A Century of American Whiskey

Noah's Mill 15 Year Old Small Batch Kentucky Bourbon 

Launched in the mid-1990s as this 15 year old, nowadays Noah's Mill is a dumping of 4 to 20 year old whiskies, produced in small batches by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.

Kentucky Bourbon Distillers are the owners of the Willett distillery in Bardstown. Willett distillery was built in 1936, just a few years after the repeal of National Prohibition by Lambert Willett, a former distiller for Max Selliger & Co. The distillery was initially a success, principally through its Old Bardstown and Johnny Drum brands, however it was hit hard by the bourbon slump of the 1970s. The result was an ill-advised move into producing ethanol for the production of \"gasohol,\" spurred by the 1979 energy crises. When that market re-stabilised, Willett was left floundering and eventually closed in the early 1980s. Lambert's granddaughter, Martha Willett and her husband, Even Kulsveen, then purchased the distillery and established Kentucky Bourbon Distillers in 1984. They originally bottled the remaining barrels of 1970s-distilled stock, however as that gradually diminished, they began sourcing barrels from other producers in order to replenish it, becoming one of the most important independent bottlers in Kentucky. The majority of their barrels were believed to have come from neighbouring Heaven Hill, and with these casks they developed a wealth of important brands, including the Willett Family Estate, Noah's Mill and Rowan's Creek. In addition, they contract-bottled brands for other companies, such as the Very Olde St Nick and Black Maple Hill brands. Revered for the quality of their whiskey, their products have become some of the most collectible to come out of Kentucky. One January 21st, 2012, the company re-opened Willett distillery, and have been slowly replenishing its warehouses with its own whiskey ever since.

As of 2020, the Noah's Mill brand has been bottled using whiskey distilled at Willett

Kentucky Owl Straight Bourbon Batch #7

Distilled and bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky, this is \"the wise man's bourbon.\" Kentucky Owl was a 2014 re-addition to the world of American whisky, as the original Dedman family distillery was left high and dry by prohibition in the 1920s and its stock infamously looted by none other than Al Capone himself. Revived by great-grandson, Dixon Dedman, the Kentucky owl is back and flying higher than ever. While the Kentucky Owl brand remains a sourced bourbon from other distilleries, it was purchased by the Stoli Group in 2017 who broke the ground for construction of the Kentucky Owl Park distilling that same year. Distilling is scheduled to begin in 2020. Originally only available in the state of Kentucky, the brand received its first national and global product launch in 2019.

Kentucky Owl 11 Year Old Small Batch Rye #1

Distilled and bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky, this is \"the wise man's rye.\" Kentucky Owl is a recent re-addition to the world of American whisky, as the original Dedman family distillery was left high and dry after prohibition in the 1920's and its stock infamously looted by none other than Al Capone himself. Revived by great grandson Dixon Dedman, the Kentucky owl is back and flying higher than ever.

This 11 year old is from batch no. 1 and was bottled in July 2017 at 110.6 US proof.

While the Kentucky Owl brand remains a sourced whiskey from other distilleries, it was recently purchased by the Stoli Group who have announced plans to build a Kentucky Owl distilling complex in Kentucky in the not-too-distant future.

King Kamehameha Hawaii 6 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2003

A bottle of six year old bourbon to celebrate King Kamehameha I who was the founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He reigned as king of the Islands from 1782 - 1819. The bourbon itself was bottled in 2003 by Heaven Hill.

Heaven Hill was established by a group of private investors in 1935, following the repeal of Prohibition a few years earlier. Among the founders was distiller, Joseph L. Beam, and a member of the Shapira family. As the company grew, the Shapira's eventually acquired sole ownership of it, and their descendants still run it today. In a similar dynastic vein, Joe Beam remained master distiller despite the Shapira takeover, and members of his family have occupied the role ever since. The Old Heavenhill Springs distillery, later renamed simply as Heaven Hill, which was located in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was sadly lost in a devastating fire in 1996, and the company had no distillery for the next three years. They were however permitted to rent stills at Jim Beam and Brown-Forman in order to maintain production, and this is some of the rare bourbon distilled in that period. They eventually acquired the newly refurbished Bernheim distillery from Diageo in 1999, which has been their home ever since.

Kentucky Deluxe 8 Year Old Straight Bourbon 1989

This is a mid-1980s bottling of Kentucky Deluxe, a brand produced at Heaven Hill.

Heaven Hill was established by a group of private investors in 1935, following the repeal of Prohibition a few years earlier. Among the founders was distiller, Joseph L. Beam, and a member of the Shapira family. As the company grew, the Shapira's eventually acquired sole ownership of it, and their descendants still run it today. In a similar dynastic vein, Joe Beam remained master distiller despite the Shapira takeover, and members of his family have occupied the role ever since. This was produced at the Old Heavenhill Springs distillery, later renamed simply as Heaven Hill, which was located in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was sadly lost in a devastating fire in 1996, and bourbon made there has become increasingly sought after as the years pass. The company had no distillery for the next three years, but were permitted to rent stills at Jim Beam and Brown-Forman in order to maintain production. They eventually acquired the newly refurbished Bernheim distillery from Diageo in 1999, which has been their home ever since.

Kentucky Deluxe is a charcoal filtered whiskey, a practice known as the Lincoln County Process and often better associated with Tennessee Whiskies such as Jack Daniel's. This often leads to a common misconception, likely deliberately promoted by some distillers, that whiskey produced in this fashion cannot be called bourbon. 

New Riff 2016 Single Barrel Bourbon #3298 / Potomac Wine & Spirits

A single barrel of Kentucky bourbon from the New Riff distillery.

New Riff distillery was established in Kentucky in 2014 by Ken Lewis, recognising thr trend in the bourbon community for greater transparency about the products being produced. The distillery sticks resolutely to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, ageing their casks for a minimum of four years, and bottling at 100 proof only from a single distilling season. The operation distils using both rye and bourbon mashbills, and has developed a strong following for its high quality and straight-forward output.

This whiskey was distilled on the 28th of November 2016 and aged in single barrel #16-3298 untill being bottled at cask strength on the 4th of February 2021 for Potomac Wines & Spirits..

New Riff 2015 Single Barrel Bourbon #5984

A single barrel of Kentucky bourbon from the New Riff distillery.

New Riff distillery was established in Kentucky in 2014 by Ken Lewis, recognising the trend in the bourbon community for greater transparency about the products being produced. The distillery sticks resolutely to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, ageing their casks for a minimum of four years, and bottling at 100 proof only from a single distilling season. The operation distils using both rye and bourbon mashbills, and has developed a strong following for its high quality and straight-forward output.

This whiskey was distilled in the summer of 2016 and aged in single barrel #16-3467 untill bottling in March 2021.

New Riff 2015 Single Barrel Bourbon #5984

A single barrel of Kentucky bourbon from the New Riff distillery.

New Riff distillery was established in Kentucky in 2014 by Ken Lewis, recognising thr trend in the bourbon community for greater transparency about the products being produced. The distillery sticks resolutely to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, ageing their casks for a minimum of four years, and bottling at 100 proof only from a single distilling season. The operation distils using both rye and bourbon mashbills, and has developed a strong following for its high quality and straight-forward output.

This whiskey was distilled in the summer of 2016 and aged in single barrel #16-10787 untill bottling in August 2020 for Market Basket and Daily Spirits.