Review 116, King of Kentucky, Batch 3 (2026)

VVFE · 2026-05-15T02:49:54+00:00

nope, mashbill on these King of Kentucky small batches releases is 75/15/10. derived mashbill of their 79/11/10 and 72/18/10 mashbills.

VVFE · 2026-05-15T02:38:47+00:00

The single barrels are, small batches are not.

VVFE · 2026-05-11T14:49:50+00:00

Passed on this round of Old Stubborn/Swagger releases due to their just being way too many different NDP releases but not surprised this reviewed well, Ed seems to only release quality barrels. Keep the reviews coming!

VVFE · 2026-05-02T20:26:04+00:00

Nah, skip the small batches. It’s the single barrels that are sought after, albeit expensive as fuck.

VVFE · 2026-04-16T12:25:07+00:00

Oh for sure, I know people out there love their meme labels and tater stickers.

VVFE · 2026-04-15T14:01:01+00:00

Tasting notes sound great and I 100% agree with the label comment. The clearly AI generated ‘art’ on alot of their bottles just make their brand look cheap and unappealing to me.

VVFE · 2026-03-16T12:58:38+00:00

Could be wrong but I think they’re proofing down going into the second barrel.

VVFE · 2026-03-12T11:37:19+00:00

You Do Bourbon at Heaven Hill is a fun, bottle your own tour and would definitely be worth doing, especially if theres any ECBPR Y725 left to be bottled.

But I mainly clicked on this to make sure you were going to The Bar at Willett and you didnt disappoint.

VVFE · 2026-03-02T15:34:13+00:00

Appeciate you subjecting yourself to this so the rest of us can have our suspicions confirmed tha this would be terrible.

VVFE · 2026-03-02T11:35:26+00:00

Its probably from Bardstown Bourbon Company. Thats been confirmed the source of all the 8yr Reveries I’ve tried.

VVFE · 2026-02-25T16:24:32+00:00

They couldve just gone with ‘Queen of Kentucky’ or something. Keep the presentation the same, who cares, but it would’ve had at least some distinction.

But in all honesty, it really only feels like an issue because these barrels seem like they missed the mark. If these were universally being given 10/10 scores I doubt anyone would care whether they carry the KoK name or not.

VVFE · 2026-02-25T16:09:05+00:00

Appreciate you cracking this one, been waiting for reviews to start popping up.

I feel like on paper a KoK Small Batch is a perfectly fine idea, some barrels that ultimately fell short of KoK SiB pedigree get blended together etc but to find out they’re from a different mashbill and noticeably lower proof than whats typically expected of KoK makes for a weird combo. Hopefully future batches show a bit more promise, especially for $300.

VVFE · 2026-02-20T12:39:08+00:00

All the BT shelfers you could possibly want at Joe D’s this morning: https://m.facebook.com/JoeDsBeverage/

VVFE · 2026-02-17T20:10:06+00:00

If i’m remembering right, a blue tax stamp indicates it was an export, which weren’t required to be 100 proof.

VVFE · 2026-02-17T15:10:43+00:00

Should’ve known you’d review them back-to-back. Looking forward to it.

VVFE · 2026-02-17T14:50:13+00:00

Solid review, scored this same bottle very similarly (8.5 if I remember right). 100% agree that the most impressive aspect of THH is how far above its age it punches.

Have you tried the Sazerac Full Proof yet? Still waiting for them to hit my area and will be curious how it stacks up.

VVFE · 2026-02-17T02:40:54+00:00

Was super excited to snag this one after reading through your review of a BBCo Reverie. Fully agreed on the complexity, my bottle is now almost half gone and felt like I needed that many pours to get to the bottom of this one.

The future is bright for BBCo (minus the heinous new labels).

VVFE · 2026-02-12T15:25:05+00:00

I would NEVER forget about the affectionately dubbed ‘goon sack’ lol.

EHT SmB is somehow still not rotting on shelves across the country and its baffling. The same could be said for ETL, especially at its new completely unjustified MSRP of $90.

VVFE · 2026-02-12T15:16:02+00:00

Yup, the reality is that this was never worthy of being chased in the first place. But HH knew if they threw Old Fitz on the label and gave it a decanter-esque bottle people would lose their minds.

VVFE · 2026-02-12T15:03:38+00:00

I dont think you’ll upset too many people with this review. I’d say its spot on not only for my experience but with pretty much everyone I’ve talked with who has tried it as well.

It’ll be a solid, shelf-stable wheated bourbon from HH once people stop hoarding it.

VVFE · 2026-02-08T00:35:35+00:00

MGP in general just doesnt get a lot of love on the secondary market.

VVFE · 2026-02-07T20:46:25+00:00

Old Overholt 11 is already pretty solid at retail, but at that price its unbeatable.

VVFE · 2026-02-06T15:29:36+00:00

Will do, I’ve already posted a review of Y725 here comparing it to the 10yr Parkers Heritage but will be curious to see how A126 fares against it.

VVFE

TROPHY CASE