Second, Third, Fourth Waves

It keeps rolling in...

2003 Evan Williams K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #1072 Bourbon $26.99 - This monstrous cask of bourbon was the first that we popped after our tour of the Heaven Hill facility. Out of the cask this stuff was thick like syrup. While the proof has come down, the richness is still apparent. This is classic EWSB, strong on the maple, vanilla, and subtle warming spice. It's incredible how texturally different this is to our last barrel even with the exact same proof. Even though we didn't convince them to bottle it at cask strength, showing up in KY certainly has its benefits, they really rolled out a couple of gems for us. Only 144 bottles of this magnificent little whiskey will ever exist.

2003 Evan Williams K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #869 Bourbon $26.99 – Here we have another delightful cask coming from Heaven Hill. This one is coming in just under 10 years old, but it's got the complexity to make up for it. The nose is brimming with oak spice, minty sweetness, and an enchanting bouquet of dried fruits. On the palate what once seemed like a spice monster is much more subtle and balanced. Truly one of the most balanced casks of EW that we've come across. The palate isn't sugary per say, but we have absolutely no heat present and the soft oakiness is nearly overpowered by the persistent fruit. Proof that bourbon can be one of the world's great delicate spirits.

Buffalo Trace K&L Exclusive Single Cask #43 Lot 4669 Kentucky Straight Bourbon $24.99 - Last October we toured Buffalo Trace distillery for the first time and got to select samples directly from the distillery. Getting to bottle our own selections from one of the nation's best and most-popular distilleries is a fantastic way for us to provide something unique and interesting for our loyal whiskey customers. Now that the word is out that Pappy Van Winkle is made at the Frankfort facility, tourists have begun flocking to Buffalo Trace to conduct their own whiskey pilgrimages. When we were there in the Fall the campus was a madhouse of Bourbon aficionados and die-hard enthusiasts. We were lucky to taste anything as the gift shop was completely sold out of everything except cream liqueur. Luckily, there were three solid, classic Buffalo Trace casks there for the taking and we snatched them up. The #43 barrel offered plenty of burnt sugar, toasted nuts, and barrel spice right on the nose, with more on the palate right afterward. The cask yielded a little more than 200 bottles and we're pumped to finally have them on our shelves.

Buffalo Trace K&L Exclusive Single Cask #45 Lot 4669 Kentucky Straight Bourbon $24.99  - The #45 was more herbaceous and full of bold rye flavor with plenty of wood spices on the finish. It's a more intense version of the standard formula with everything dialed up a bit. We're excited to have it all to ourselves!

Buffalo Trace K&L Exclusive Single Cask #79 Lot 4320 Kentucky Straight Bourbon $24.99 - When we visited the Buffalo Trace distillery, we were struck by the historical nature of the distillery. No other distillery felt quite like the majestic brick warehouses that responsible for some of the countries greatest bourbons. While, the crowds were plentiful, hoping to get a glimpse of the new "home" of Pappy, we were more interested why Buffalo Trace was so special. It's clear that their standard line up offer the absolute most diverse and delicious values in American Whisky bar none. This cask #79 is brimming with spice and full of concentration in a way that could only come from a single barrel. There's a balance of richness and barrel spice that really carries through all the way to the finish.

And Faultline returns!!!!

Faultline Straight Bourbon Whiskey $39.99 - We've been doing gin and single malt for years, and now rum, so why not throw our hat in the Bourbon pool? One of the obstacles that kept us from making a Faultline Bourbon earlier was availability: the current demand has made the extra barrel a thing of the past. One of the only distilleries that would sell us a cask for a private label was the old LDI distillery in Indiana, but with the already overcrowded LDI market (Bulleit Rye, Templeton Rye, High West, etc) we didn't think our product would be different enough, or of the quality we desired, for the Faultline name. That's when John Little from Smooth Ambler stepped in and said he'd be happy to help us do something special. If we were going to work with LDI casks, then we needed the capability to blend something special to taste - the specs wouldn't sell this baby. John had some incredible 10 year old low rye formula that we used in conjunction with some 7 year high rye. We kept tasting and tasting until we found the sweet spot at 100 proof. It's FAR better than I ever thought it would be. I hoped we could provide something fun and different, but the final whiskey is phenomenal. It's rich, with sweet fruit right on the entry, a full-bodied mid-palate, and a long, rich, spicy finish. It tastes like it came from Four Roses or somewhere fancy and at 50% it pops in all the right places. I hope we can make another batch like this because this Bourbon is the new king of K&L. Taste it if you don't believe me.

....and we're not done yet!

-David Driscoll