Rich brown sugar | Baking spices | Cinnamon stick | Faint apple pie filling | Well-aged oak | Buttered baked pie crust | Spiced caramel | Classic

Cinnamon spice | Spiced caramel | Brown sugar | Charred oak | Rye spice | Spiced raisin

Rye spice | Cinnamon stick | Aged charred oak | Leather | Spiced raisin | Lingering dry aged oak and spice

To celebrate the 250th  anniversary of the United States and the creation of Kentucky County, Virginia, which eventually became the state of Kentucky, Brown-Forman released a King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon. This bourbon, which comes in three batches of varying proof, is the first time the brand has released a non-single-barrel product, and also the first time they’ve deviated from using the 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% malted barley mashbill of past releases. The end result is the largest release yet for the brand, with availability in 36 states, with each state receiving an equal number of bottles of each batch.

Past King of Kentucky releases have been known for their classic flavor profiles, and this year’s Small Batch release is no exception. The bourbon opens with a delicious aroma that is full of classic scents. Rich brown sugar, baking spices, and cinnamon stick mingle with sweeter scents along with a buttered baked pie crust. Many of these flavors carry over to the midpoint; however, here, the bourbon layers in more spice in a noticeable but manageable way. A spiced raisin note is also present, which carries over to the finish and is joined with more spice and aged dry flavors before trailing off on a lingering aged oak and spice profile.

This year’s release raised quite a stir among bourbon enthusiasts, as the whiskey went from single barrel, higher aged releases to a small batch lower age stated product (though still blended with bourbon up to 18 years), introduced a new mashbill, and underwent a downsizing to a 700mL bottle. In exchange for this trade-off, the price dropped back down to 2023 levels. In the end, all the worry was unjustified, as King of Kentucky Small Batch can keep up just fine with past releases. And those who absolutely refuse to accept this change will still be able to try to get their hands on the annual single barrel expression, which is expected to be released later this year.

King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon is an excellent bourbon that delivers classic flavor notes from start to finish, and thanks to its lower proof, it will allow those who don’t appreciate 110+ proof bourbons to enjoy the brand as well. That said, two things can be true: a bourbon can be excellent, and it can also be overpriced, which is the case for King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon. While consumers who purchase a bottle will be pleased, it’s hard to justify buying a bottle when so many excellent bourbons are being released nowadays that cost much less than $300. That said, if you have always wanted to sample the brand, King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon presents your best opportunity to do so.

The bourbon in review is from Batch 1.