Kentucky Bourbon Distiller's vintage collection

[kvltrede]

I saw three new bourbons and two new ryes at Sam's last weekend. They're from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. I've heard of a couple of their products--Noah's Mill and Johnny Drum--but this "vintage collection" stuff was new to me. Considering the level of rye fanaticism here I'm surprised they hadn't come up prior to my seeing them at the store.

FWIW the whiskeys certainly looked nice in their clear bottles but the labels were very ugly and cheap-looking. Sure, you can't judge a whiskey by its label any more than you can judge a book by its cover but at these prices I'm surprised they couldn't do better.

The web site doesn't offer much info. As you can see the bourbons are 17, 21 and 23 years old and the ryes are 21 and 25 years old. This surprises me a little too. I guess I was under the impression that if there was good rye this long in the wood out there that somebody here or at Drinkboy would have been tipped to it. Anyone here know anything?

Kurt

[kvltrede]

~bump

So, nobody knows nothin' nohow?

There's a thread over at StraightBourbon.com but it's mostly guesswork. A couple tasting notes make it worth following the link. Shaggy likes both of the ryes:

I opened the Vintage Rye 23 today. It does have a considerable bit more wood than the 21, but doesn't seen quite as hot. The finish on the 23 is not quite as balanced. I think the age takes away some of the traditional rye spice. Both of these are excellent pours, but I think I like the 23 just a tad better. I still think the 21 is the same exact thing as the Rittenhouse and is a bargain at $65.

Kurt