K&L Liquors' Every Drop 16 Year Old "Dawning Era" Batch No. KY-02-25 Barrel Proof Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Our second batch of K&L Liquors is here and WOW it's so special I can't even believe it. I will always refer to this label as the "Every Drop," but this batch is called "Dawning Era," in reference to the new phase in our relationship with Kentucky bourbon - buying, blending, and bottling our own juice. This batch was much more nerve-wracking and complex than the previous batch. It consists of 3 different lots of this famous liquid distilled contractually in Frankfort, Kentucky, and aged near Lawrenceburg for over 16 years. While the tendency in the industry is to not want to waste any of this wildly rare juice, I insisted on tasting every barrel in advance of blending. Having an idea of the volumes - which were, incidentally, ridiculously low - I made a proportional blend of the various casks to mimic the final blend using barrel samples. But one sample stuck out like a sore thumb, changing the sweet & spicy red fruit-forward old bourbon into a wood-driven monolith. When we removed that barrel - its total volume fewer than 14 liters, so just a few drops in my desk blend - the package came together perfectly. Another barrel, which was so unique and delicious and yielded only 19 liters, seemed to add none of its unique exotic character, so that was held back as well. The resulting bourbon is delicious beyond my wildest expectations. Now that the final blend is here, let's evaluate this incredible bourbon. The color is mahogany (1.6). There's so much going on here, but you cannot tease it out instantly. This one needs and deserves time to brood and boast in the glass. Once you've let it rest, though, we've got a huge nose of cherry jam, dark chocolate, coconut, sweet stewed peaches, clove honey, sandalwood, and oiled cedar. The palate is ultra-rich and oily, with the red fruit and chocolate sticking up front and a rich vanilla, dense dark wood, powerful baking spices covering the mid-palate. The finish is long and round, giving this a very open and inviting feel, but it's so powerful and unctuous. It really is the total package in my opinion. As contrasted by the 15 year version we have more savory complexity on the nose and less dusty tannin on the palate. The red fruit, powerful spice and lack of funky earthy tannin makes this one feel more on the Frankfort side of things compared to the last one which felt more obviously comparable to Lawrenceburg distillate. By any measure this is a stupendously delicious rare find that likely deserves the incredibly high prices our competitors are asking for similar bourbon from the same lots, but K&L Liquors is ALL about creating value for our customers and this whisky does that without a doubt.