King of Kentucky, a super-premium straight bourbon, is returning this year with the release of its sixth edition. Hitting shelves in mid-October, the limited-edition expression will mark the sixth anniversary of the brand.
The 2023 expression is a 16-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon featuring a premium embossed label with a stamp border and details. Approximately 3,800 bottles will be produced with a suggested retail of $299.99. While most of this year’s volume will remain in Kentucky, the expression will also be available in limited quantities in Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Metro New York, Ohio, and Tennessee.
King of Kentucky was established in 1881 as a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Brown-Forman acquired the brand in 1936 from Selected Kentucky Distillers and, by 1940, converted it to a blended whiskey until it was discontinued in 1968. 2018 Brown-Forman revived the label, paying homage to the brand’s past.
“We are excited to celebrate the sixth year of the King of Kentucky brand with an extremely robust selection of 16-year-old barrels,” said Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris. “This brand demonstrates Brown-Forman’s commitment to and expertise in the growing American Whiskey category.”
King of Kentucky is an annual release of a single barrel inventory featuring a barrel-strength, minimally-filtered proof presentation, with each release and every barrel being unique. For this year’s iteration, Master Distiller Chris Morris chose a single lot of barrels to set aside for the limited-release product from 2007.
“This year’s release of 51 barrels came from one production date, July 19, 2007. All the barrels were aged in Warehouse G at the Brown-Forman Distillery,” said Morris. “This showcases what a difference each individual barrel has at this extreme age on the color, flavor, and aroma of this wonderful whiskey.”
Due to the rarity of these barrels, there is no defined annual volume. Like the extra time it takes for the liquid to mature, King of Kentucky’s package shows personal craftsmanship. Every bottle comes enclosed in a decorative canister and tells the story of its origin through the details on the front and back of its package. All are filled, bottled, wax-dipped, and numbered by hand with details including proof, age, warehouse location, lot number, serial number, and barrel number, all selected by Master Distiller Chris Morris.
Taste Notes: “Representative Barrel”
Proof: 125.8
Age: 16 years
Aroma: Dark graham cracker, vanilla and charred oak notes sweetened with hints of port, cognac and milk chocolate-coated coconut.
Flavor: Dark chocolate mocha with traces of black tea and leathery tannins.
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