Bourbon De Luxe is BACK with 7-Year Rum Finished Bourbon Batch 002

The demand for anything sporting the Bourbon de Luxe name has been incredible. We recently sold out of their first 8-year batch of the year, and today we're back with their version of a 'summer bourbon' - the follow-up to 2025's limited Rum Cask Finished release.

“Since we bottle rum under our Rolling Fork label, we’re able to dial in the flavor profile of our rum cask-finished releases. This particular release has been a very long time in the works, as we’ve built a great following with our award-winning Rolling Fork Rum releases. We knew we wanted to leverage our high-quality rum casks to give customers a unique experience,” said Rolling Fork Co-Founder Turner Wathen.

Rolling Fork has supplied Seelbach's with incredible rum barrels for several years. Jordan Morris and Turner Wathen started Rolling Fork in 2016. Wathen's family has a rich history in bourbon, but their primary focus is rum. With plenty of fake bourbon stories out there, this seemed like a great chance to tell a real one.

Started in 1911, Bourbon de Luxe grew in popularity through Prohibition. It was sold to Kentucky’s R.E. Wathen Co. in 1926, where it continued to flourish. Unfortunately, the brand died out in the early 2000s. It's great to resurrect a historic brand, but the bourbon has to match the legendary label.

Today's return to finished bourbon may be even better than last year's. Rolling Fork selected six barrels of seven-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon, then finished for over a year in Rolling Fork rum casks. Bottled without chill filtration at 111 proof, with fewer than 1,400 bottles produced, this release feels both limited and intentional.

For us, a lot of rum-finished whiskeys can lean heavy-handed, but here the finishing strikes a perfect balance. It adds sweetness and depth without overshadowing the base spirit, enhancing drinkability. I know I said last year's finished batch may be my favorite release from the BDL guys... but after tasting this release, I think it's been one-upped again.

The nose is nearly straight-up Kool-Aid... and if you know me, that’s incredible. Tons of tropical and citrus notes, from pineapple juice to freshly peeled oranges and lime simple syrup. It’s sweet without feeling cloying, but absolutely juicy.

The palate follows closely with more of a lime candy focus, saturated snow-cone syrup on the front of the tongue, tons of candied orange, and rich cola concentrate, all while still highlighting beautiful sweet oak.

The finish lingers with beautiful sugars and sweet florality, but mainly lovely lime slushy, a hint of orange peel, and sweet, beautiful oak.

I know I said the last release of Bourbon de Luxe Rum Finished could be my favorite rum-finished whiskey, but this one easily beats it in my mind.