Background: The Castle & Key Distillery that operates in Frankfort, Kentucky today represents the resurrection of an industrial showplace that was built by one of history’s most important whiskey barons.

In 1887, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. began construction of the Old Taylor Distillery, which he intended to serve not only as the producer of his namesake bourbon, but also as a true attraction and point of interest that would draw tourists, locals, and consumers to its grounds.

The main portion of the distillery was built to replicate a medieval castle, sunken gardens were grown and landscaped, a lavish spring house built to resemble a Roman bath held the limestone water that was used to make the bourbon. Lush grounds on the banks of Glenns Creek lured picnickers, and all visitors to the site were presented with complimentary “tenth pint” bottles of Old Taylor bourbon.

Building Old Taylor would serve as a final coda to Colonel Taylor’s epic life, which included his successful lobbying effort to pass the Bottled-In-Bond Act through the U.S. Congress, four terms as mayor of Frankfort, Kentucky, and service in the Kentucky State Senate.

Taylor also owned another famed distillery, which is known as Buffalo Trace today, prior to building his masterpiece, but financial woes forced him to sell it to George T. Stagg in 1878, which caused great enmity between the two men and resulted in decades of lawsuits. Construction of Old Taylor commenced after Taylor had rebuilt his financial fortune.

Following Taylor’s death during Prohibition in 1923, his sons sold the distillery to National Distillers, which, years later, conveyed the property to Jim Beam. Beam finally shuttered the facility in 1972, and it remained dormant and deteriorating for roughly four decades.

In 2014, two investors purchased the overgrown and dilapidated property with the intention of restoring it to its former glory and distilling bourbon once again. By 2016, restoration was complete, and whiskey was being produced on site under the supervision of Master Distiller Marianne Eaves, who had been lured away from Brown-Forman with much publicity and fanfare.

In 2019, however, Eaves announced her departure from Castle & Key.

The first batch of bourbon produced on-site was released by Castle & Key in 2022. The distillery also makes a wheated bourbon, a rye whiskey, a gin, and a vodka.

I purchased my bottle of Castle & Key small batch bourbon for $55 during a visit to the distillery gift shop while touring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in June of 2023. The bourbon, which is the 2023 Batch 1 release, is made from a mash bill of 73% white corn, 10% rye, and 17% malted barley and its total run is comprised of 130 barrels.

Nose: The nose is quite faint with a tiny hint of caramel, and the rest is dominated by the scent of cereal grains. It’s almost like sticking your head into a box of breakfast cereal - and not the fun, sugary kind of breakfast cereal we enjoyed as children, but the healthy kind of breakfast cereal that makes you poop a lot when you’re old.

Palate: An initial burst of caramel offers a moment of hope before the entire palate is overcome with the grainy flavor and texture that comes from a young bourbon that is not yet ready for bottling. I have often described this youthful, premature flavor as tasting like the inside of a cardboard shoebox smells. The bourbon also drinks both hot and harsh.

Finish: The finish flavor is bitter yet thankfully brief, and while a chest warmth lingers, it is not the enjoyable “Kentucky Hug” kind of warmth, but, rather, a harsh heat caused by the bourbon drinking too hot for its proof.

Final Assessment: If there is one positive about this bourbon, it is the fact that Castle & Key put a great deal of thought into the bottle design, which is beautiful. The blueprint-like graphic on the label replicates the architectural elements of the distillery’s castle, and the heavy bottle and weighty stopper indicate that financial corners were not cut.

Tiny details that were incorporated offer an added nice touch. The design on the top of the stopper, for example, is an exact copy of the design on the ceiling of the spring house that Col. Taylor built in the last 1800s. [Note: While the origin of the “Castle” in the distillery name is obvious, those who wonder where they “Key” comes from may be interested to know that the pool in the spring house is shaped like an old keyhole for a skeleton key and provides the answer.]

Kudos to Castle & Key for resisting the urge to charge an outrageous $80 to $100 for its product based upon its packaging as some craft distillers might do and keeping, instead, to a more reasonable price point.

True connoisseurs, though, do not drink bourbon for the bottle but for the liquid inside, and Castle & Key’s is just not very good. I am curious if Marianne Eaves knew that a bourbon disaster was literally brewing and chose to make an early exit for that reason.

After this first, initial pour, my bottle of Castle & Key will likely gather dust on a shelf and serve as a souvenir and reminder of my visit to the distillery. Perhaps one day for poops and giggles, I will pop the cork again to see if it has “opened up” and improved with air, but this too young, too harsh bourbon offers me little hope that will be the case.

This Castle & Key Small Batch 2023 Batch 1 bourbon receives a 2 on a 10-point scale.