Castle & Key Kentucky Wheated Bourbon 98 Proof Batch 2

  • Wheated straight bourbon whiskey produced by Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, KY
  • Mash bill of 73% white corn, 10% wheat, 17% malted barley
  • Distilled in a Vendome copper column still
  • 49 barrels blended in this batch
  • Aged 5 years
  • Cocoa powder, toffee, butter cream, and baked pear on the nose with a palate showing roasted cashew, dried apricot, grains of paradise, and fennel with dark honey and black pepper on the finish
  • Non-chill filtered; 49% ABV

Taste Profile – Aromas of cocoa powder, toffee, butter cream, and baked pear on the nose precede a palate showing roasted cashew, dried apricot, grains of paradise, and fennel with dark honey and black pepper on the finish. Batch 2 shows a touch more fruit and spice over the warmer, more confectionary Batch 1.

Cooper’s Price $59.98

Four Roses Select Small Batch 104 Proof

Master Distiller Brent Elliott selected and mingled six of Four Roses’ 10 Bourbon recipe barrels each aged a minimum of 6 – 7 years, to handcraft Small Batch Select. Non-chill filtered and 104 proof, our newest permanent product-line extension offers truly unique flavor characteristics.

This whiskey differs from the original Four Roses Small Batch not just in proof and non-chill filtering, but in barrel selection as well. The original being a blend of four mash recipes: OBSO, OBSK, OESO and OESK – only half of which are used in this release. https://fourrosesbourbon.com/our-process/

* Four Roses is the only Bourbon Distillery that combines 5 proprietary yeast strains with two separate mash bills to handcraft 10 distinct Bourbon recipes, each with its own unique character, spiciness, and rich fruity flavors. Up to all 10 recipes are mingled by hand to create Four Roses Bourbon. Six are mingled for Four Roses Small Batch Select Bourbon. Four are mingled for Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon. One recipe is hand selected for Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon. Follow us as we reveal the process of how our family of award-winning Bourbons is made.

Cooper’s Price $56.98

Stellum Black Label Bourbon 109.22 Proof

Stellum Spirits was launched in March 2021, and then in December a limited release Bourbon and Rye were introduced under the Stellum “Black” label. Stellum is produced by Barrell Craft Spirits, which is known for Barrell Bourbon and many other whiskey and spirits.  The inaugural flagship offerings include Stellum Bourbon (blended), Stellum RyeBlended, Stellum Single Barrel Bourbon, and Stellum Single Barrel Rye, all offered at cask strength.

An extension of the original lineup, Stellum Black is a limited-release premium expression of the inaugural offerings, which according to the company press release, is “designed to carry the same classic, cask strength flavor profiles into a more refined, elegant, and complex blend.” Stellum Black is offered in both bourbon and rye formats. Cooper’s Price $$89.98

Breaking Bourbon:  https://www.breakingbourbon.com/review/stellum-black-bourbon

Blue Run High Rye Bourbon 111 Proof

Blue Run Spirits was started in 2019 by a group of friends and bourbon lovers – a Nike designer, Facebook’s first director-level employee, a hospitality executive, a political advisor, and a philanthropist – that wanted to evolve the bourbon industry, creating fine products for the modern whiskey fan. The five founders teamed up with Jim Rutledge, a 50+ year whiskey veteran and former master distiller at Four Roses, who serves as what they refer to as the brand’s “liquid director.”

This is the second batch of Blue Run High Rye Bourbon, following the inaugural batch that was released in October, 2021. The batch was distilled at Castle & Key Distillery by Rutledge. Blue Run Whiskey Director Shaylyn Gammon oversaw the dumping and blending of this 232 barrel batch.

Mashbill: 65% Corn, 30% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

Aged a minimum of 4 years.  Cooper’s Price $89.98

Breaking Bourbon:  https://www.breakingbourbon.com/search?query=Blue+Run+High+Rye