LEXINGTON, Ky. — Town Branch Distillery is celebrating Bourbon Heritage Month with one of its most limited releases of the year, unveiling the third edition of its Imperium series — a 115.1-proof Kentucky straight bourbon built around a 50% wheated bourbon foundation.
Town Branch Imperium MMXXVI arrives in September as an eight-barrel blend of bourbons ranging from 6 to more than 9 years old. Bottled at cask strength and non-chill-filtered, the limited release carries a suggested retail price of $119.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle.
For 2026, Town Branch has given its wheated bourbon a starring role. The final blend consists of 50% wheated Kentucky straight bourbon and 50% traditional Kentucky straight bourbon selected from some of the Lexington distillery’s best available stocks. “This is the best of the best for us, and we only have so much to share,” Town Branch Head Distiller and Blender Dave Bob Gaspar said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone, so if you see a bottle, grab it!”
Town Branch’s best barrels compete for Imperium
Imperium MMXXVI marks the third annual edition of a series Town Branch releases each September during Bourbon Heritage Month.
The name of each edition incorporates the year in Roman numerals, making MMXXVI the designation for the 2026 release.
More important to whiskey enthusiasts, however, is how Town Branch selects what goes inside the bottle.
Imperium draws from what the distillery calls its “Imperium Bourbon Stocks,” barrels singled out as some of the best whiskey produced from Town Branch’s three bourbon production methods and mash bills.
Those include pot-still bourbon made from 72% corn, 15% rye and 13% malted barley; column-still bourbon using the same mash bill; and column-still wheated bourbon made from 70% corn, 22% wheat and 8% malted barley.
As barrels are pulled from Town Branch’s rickhouses, the whiskey is evaluated to determine where it belongs. A barrel could become part of the distillery’s regular blending inventory, enter its single-barrel program or earn a spot among the limited Imperium stocks.
Town Branch compares the process to an athlete competing to keep a place on the team each season. A barrel’s inclusion in Imperium isn’t automatic simply because it was previously identified as exceptional. It still has to make the final cut.
For MMXXVI, only eight barrels did.
The composition of the 2026 release should make Imperium particularly interesting for fans of wheated bourbon. Town Branch began the blend with 50% wheated bourbon before marrying it with an equal amount of the distillery’s traditional bourbon stocks. The eight selected barrels range from 6 years old to more than 9 years old.
Town Branch conducted a series of tastings and experimental blends before settling on the final combination, looking for a profile that retained the softer characteristics associated with wheated bourbon without sacrificing the structure and intensity expected from a cask-strength release.
The resulting whiskey was bottled at 115.1 proof without chill filtration.
That combination should allow drinkers to experience the whiskey relatively close to the profile selected by Town Branch’s blending team, rather than significantly reducing the proof or filtering the bourbon before bottling.
It also differentiates Imperium from Town Branch’s core lineup.
Rather than representing a single mash bill or production style, MMXXVI is essentially a showcase of what the Lexington distillery believes can be achieved by blending some of the strongest barrels from different parts of its bourbon inventory.
Imperium also carries a notable Lexington connection. Town Branch Distillery became the first new distillery built in Lexington following Prohibition and was the seventh distillery to join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Its operation is unusual because Town Branch has incorporated both pot-still and column-still whiskey production into its bourbon program. That gives the blending team another variable to work with beyond mash bill, age and barrel selection.
Imperium MMXXVI brings those different components together while placing the wheated whiskey at the center of the final blend. For bourbon enthusiasts increasingly interested in the art of blending — and not simply age statements or individual mash bills — that may be the most compelling aspect of the release.
Imperium MMXXVI bottle signing set for Sept. 4
Bourbon fans who want to compare the evolution of the Imperium series will have an opportunity to do so throughout Bourbon Heritage Month. Town Branch will offer a special tasting flight featuring a vertical tasting of its MMXXV and new MMXXVI releases at the Lexington distillery.
Gaspar will also participate in an Imperium MMXXVI bottle signing from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at Town Branch Distillery.
The whiskey will then head to Bardstown for one of Kentucky bourbon’s biggest weekends of the year. Town Branch plans to pour Imperium MMXXVI during the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival from Friday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 13. Distribution beyond the distillery will be limited to select markets.
Town Branch Imperium MMXXVI at a glance
Whiskey: Town Branch Imperium MMXXVI Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Release: September 2026
Proof: 115.1
ABV: 57.55%
Age: Blend of barrels ranging from 6 to more than 9 years
Batch: Eight barrels
Blend: 50% wheated bourbon and 50% traditional bourbon
Wheated mash bill: 70% corn, 22% wheat, 8% malted barley
Traditional mash bill: 72% corn, 15% rye, 13% malted barley
Filtration: Non-chill-filtered
MSRP: $119.99 per 750-milliliter bottle
Availability: Limited release in select markets
About Town Branch Distillery:
Located in Lexington, Kentucky, Town Branch Distillery is notable as the first new distillery to open in the city since Prohibition. It is part of Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co., the only brewery and distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®️. The distillery produces several acclaimed spirits, including Town Branch Bourbon, Town Branch True Cask Bourbon, Town Branch Overproof Whiskey, Town Branch Rye, Town Branch Malt, and Bluegrass Sundown, a Bourbon-infused coffee liqueur. Town Branch upcycles every used barrel to craft a variety of whiskeys and barrel-aged beers, such as Lexington’s flagship Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. This process ensures each barrel’s legacy continues within our diverse product line. For more details, visit www.lexingtonbrewingco.com.
