King of Kentucky 17 Year Single Barrel Bourbon Review: Is This One of the Best Bourbons from 2025?
- Nick Anderson
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
“The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it?
It's the next one.”
– Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer
Few whiskeys have eluded me over the last 8 years of whiskey hunting. Despite living in a thriving spirits market with great retailers offering fair loyalty programs, King of Kentucky seemed to always be my white whale in Massachusetts, though I never had it at the top of my wish list either. That all changed early this year, when I won the right to purchase a bottle in Liquor Junction's yearly raffle. When I got the phone call, the usual suspects were already gone. This 17 year Kentucky straight bourbon—that came out of a barrel that yielded just 62 bottles—felt like the best thing on the list. Despite the MSRP climbing all the way to $400 this year, I gleefully shelled out so I could finally own my first. I have tasted several of these through the years thanks to great whiskey friends, but the hunt was finally over to add this to the hallowed shelves of the whiskey study.
When I think of pinnacle ultra-aged cask strength bourbon, my mind usually turns to George T. Stagg—the ever-consistent top end of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. For my palate, a good blend of mouthfeel, rich flavors, and evolving complexity is just what I am looking for in a special occasion splurge bottle. When the price tag soars well beyond $100, I'm looking for some wow factor. At an MSRP of $400 for the 2025 release, this damn well better raise some eyebrows.
It's worth noting here that while whiskey writers will often talk in terms of vintages, broadly using the overarching term of the "2025 release," the traditional King of Kentucky bottling is a single barrel product. While all the 2025 release bottles are aged 17 years, the proof and aging location may be different from barrel to barrel. This particular barrel came from the 4th floor of Old Forester warehouse J, which shares an interior wall with warehouse I in Shively, Kentucky. It is numbered on the back label as barrel number 23, pulled from rick 6. Why they called the floor a "location" on the label is beyond me, a quirk of one of the oldest brands in Kentucky, I suppose.
Also in recent news, the King of Kentucky line has expanded beyond single barrels and into small batch releases, with the first 3 being released in February of 2026. The blends so far have consisted of a new mash bill for the brand, 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% malted barley, which is a departure from their usual 79/11/10 recipe. Ages for the constituent barrels have ranged from 12 to 18 years, and while the MSRP is $100 cheaper than the single barrel releases, the general consensus that I am hearing around the horn is that you're better off saving your money. I myself have left all 3 batches sitting on liquor store shelves across the Massachusetts market I whiskey hunt. Despite this general negativity that seems to be growing towards the King of Kentucky name given the dilution that has occurred with the advent of small batch releases, I will approach this review with a fully open mind and my standardized, long-form, well-reasoned approach to tasting whiskey, which you can always find in my editorial policy. Now let's taste some whiskey, shall we?
Company on Label: Distilled and bottled by Brown-Forman Distillers Co., Louisville, Kentucky
Whiskey Type: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages: 79% corn, 11% rye, 10% malted barley
Proof: 127.9° (63.95%)
Age: 17 years
MSRP: $400
Further identification: This is barrel 23 from rick 6 of warehouse J, aged on the 4th floor
Nose: Upon first lifting the well-rested glass, I find uber-rich oak that comes across in a manner that smells slightly vintage. I'm surprised by the softness of the undertones here: delicate raisin, graham cracker, and hints of milk chocolate slowly ooze out of my glencairn. Perhaps the aromatic reticence is due to the slightly chilly temperature at my review desk today. Warming the glass in my hands amplifies the obvious wood spice of black pepper, allspice, and cumin. Deep inhales are neat and approachable. Milk chocolate continues to be a leading character in this deeply aged bourbon aroma wheel. Layers of patchouli, vetiver, and leather show off the obvious age as my mind turns to the rich smells of a Kentucky rickhouse. As the glass continues to warm, rich buttercream frosting mixes with gardenia in a sudden expression of deeper complexity that widens my growing smile. After a taste, I dare not smile too wide for risk of drooling from the mouthwatering sips ahead. The aromas I find are turning darker now, with more of a damp bark character taking over for a time. Nosing further, the glass returns to the chocolate, now formed into a clearer memory of Tootsie Rolls. The empty glass smells of newspaper, old textile mill wood floorboards, and sweet modjeska.
Palate: On first taste I find my taste buds a bit overwhelmed with intensity. Bold wood character is expressive but not tannic or drying here. My mouth immediately starts to water, my salivary glands putting in work to dance with the heat of 127.9 proof bourbon. Hints of graham cracker and confectioners' sugar stick with me through the drool. Another sip is less shocking and more flavorful, with the fruit character that was massively tamped down on the nose coming swinging in like a wrecking ball. Notes of dried cherry, candied peach, and sticky raisin swirl in slow-fading intensity. After a long break to nose further, I return to the powerhouse pour in front of me. This is one of those flashy pours that jump around to quite a few notes all in one go. I find zaps of mint that somehow quickly shapeshift into a pool of oozing caramel before settling into a mouthful of blended charcuterie fruit. My last sip leans heavily into the land of fruit with dehydrated strawberry, salted peach, and light pear tones. The finish is medium with pancake sweetness and a boozy vanilla frappe vibe that holds strong for some time.
TL;DR: An intense, old bourbon that will leave your mouth watering
Rating: 4.5/5
This is a really solid pour, one I admit I have probably been revisiting a few more times than I should have over the past month... but when it's good, it's good, right? On my first pour from the bottle, I admit I was quite enamored, but I was also in front of the camera, and fresh crack first impressions do not live up to my editorial policy standards. Since then, I've been revisiting and triangulating my thoughts, and with each revisit, I remain satisfied but not wowed.
While this goes well beyond what you would expect out of an Old Forester barrel proof single barrel, it doesn't quite live up to the likes of George T. Stagg. Perhaps that's just the fickle nature of Old Forester distillate; some of it is incredible, some of it is crap, and much of it lands somewhere in between. The 2025 King of Kentucky 17 year single barrel 23 was a lovely short barrel to get to pick through, but I'm not sure I will be hunting King of Kentucky too much moving forward given the high price tag and the quality not quite living up to my desires to find pinnacle whiskey. If you've got the means to splurge on this one, though, it's definitely a delicious bourbon.
