King of Kentucky, Brown-Forman's ultra premium special release, is back. The 2020 version, the third edition of the revived brand, will hit shelves in September.
But good luck finding what has become one of the hottest bottles in bourbon: There will be only about 1,900 available, with a "suggested" retail price of about $250.
That's a little less than the amount released last year, and it went fast. And this year's version will be released in Kentucky with a small amount in Ohio and Illinois.
Unless you just "know a guy" or are a top customer that a liquor store wants to reward, finding the King will be a matter of luck and timing. Some stores that get a bottle will hold lotteries for the chance to buy it.
Why so few bottles, when the King is so popular?
Because this isn't an ordinary release.
Established in 1881 as a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Brown-Forman bought the brand in 1936 but discontinued it in 1968. In 2018, the King came back, as an homage to the brand's past.
"Given Brown-Forman's 150-year history of crafting great Kentucky bourbon, it is a memorable event to bring back to life a long-retired brand and to introduce it to a new generation of aficionados," said Chris Morris, Brown-Forman master distiller, in a news release. "King of Kentucky will provide whiskey connoisseurs with a rare look into Brown-Forman's rich barrel archives."
This isn't a new bourbon. It's a special release from Brown-Forman's single-barrel inventory, unique every time.
This year's version, chosen by Morris, is a 14-year-old bourbon from 37 barrels set aside for this product but not all of them yielded much.
"The King of Kentucky, now in its third year of release, continues to teach us about the impact that long-term heat cycled maturation has on barrel yield and flavor presentation," Morris said.
Heat cycling involves pumping steam heat into the barrel warehouse, adding more flavor notes from the wood. Brown-Forman heat-cycles other bourbons but none for as long as King.
And the cost in bourbon is high.
Several barrels were "lost to the Angel's Share," according to the release. Only 32 yielded anything at all, and the average yield was only 26%.
"Some barrels yield as little as one case of King but are not over-wooded or astringent," Morris said. "In fact, they are incredibly complex and flavorful. This is another stellar release of rich, dark Kentucky bourbon flavor at its best."
According to the tasting notes, it has a nose of dried cherry, graham cracker and vanilla bean, with a cotton candy and dark maple syrup sweetness, a hint of caramelized orange peel and a pinch of mint.
The flavor, the notes say, is of dark caramel and maple syrup with a layer of dark baking spices and cured tobacco herbal notes "served alongside vanilla ice cream topped deep dish cherry cobbler."
The bourbon is bottled barrel strength, in this case at 130.6 proof, after minimal filtering. Each bottle is wax-dipped and numbered by hand.
