary barrels which are heavily toasted and lightly charred. And if Double Oaked isn’t robust enough for your taste, there’s always Double Double Oaked, which spends twice as long in that second set of barrels.

Kentucky Peerless Double Oak

Until recently, Louisville distillery Kentucky Peerless had no barrel-finished expressions, putting out only straight bourbon and rye whiskey. But it began offering its Double Oak expression several years ago—not by design, but because from time to time the warehouse crew would discover a leaky barrel. Unwilling to bottle the whiskey before its time, the Peerless team would re-cask it into a new barrel and let it mature some more, and thus Double Oak was born. Like all Peerless bourbons, it’s replete with spice and fruit on the palate, but has heightened notes of dark chocolate, cola, and leather.

Hirsch Single Barrel Double Oak

This limited annual release is always aged for eight years in heavily charred barrels, then finished in lightly charred oak for a year. As a single-barrel bottling, specific flavor notes will vary, but it tends toward the dark-and-sweet side of the palate—Mexican chocolate, maple syrup, cola, and a hefty dose of leather. You can be generous with water here, as it brings out the softer side of what is otherwise a brooding beast of a bourbon.

Barrell Foundation Double Barrel

A blend of five- to nine-year-old bourbons from Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Tennessee, this whiskey is finished in new charred oak barrels for up to two years. It’s one of the first non­-cask strength releases from Barrell Craft Spirits, though it still has plenty of heft at 100 proof. Look for sweet apple and cinnamon notes juxtaposed with leathery raisin and smoldering, intense oak.

2XO Gem of Kentucky

Although most of 2XO’s releases showcase founder Dixon Dedman’s blending prowess, Gem of Kentucky takes a different path. It’s a single barrel expression—actually a double-barreled single barrel—of high-rye bourbon that undergoes secondary maturation in new charred oak for up to a year. Like the best of Dedman’s releases, both under the 2XO label and when he helmed Kentucky Owl, the bourbon has a deep richness of oak that strikes a flawless balance with its underlying notes of fruit and nuttiness . If you’re a fan of extra-oaked bourbon in general, the whole 2XO (which stands for “two times oak”) lineup is worth exploring.