Wattie Boone Kentucky Bourbon

Proof: 101.8 proof

Age: 6-7 years

Tasting Notes: The nose leads with vanilla custard and fresh brioche, plump and rich for 101 proof, with raspberry jam and softer toasted oak.

The palate follows much the same, with a decadent, silky vanilla creaminess and the texture as a highlight, while lighter notes of raspberry lemon tart and sweet oak continue through the sips. For me, this drinks similarly to High Wire Jimmy Red Wheated, but a bit softer.

The finish is fresh beignets covered with warm powdered sugar, as a lighter strand of caramel comes out before lightly toasted oak continues on.

About: There are plenty of whiskey brands with a good story. Wattie Boone & Sons just happens to have one that starts in 1776. Wattie Boone was an early Kentucky distiller making whiskey along the Beech Fork River, not far from where Preservation Distillery sits today on a 40-acre tobacco farm in Bardstown. It’s a fitting home for a brand carrying his name. Preservation is one of the smallest distilleries in Kentucky and the only 100% pot-distilled craft producer in Nelson County, making whiskey in tiny one-to-three-barrel batches.

But Wattie Boone gets especially interesting when you dig into the older releases. Over the years, the lineup has included 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-year American whiskeys, along with single-barrel Vintage Barrel Selections, often built around sourced Tennessee whiskey that was brought to Kentucky for additional aging. Preservation has never been afraid to experiment with that maturation either, including proprietary heavy-toast barrels that can push these whiskeys into big notes of butterscotch, honey, vanilla and wildflowers. That combination is what drew us to Wattie Boone in the first place: older whiskey, tiny batches, interesting maturation and a producer willing to do things a little differently. Sometimes the fun bottles are the ones that require a little digging. Wattie Boone is one of those bottles.