Kentucky Senator Bourbon has always offered something a little different: good Kentucky whiskey paired with a piece of Kentucky history. That makes a bourbon built for Kentucky. With Release No. 7, honoring Baseball Hall of Famer and former U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, the Lexington-based brand may have delivered its best bourbon yet.
The Kentucky Senator brand itself has roots stretching back well before the current bourbon boom. The historic label was originally produced by Crigler & Crigler in Covington and was later distilled and bottled by Double Springs Distillers in Bardstown. Kentucky Senator Spirits revived the brand in 2019, building the modern version around limited releases honoring notable U.S. senators from Kentucky.
The modern Kentucky Senator is led by co-founders Andre Regard and Damon Thayer.
Regard is an attorney, entrepreneur and former Kentucky horse breeder who is a direct descendant of bourbon pioneer Basil Hayden. Thayer spent more than two decades in the Kentucky Senate, including service as Senate Majority Floor Leader, and was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2025. Together, the partners have developed Kentucky Senator around an appealing formula: mature Kentucky whiskey, 107 proof and stories tied to the Commonwealth’s history.
Bunning may be one of the most appropriate names they have put on a bottle.
Born in 1931 and raised in Southgate, Kentucky, Bunning enjoyed a 17-year Major League Baseball career, earned nine All-Star selections and pitched a perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies on Father’s Day in 1964. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 before going on to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate.
His connection to bourbon is more than symbolic.
In 2007, Bunning introduced Senate Resolution 294 designating September as National Bourbon Heritage Month—a milestone that helped give America’s native spirit greater national recognition.
That makes the Jim Bunning Release an unusually good marriage of the person on the label and the whiskey inside the bottle.
The Jim Bunning Release is an 8½-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottled at 107 proof. The mash bill is 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley, and approximately 4,000 bottles were produced with a suggested retail price of $119.99. The whiskey was distilled and aged in Kentucky and bottled at Bardstown Bourbon Company.
What makes Release No. 7 particularly interesting is that it is the second installment in Kentucky Senator’s vertical series. It follows the John Edwards Release and uses the same bourbon after spending an additional year in the barrel. That gives bourbon drinkers an unusual opportunity to experience what another year of Kentucky maturation can do to essentially the same whiskey.
For Kentucky Senator, that extra time appears to have paid off.
The nose immediately suggests a mature Kentucky bourbon, with dark fruit, caramel, cinnamon and seasoned oak. Give it a few minutes in the glass and additional baking spices and sweeter fruit notes begin to emerge.
The palate is where Bunning really separates itself. At 107 proof, it has plenty of strength without becoming dominated by alcohol. Caramel and brown sugar give way to nutmeg, cinnamon, toasted nuts, vanilla and mature oak, with the 21% rye component providing a welcome layer of spice.
It is rich without becoming overly sweet and mature without tasting over-oaked.
The finish is long, warm and pleasantly spicy, with cinnamon, oak, pepper, dark fruit and lingering sweetness. It is the type of finish that encourages another sip rather than simply reminding you of the proof.
Not surprisingly, the bottle has already earned some significant recognition. The Jim Bunning Release received a Double Gold medal at the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and bourbon writer Fred Minnick scored it 92 points.
Kentucky Senator has released some impressive bourbons since reviving the historic label, but The Bourbon Flight considers the Jim Bunning Release the brand’s best expression yet.
The additional maturation has produced a whiskey that feels complete: mature but lively, sweet but spicy, powerful but balanced. At 8½ years and 107 proof, it hits a particularly attractive spot for experienced bourbon drinkers.
And perhaps most importantly, the bourbon inside is good enough to live up to the story on the bottle. For a brand built around the intersection of Kentucky whiskey and Kentucky history, Release No. 7 feels like Kentucky Senator Bourbon is hitting its stride.
Cheers!
This bourbon rates 5 out of 5 barrels.
