King of Kentucky Bourbon Review (2021)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

When I realized the latest installment of the King of Kentucky was the fourth, I shook my head in wishful disbelief. Has it really been four years for this revived brand, carrying cask strength, middle aged Brown-Forman juice in the single barrel format? Soon, I will be able to do a feature on how the King of Kentucky releases stack up against each other and the overall quality of the series.

But for now, the story of this particular barrel’s worth of King of Kentucky 2021. This year’s consignment of source barrels yielded, on average, just 30% of the original fill. That fill took place 14 years ago, in December 2006, at a 125 entry proof. It came out the other side at 130 proof. 2021 is the largest release yet, with over 2,700 bottles going into distribution, mostly inside Kentucky itself.

The Bourbon
So, with 65% ABV at issue, I took a sniff and immediately put in a healthy splash of water. The nose smacked of rich, deep caramel and toasted graham crackers, dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar. Rounding out the picture was a note of charred, leathery oak. The flavor followed through with an almost stereotyped bourbon base: brown sugar, vanilla, some dried red fruits, but with a current of sharp, distinctive spices running right through the center. That spicy aspect is a mixed bag of the dry, oaky and peppery and rye-driven cake spices. It’s the former that carries on into the finish, though.

Although a very fine bourbon indeed, I came away a little underwhelmed by King of Kentucky 2021, which is entirely due to how good the series has been thus far. Last year hit the ball out of the park with an A grade, and the earlier releases both scored A- grades. This one was good, but missing that extra something special, and I felt that before I did any cross-checking.

The Price
A bottle of King of Kentucky 2021 is priced at $250.