Kentucky Owl Confiscated Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B-

Kentucky Owl built a strong reputation among enthusiasts for its limited edition releases of well-chosen, finely blended, sourced bourbons (their rye releases have received less acclaim). The brand dates back to 1879, with the modern company seeing revival in 2014, which was then acquired by Stoli in 2017.

Now Kentucky Owl is moving out of the realm of limited distribution, limited edition batch releases and into national distribution, regular releases with Kentucky Owl Confiscated. The name refers to the seizure of the original company’s bourbon stocks by the government just a few years prior to the enactment of national Prohibition. That whiskey was under the stewardship of Master Blender C.M. Dedman, whereas the current revival of the brand is led by his descendant, Dixon Dedman.

Confiscated is the lowest proof release from Kentucky Owl yet, at 96.4 proof. Beyond this, nothing is known about the liquid in the bottle.

The Bourbon
In the glass, Confiscated certainly looks substantial. The bright copper-colored whiskey puts a thick coating on the insides of a Glencairn, leaving behind a handful of thick, weighty tears.

The nose sits squarely in traditional bourbon territory: sweet corn, brown sugar, vanilla, a pinch of spice. The flavor brings on more syrupy brown sugar and vanilla sweetness, again tinged with spice. The finish is light, short and undistinguished.

Overall, Confiscated is flavorful, but thoroughly simple, stuff. Nothing is really problematic about it, until one gets to the price tag…

The Price
Kentucky Owl Confiscated is officially priced at $125 per bottle. I only ever make a price check after making my tasting notes, and this one left me totally agog. This is a nice, but certainly unremarkable bourbon, and there is nothing about it that could possibly justify spending that kind of money.