Kentucky Owl Batch 6
Dixon Dedman, along with his partners Mark and Sherri Carter, built one of the more interesting bourbon brands on the market today. Sure there will be naysayers. There will be people that don’t believe the story. Or, those that think Kentucky Owl is just another Non-Distiller Producer (NDP) cashing in on the bourbon boom.
Here’s what I like about Kentucky Owl. First, the fact that Dixon has been able to resurrect his families brand. It’s an interesting story, and there are few NDP’s that can pitch a story as good as this one (Greenbrier Distillery/Belle Meade has a similar situation). Second, they’re not banking on Kentucky Owl. I’m sure they’re happy with the success, but Dixon is the fifth generation to run the Beaumont Inn. Based on Beaumont’s 2015 James Beard award I’d say they’re great at what they do. Since they’re not as worried about the bottom line, there’s no pressure to push out a subpar product. If they don’t think the product is ready, they wait. This is a key advantage large distilleries have over craft distilleries or NDPs. Finally, wait until you read about the selection process for Batch #2. This is something they’ve put a lot of work into.
Kentucky Owl Batch 6 Details
Dixon used the same method of blending from in batch six as they did with batch 2. They initially started with 18 barrels and worked there way down to 14 barrels. Then they started blending. Per Dixon “you try to get an idea of what you have with each barrel but that changes once you start blending”. After narrowing it down to three blends Dixon, Mark and Sherri sat down to taste one final time. They liked the mouthfeel on one batch but the finish on the other. They were able to manipulate the barrels to get the perfect blend finally. This blend is Batch #6
- Bottle count: 1634 from 8 barrels
- All re-barreled by them at 2-4 years
- The age of the bourbon ranges between 8-11 years
- Retail is $175
- Kentucky only release
Kentucky Owl Batch 6 Review
Dark and rich. Reminds me of cola and a little bit of cinnamon The taste is mainly spice and brown sugar syrup. There’s some fruit after the first few sip. It’s like strawberry jam on a toasted marshmallow (weird combo in real life but for whiskey it’s delicious). An almond and a little bit of green wood note move to orange peel on the finish. Overall this is a great pour that you could spend a lot of time dissecting. I love the sweetness and spice.
Conclusion: Overall this is a great pour that you could spend a lot of time dissecting. I love the sweetness and spice. It’s my favorite Kentucky Owl batch so far. I would be willing to shell out the money for a full bottle. That’s a hint to any of my KY friends that may come across a bottle 😉
28 comments
$175 a bottle?? Sure sounds like someone trying to cash in on the bourbon boom to me….
I have to agree with Jim on this one!
$175 for a 2-4 year old bourbon???? Not to be an aging snob, but old bourbon has lost a major volume to the angels plus the distiller paid inventory tax every year during aging. So how is this price justified??
They rebarreled at 2-4 years. The age is between 8-11 years on for the bourbon
Still, 175$ for 8-11 year old bourbon. Still trying to find the justification for the price. Although, I tend to trust your reviews -so may need to start saving now. 🙂 hopefully I’ll hit one of the northern ky bourbon bars to try it first.
You will be able to try it at Walt’s Hitching post in Ft. Wright KY soon. I have had their previous releases ( we still have a few bottles of batch 2) and this is one of my favorite bourbons on the market. $175 is a little high but still worth it!
Sounds good, but needs to be truly spectacular to support that price point. Regardless, thanks for the great review.
Blake – enjoyed reading your review. I liked this pour of batch #6 as well. Best batch of Kentucky Owl yet.
So, a bottle of Four Roses private goes for roughly $60. And Dixon charges more than double for the same juice? It’s a sellers market but I can’t see how anyone looks past that MSRP unless they intend to flip. Kentucky Owl is the same as Orphan Barrel – bottles exchange hands but they never get opened.
Have you actually tried any of the orphan barrel? Have yo had Lost PRophet, I have had them all, Lost Prophet is legit, if you dont try it you really cannot say anything, I will try things just so I know and can talk from exp. I will try things I know are going to suck, just I can say, yes, I tried it. NDP have been around since the beginning and the truth is these are they guys that helped keep the bourbon industry alive during the glut years. Distilling and mash bill are only 1/3 of the puzzle (ask any distiller) the art is in the aging.
I’ll pass. Are you kidding me? I’d rather put my hard earned money on established brands. Let the flippers flip. I have no interest. I’ve been drinking bourbon for 20+ years. No thanks. I’m not a hater. Sourced juice…from a non distiller? Again, not for me. I have over 150 bottles at my home bar, and not one KY Owl. I’ve been offered and always refused. Best of luck to the owners. I can find just as good juice at better prices. Four Roses, any Heaven Hill product or Buffalo Trace.
