Our First E.J. Curley Private Selection Has Arrived

We kick off March with a release that continues our hunt for well-aged, well-priced bourbon here at Seelbach’s. Introducing our first private selection from E.J. Curley!

Long before modern bourbon’s revival, E.J. Curley was helping define it. In the late 1800s, Curley established some of the earliest distilleries on his Kentucky property, including Blue Grass Distillery and Boone’s Knoll Distillery, operating under E.J. Curley & Co. These sites later became known as the E.J. Curley Distillery and eventually the Kentucky River Distillery, carrying Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) designations #15 and #45. Those numbers place Curley among the foundational figures of American whiskey’s earliest commercial era.

Today, the E.J. Curley name returns with a renewed focus on honoring that legacy while crafting whiskey for the modern palate. These expertly crafted small batch and single barrel expressions are hand selected by Master Blender Ashley Barnes. This 7.5 year Kentucky bourbon is a great reminder that sweet and spice and everything nice can still come at a great value.

Big pop of fruit on the nose, with a lovely oak presence as well. Sweet-toned but not overly strong. Buttery and perfumed, think bright cherry, apple, caramel, and honey.

The palate is more oak-forward than I would expect, but it’s definitely not lacking in cherry. Think bright cherry candy meets silky milk chocolate, spiced apples, and antique oak, all with a nice dose of expressed orange to boot.

The finish is a lovely mix of creamy oak and citrusy spice. While it carries some heat, it’s welcome, as the flavors surround it and make the sip feel mature and complete.