BATCH 1
KELVIN COLLABORATION
We wanted our first release to go off with a bang, so Chief Barrel Officer, Bob D’Antoni, scoured the country contacting every source we could find in order to locate just the perfect whiskey. With Chief Blending Officer, Bill Straub, we tasted every sample we could get our hands on. Yeah, it’s a tough job.
But it paid off. We located and purchased over 100 barrels of Kentucky Straight Bourbon ranging from 5 to 11 years old. And wanting to make a splash with our first release, we chose 14 of our oldest and most flavorful barrels of 11 year old whiskey and combined them into our secondary Ex-sherry rum casks and let them age. We tasted them regularly, being careful to not let the barrel finish overwhelm the bourbon that is already excellent. When Bill was comfortable with the finish, we dumped them at barrel proof into our bottles and out the door they went. We dubbed the batch, aptly, “The Kelvin Collaboration.”
- Mash Bill:
74% corn, 18% rye, 8% malted barley
- ABV%/Proof: 61.7%/123.4º
- Bottles: 1,732
- Distillation State: Kentucky
- Distilled in: 2007
- Age at re-barreling: 11 years
- Finish Barrels: Ex-sherry rum barrels selected by Kelvin Cooperage
- Blend Selection Collaborators: Brian Haara (Bourbon author, aka “Sipp’nCorn,”) Owen Powell & Craig Rupprecht (Louisville Bourbon Hounds), William Hornaday (Kelvin Cooperage)
TASTING NOTES
NOSE
The finish barrels are front and center with a huge waft of maple syrup. Behind that, there is a spicy cinnamon, some vanilla and caramel, with a sweet red fruit undertone
TASTE
Oloroso Sherry hits the front palate with a burst of sweet fortified wine and simple syrup. The mid palate gets traditional high-rye bourbon notes of vanilla, black pepper, and oak, while the rear palate gets a molasses and brown sugar sweetness from the rum finish
FINISH
Medium-to-long, there are prevalent barrel tannins and rye spices that linger on the tongue while a boozy rum finish coats the inside of the mouth
I really love the nose on this whiskey. It's full of sherry, golden raisins, and cooked plums - delicious. If I had to make a purchase decision on the nose alone, I would buy this all day long
Bourbon & Banter
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