Bourbon De Luxe Returns with 8-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Batch 2026-01

The demand for the previous two batches of 8-year of Bourbon de Luxe was incredible. It's hard to believe it's been over a year since the last batch, but we are back again and with the highest proof 8-year batch to date.

This is a bourbon I've been lobbying for for a long time. 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, it 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.

This 8-year Kentucky cask strength bourbon doesn't disappoint! Now at 124.5 proof, it has that familiar pocket of flavor we've grown to love from previous batches - rich in caramel, orange peel, and seasoned oak, with a kiss of floral and spice, but grows even more dense and layered than before. Easily one of the best-valued bourbons we offer here on the site.

“Bourbon de Luxe is one of a few brands that my family produced that Jordan and I had admired for a long time,” said Rolling Fork Spirits Co-Founder Turner Wathen. “We have always wanted to do a bourbon, but knew we would not act on a brand revival unless we were able to source very high-quality Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Once we secured the trademark and the bourbon, we were off to the races.”

The nose begins with a play of both sweetness and spice: simmering baked apples, caramel apple cider, bourbon-soaked cherries, salted maple, aromatic expressed orange peel, and potpourri-like spices that slowly transition into fountain cherry cola.

The palate is chewy and layered and, with proper time to open, an absolute delight to unpack. There’s a familiar strand of toffee and Crush Orange soda, emphasizing the brown sugar sweetness and moving toward a Coke float and maraschino cherries. While slightly effervescent, the palate is more syrupy and dense, moving toward a Snickers bar chased with Dr Pepper and a whisper of peach ring candies.

The finish remains long and syrupy, with cherry- and orange-kissed cane sugar sweetness lasting beautifully into a creamy caramel and brown-sugar oak finish.