Cream of Kentucky Cask Strength Bourbon Review (2024)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Part of the fun of sourced whiskey is when the bottler/negociant behind the stuff provides just a few hard facts about the liquid, but without revealing the source. Situations like that call for those with true nerdom in their bones to play whiskey detective. Such is the case with Cream of Kentucky’s work.

The mash bill behind the 2024 bourbons (cask strength and small batch) was 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malt. Given that we know this was made in Kentucky… well, it’s possible it was made under contract, but brands are usually eager to distinguish themselves from the pack when they make their whiskey under contract, as opposed to buying a stock product. Cream of Kentucky has, to my knowledge, never made that claim. The only distiller in Kentucky making whiskey with that mash bill is Brown-Forman, so in all likelihood that is the origin of the 2024 Cream of Kentucky liquid.

The interesting thing is that Cream of Kentucky Cask Strength 2024 is a 106.4 proof bottling, just 53.2% ABV. Since this was not cut after leaving the barrel, that raises an interesting thought for me. Brown-Forman’s Kentucky whiskeys typically enter the barrel at the industry norm of 125 proof, and it would be a pretty extreme maturation scenario that pulled almost 10 percentage points worth of alcohol out of the barrel in just a matter of a few or several years. Normally when one sees a cask strength offering of this type sitting at just a few points above 100 proof, it means the entry proof was also rather low. Sometimes being a detective just leaves you with more questions.

The Bourbon
In my glass, Cream of Kentucky Cask Strength took on a pale amber/dull copper look. The nose came across as a toasted graham cracker with plenty of caramel drizzled on top, a citrus-spice blend akin to Constant Comment without the tea, and a pinch of green oak shavings. The flavor followed from there, like simple syrup plus vanilla extract, with notes of that Constant Comment sans the tannic tea part. The finish ran with a sweet, non-descript citrus note and the return of those green oak shavings.

Overall, this is a drinkable bourbon, but nothing special in and of its flavor profile. The proof point is where it hits something a little special, since typically only whiskeys bottled at the mark of their own barrel entry proof (again, curious that) run in the low-to-middle 50s like this. That makes it a bit stronger than the commonly available 100 proof whiskeys, but not so strong that anyone should feel the need to add water. Desire, perhaps, but not absolute need.

The Price
A bottle of this whiskey goes for $95, which is a problem. I was just writing about how affordable Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is relative to Booker’s the other day, and this whiskey is up there with Booker’s.