K. Luke is back for their first releases of 2025, including the return of Toasted Bourbon. In my opinion, this just may be their best set of bourbons they've released. As much as we love their standard barrel strength offering, Toasted and Double Oaked products are hot right now and this just may be the Maisano's best one yet.
Jonathan and Jennifer Maisano are blending some fantastic whiskey, from their barrel strength offerings to their toasted products and most recently dipping their feet in a wine finished blend. Today, we're back with Batch 11 Bourbon and Batch 4 Toasted Bourbon. Where some K.Luke bourbon batches have given off a fairly strong dominant character (be it spice, age, sweetness, brightness), Batch 11 seems to have the most homogeneous age and flavor profile. Batch 4 Toasted seems to follow in the footsteps of batches 1 and 3, with plenty of buttery caramel sweetness and well seasoned oak in balance.
K. Luke Batch 11 Bourbon
Perhaps the most refined nose of any K Luke bourbon batch I’ve had to date. I’ve drawn similarities to Four Roses before but you definitely get them here - baked apple, fresh cherry and raspberry turnover, orange oil, peach iced tea, fresh vanilla beans and soft caramel icing on spongey carrot cake. There’s a gentle yet perfumed oak mixing with a fresh new leather aroma that grows more prominent in the background the longer it rests.
The key to this blend is nuance. While some blends have leaned heavier on the spice or oak or fruitiness, this blend keeps all those things perfectly in check. It begins creamy, pulling in allspice and pepper initially but quickly sweetened with a rounded vanilla custard and caramello sweetness, not all unlike recent 99/1 bourbons. Before growing too sweet, the sugars develop a fruit forward juiciness, more melon than red fruit but definitely a medley of mixed fruits from ripe to dried.
This blend doesn’t highlight deeper age as much as some in the past, but the age most noticeably comes through in a well-charred finish. This also means it trades in some of the heavier nuttiness and darker leaning fruit notes more noticeable in past blends for, again, a more nuanced and well/rounded pour with a pleasantly sweet trailing. Rich, custardy, and harmonious solid-aged pour that doesn’t taste it’s 120 proof at all.
K. Luke Toasted Bourbon Batch 4
The nose here is plush - elegant spices with clove and lemon oil giving lift while toffee and old fashioned donuts continue to sweeten. Buttery and inviting with a smidge of blackberry jam, dried cherry, plum and light leather continue on, the longer it rests the more deep and perfumed caramel cake and layered it grows.
The palate is dense yet silky, giving plenty of chess pie in both mouthfeel and sweetness, but still plenty of warming French oak-esque baking species to compliment (freshly ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and black pepper). The longer it opens the more those species settle into charred marshmallows, butter pecan ice cream, torched citrus peel, and seasoned oak.
The finish is long and lingering, following in the footsteps of batches 1 and 3 with plenty of buttery caramel sweetness and well seasoned oak in balance.
About: After tasting thousands of barrels over the past decade owners Jonathan and Jennifer Maisano decided it was time to create their own brand to share their love of whiskey and family with you. K.LUKE is a tribute to both of their children Kaitlyn and Lucas, please enjoy this Bourbon with Family and Friends as much as they do.