I have all the established brands too, but try being more opened minded and try some other stuff, you might find something you like and I have been doing for 25 years myself and this is bourbon worth buying, if ORVW is worth 300 this is worth 200, You might want to try some of NDP, I got news for you, NDP has been going on since the beginning, the distilling is not the most important part, it is the aging and barrel selection, and every distiller will tell you that
What JP said.
I see a trend with Blake plugging high priced bourbons. More praise equals more free product and invites… It’s only a matter of time before private events and kissing ass, clouds one’s judgment. Your best bet is always honesty, common sense and damn good bourbon.
You figure out the formula. All this time and effort is so that I can get a few free 2 oz samples and attended events that I don’t necessarily care about.
You guys that don’t want to pay the money for good bourbon, that’s fine. Keep buying your $50 bottles and trying to convince others that it’s the best. But if you haven’t tried a particular bourbon, your opinion means little to nothing to others. To assume because you have 150 bottles of bourbon in your home bar that can be bought anywhere makes you an expert is nuts. I have a bottle of KY Owl batch 6 and I can tell you from experience that is as good, if not better than anything else being released at this time. That includes all of the BTAC (which I own) and Pappy 15 and 20 (which I own). I cannot compare it to Pappy 23 because I don’t own it and have never tried it. But I can assure you that you will not find any bottle on the market under $100 that is close to this. So if you haven’t tried this because you don’t want to spend the money, don’t comment about those who do own it and did spend the money on it. Sorry for the rant but I get so tired of reading the comments of people who don’t want to spend the money on something but just want to tell everyone else how dumb it is to do so. Put your money where your mouth is and go buy a bottle then your opinion carries some weight with us. Cheers!!
Amen Kevin
Overpriced. Sourced. Cashing in on the boom. Big Pass for me.
Guess what, Pappy is technically sourced, do you drink that, they dont own a distillery.
Would like to try it first. May be a pass at that price, but sounds interesting nonetheless.
Yumminess in a bottle! Sounds soooo delicious. I think we all better start to expect and accept these new prices on AmerIcan whiskies/bourbon ……stock up now on all BiB’s….and high proof, and age statement bottles because prices will only go up. I think prices like this are the new norm. I think this would make a perfect dessert bourbon all by itself……or served with a dessert. Hope I can find a bottle. Will seek it out in a bar for a taste.
I had a bottle of #2. Had 2 pours about a week apart. Not my cup of tea. I gave the bottle away to a friend, who had the same reaction. To me, Kentucky Owl is the embodiment of the old saying “it’s better to be lucky than good”.
A lot of haters out there and that’s ok by me…
$600 on the secondary market !!! Crazy !!
Anybody (like this Kevin dude up above) who uses Van Winkle as a benchmark has proven that they’re just a name-dropper. Guess what? It’s just Weller that was supposedly selected by somebody who supposedly knows what they’re doing simply because their last name is Van Winkle. Bottom line: if somebody starts off with “well, I have Pappy blah blah blah” you can just tune them out. They’re more likely than not a dimwit who’s trying to look like a big wheel.
Since Josh is one of those guys who doesn’t wanna spend money on Pappy and wants everyone to believe a $29 bottle of Weller is just as good, he obviously falls into the category of people I mentioned in my previous post. I have all of the Weller as well and i admit they are very good but they aren’t Pappy. But I have tried a lot of bourbon and my original point stands that KY Owl is still one of the best bourbons on the market. Keep buying the Weller Josh and it will make the good stuff easier to find. Maybe you will stumble on a Weller 12 if your lucky enough. Cheers
I had a long dram of the Kentucky Owl Batch #6 tonight and it lived up to the hype. I wouldn’t pay $175 a bottle for it, but I’d think about it… definitely better than any of the ORVW 10 or 12, and better than many of the BTAC releases.
It reminds me most of a lower proof WLW or some of the better Willett 10+ year releases.
I’d buy this at retail before I’d pay secondary prices for anything BTAC or Van Winkle.
Batch #6 is the only Kentucky Owl I’ve tried, and it really is exceptionally tasty whiskey. Soft, round mouthfeel, cherry and burnt sugar finish, and tastes a lot lighter than it’s proof (though the nose is a bit hot).
All that said, I’ve tasted store picks of Four Roses and Belle Meade that were just as good for 1/3 the cost, but those can be hit or miss… I’ve also had plenty of mediocre store picks.
Long story short, if you’re someone inclined to pay $200 for a bottle of whiskey, Kentucky Owl #6 is unlikely to disappoint. If you’re paying secondary prices of $500+ I’d still take a WLW or GTS instead, but this has potential for retail to be a “fair” price for what is a top shelf product.
Again, this review applies ONLY to batch #6… have not had any other batches of KO.