King of Kentucky Bourbon Review (2023)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A

The revived brand King of Kentucky is the latest ultra-aged entry to enter the lists of the Autumn Release Season, the period when most of the prized annual editions are sent to market. This year, King of Kentucky enters its sixth edition.

The modern rendition of King of Kentucky was conceived as a cask strength, single barrel bourbon, matured out to late middle age or older. Amazingly, this whiskey has somehow surpassed the fever surrounding all things Buffalo Trace, and especially the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC). In most respects, King of Kentucky is an Old Forester answer to George T. Stagg; although the latter isn’t a single barrel, they are comparable in most other respects. Yet a quick check of retail data suggests the market value of a bottle of King of Kentucky outstrips that of George T. Stagg by around a thousand dollars. Doing better than BTAC is doing well indeed.

For this 2023 installment, Master Distiller Chris Morris set aside a lot of 51 barrels filled in 2007, so it is a 16 year old bourbon. The single barrel my sample came from rated 125.8 proof. The yield was a run of roughly 3,900 bottles.

The Bourbon
I really have reached the point where I look forward to the arrival of my annual sample of King of Kentucky, and now that the sixth edition has been reached, I’m debating whether to do a feature summarizing the line now or next year. It really is that consistently good.

The nose had a well-rounded, well-aged staple bourbon character to it: Brown sugar, cocoa powder and dried blueberries and cranberries served in an oaken teacup. The flavor comes forward like a slice of boozy fruitcake with vanilla syrup poured on top, except the fruity bits are chocolate-covered dried berries and raisins. On the back end, this is submerged in a wave of cinnamon, ginger and tannin seasoning, which rolls off into the finish. This particular batch of King of Kentucky — and keep in mind, it’s only one example of 51 — is velvety, full-bodied, a little sophisticated and supremely delicious.

The Price
Officially, this is supposed to go for $300 a bottle. Unofficially, the market value (not the secondary/black market, but what genuine retailers are actually asking for on-demand purchase) is $2,700. Only one year has failed to score in the A grade.