James Thompson & Brother 42-Year Final Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon

December 12, 2022 | by Maranda Sutton

This isn't your average Seelbach's email. Today, we have something special (and yes, it's expensive). We were able to track down a few bottles from the James Thompson & Brother Final Reserve Bourbon. Calling this bourbon special is an understatement. This is some of the oldest bourbon ever bottled. These bottles were released as a three part set which raised money for the Frazier History Museum in Louisville. The set includes a 42-year, 44-year and 45-year release. Why is this bourbon so special aside from the age? Here's the story.

In the early 1970’s Glenmore Distilleries was anticipating several anniversary events and thought it would be nice to have some really old Bourbon for commemorative bottling, so a few barrels of the oldest recipe were set aside to rest a while longer.

Unexpected things happened and in 1991 the Guinness Company bought Glenmore and it became a small part of a very large and successful enterprise. By then the old bourbon distillery had been dismantled and its unique configuration was destroyed, marking the end of an era and the end of a product and its tradition. Still the selected barrels that had been set aside slept on for another two decades, its contents spending more time in the barrel than any bourbon available in the market.

Buddy and his buddies tasted the aging bourbon every now and then and decided 40-plus years in the barrel is long enough. It is time!