Kings County Single Barrel 126.2 Proof Bourbon - Selected by Seelbach's

Age: 4 to 7-years old

Mash Bill: 80/20 Corn/Malted barley

Proof: 126.2 proof

Blend: 4-year 53-gallon Char 4 WVBC; 4-year 30-gallon Char 4 Barrel Mill; 7-year 15-gallon Char 3 Barrel Mill

Tasting Notes: Sweet, candy-like aromas of confectionery sugar with hints of wet grass, progressing into waffles and rich maple syrup.

Pronounced leather, clove, and brown butter lead into deliciously oaky notes of cathedral wood and steeped tea leaves.

The finish is long and leathery, rounded out with lingering sweet maple notes.

About: The backbone of the blend—43% of the final composition—began as a 4-year-old bourbon built on an 80% corn, 20% malted barley mashbill and aged in a 53-gallon Char 4 West Virginia barrel. Unlike the ISC 53-gallon barrels also used in the program, these West Virginia barrels are medium toasted prior to charring, a step that shows clearly in the finished whiskey. The result is a rounder sweetness and a more integrated oak presence that establishes early balance and gives this Private Barrel its immediate sense of approachability.

Another 34% of the blend comes from a 4-year-old bourbon aged in a 30-gallon Char 4 Barrel Mill barrel from Minnesota, the component most representative of the house style. Here, classic corn sweetness is layered against darker notes of char and cocoa, with hints of bittersweet chocolate and emerging dark fruit. The final 23% is drawn from a 7-year-old bourbon aged in a 15-gallon Char 3 Barrel Mill barrel, contributing a concentrated, top-of-the-pyramid note of deep, mature oak. While this component leaned more earthy and oak-forward on its own, at this proportion it adds significant complexity without compromising softness or drinkability. All components were married in a 30-gallon Barrel Mill barrel for approximately two months prior to bottling, allowing the blend to fully integrate.