Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey (Batch 3) Review

To say that the price increase for the second batch of Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey came as a shock would be an understatement. It increased by $80 to make the total a whopping $200. This puzzled enthusiasts who wondered why there was such a hefty increase in price.

Batch 2 was also considered a step backwards from the highly-revered Batch 1 because of the significant drop in proof. Many enthusiasts refused to buy a whiskey they viewed as being inferior to the original release. The biggest question was how would the brand adjust for Batch 3?

Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey Batch 3

Batch 3 of Kentucky Owl Rye tried to remedy the maladies of Batch 2 by bringing the proof back up (this time to 114 proof). Strangely, it lost a year off the age statement. The price didn’t change either (something that most enthusiasts had hoped would happen). Many enthusiasts wondered if Kentucky Owl was already running low on their source of rye whiskey barrels. After all, High West had also begun to run out of their Barton Rye Whiskey barrels the previous year (2018).

That brings up the next point about this brand; Kentucky Owl has never said which distilleries they were sourcing their rye whiskey from. There have been credible enthusiasts who have heard through the grapevine that the main component was Barton. Barton would’ve had two different rye whiskies available at the time Dixon Dedman sourced these barrels; a 53/37/10 low-rye mash bill and an 80/10/10 high-rye mash bill. Both recipes saw extensive use by High West. Otherwise, it’s hard to pinpoint any Kentucky distillery that had a lot of 10+ year rye whiskey laying around for purchase.

Dixon’s blending prowess

Dixon Dedman has gone on the record and said that he’s sourced rye whiskey from more than one distillery. This makes the final product a blend of straight rye whiskies. In addition to blending, he is known for dumping rye whiskey from one producer’s barrel into another producer’s barrel. He likes this technique because it changes the profile of the whiskey without resorting to finishing casks that held other kinds of spirits.

All of this is makes each batch of Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey different from each other. The rye whiskey inside could be made up of completely different distillery’s whiskies. I’ve generally been a fan of these products, how will this batch compare to the others? Time to take a drink and find out! I sampled this neat and in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose is the epitome of “fresh.” There are notes of peppermint candies, fresh mint, wildflowers, cherries and orange zest. For being made up entirely of Kentucky rye whiskies, it somehow has escaped coming off as a bourbon (which is a plus in my book). The botanical and floral scents easily overpower the more traditional vanilla and caramel flavors I would find from a barely-legal rye whiskey recipe. One strange scent that sticks out is a lot like Nestle Quick powder, which makes for a fun throwback to my childhood.

Palate: The “Fresh” theme on the nose carries over to the tongue with flavors of herbs and mint along with gingersnap cookies. There is a good deal of spicy notes that are balanced out by the sweetness that comes from toffee and honey. Finally, the full array of baking spices come out in full force with cinnamon, clove, star anise and fennel seed. It’s one of the more complex and rich rye whiskies that I’ve had.

Finish: Heaps of mint, menthol and botanical notes remain long after the sip is complete. It’s a wonderfully satisfying rye whiskey through and through. Compared to other whiskey that has aged in new charred oak for a decade or more, I’m surprised by how “bright” this one finishes. And if you’re wondering if that is a good or a bad thing, I can assure you it’s fantastic all around.

Score: 8.9/10

Batch 3 just misses out on achieving an “Incredible” rating. Despite this, I found a rye whiskey that is still very much worth the pricetag. In fact, the only reason why this did not achieve that rating is because I felt like the full 10 years in a barrel didn’t come through on the sip. If you would have given this to me blind, I might have mistaken it for a 7 or 8 year old rye whiskey. The previous two batches of Kentucky Owl rye were much more heavy on the tannins like oak or tobacco which made them feel like a more complete package.

This release seemed to forgo barrel influence in favor of brighter, more botanical flavors. The lack of barrel influence shouldn’t deter anyone who likes a more lively rye whiskey, but I wanted to make you aware of it before you bought it.

Final Thoughts

Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey was sadly discontinued in 2020 after Batch 4 was released. It’s a shame because this was a rye whiskey that revolutionized the Kentucky rye whiskey scene. While not everyone will find Batch 3 to be their cup of tea, I thought it was superb and demands your money. For the price, this is probably priced into the “celebratory bottle” category. In that case, I’m going to find a lot of reasons to celebrate just so I can have another taste.