King of Kentucky Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2024 Release, Barrel 5) Review

King of Kentucky needs little introduction within the enthusiast community. Since its inaugural release in 2018, its lore has catapulted it to BTAC-levels of fame among whiskey drinkers everywhere. Brown-Forman has since made it an annual release. Good luck finding one in the wild unless you’re well-connected – Brown-Forman keeps the case counts low partially because they don’t have as many barrels of it aging and partially because each one has to meet strict quality standards. You don’t get to wear the name “King of Kentucky” without being able to back it up.

All barrels of King of Kentucky started their life as Early Times bourbon. Early Times used a different mash bill and yeast compared to Old Forester’s even though they both were made at the same distillery. It’s true that Brown-Forman sold the Early Times brand to Sazerac in 2020, but they kept the recipe. It now goes by the name “King of Kentucky Recipe.” The only other products it’s used in is Old Forester 1924, Cooper’s Craft and Cooper’s Craft Barrel Reserve.

2024 King of Kentucky

Part of the allure about King of Kentucky – aside from its single barrel nature, high proof and high age – is that it pulls barrels from different warehouses each year. And while you might think that different warehouses don’t matter in the grand scheme of things (especially when they’re all similar in construction), I covered their differences in a write up I did on a couple years ago. Here’s a rundown of which warehouses were used for which year and also the barrel ages:

2018 – Warehouse K (14-years-old)

2019 – Warehouse K (15-years-old)

2020 – Warehouse K (14-years-old)

2021 – Warehouse I (14-years-old)

2022 – Warehouse H (15-years-old) and Warehouse O (The 18-year-old limited release)

2023 – Warehouse G (16-years-old)

2024 – Warehouse G (16-years-old) and Warehouse J (16-years-old)

With the addition of Warehouse J into this year’s release, that makes Warehouse L and B the lone outsiders for not having produced any KoK barrels. If you’re hoping to collect all 8 warehouses, get ready to wait for a while. Warehouse B was gutted and only recently refilled with barrels and Warehouse O was torn down. Warehouse L has had limited amounts of single barrels come out of it in recent years which makes me wonder if there is something afoot there.

A quick word about the warehouse differences

As I covered in my Brown-Forman warehouse exposé, Warehouse G and H were not heat-cycled from around 2018 to 2023 (these aren’t hard and fast dates, but they should be close). Brown-Forman wanted to see how differently the barrels matured without the expensive heat-cycling process. Their testing phase ended around 2023, but we will probably never know the official results.

The reason why I’m bringing it up is because I’ve tasted many single barrels that came from Warehouse G during that time and have concluded that the lack of heat-cycling allows the liquid to show more of its “high rye” character. You’re going to find more herbal, spice and fruit notes whereas barrels plucked from the heat-cycled warehouses (like J) should deliver whiskies with more barrel influence (think: tannins, vanilla and chocolates).

I hope to get a taste of Warehouse J King of Kentucky in the near future, but for the moment this Barrel 5 from Warehouse G is going to have to do. I’m not complaining, though! Let’s see how it is. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: A rich and fragrant nose that’s infinitely approachable. I’m picking up on cherry cordials, rich caramel, butterscotch and a little bit of caramel. Fruit notes revolve around Fig Newtons, dates and a hint of cherry (licorice). Tannins wrap everything in notes of seasoned oak, leather furniture and a bit of barrel char. Hang around long enough and the rye spice notes begin to emerge with drops of honey, ground cinnamon and some vanilla.

Palate: With the first sip, you know you’re drinking something special. I’m finding seasoned oak, varnish and new cowhide giving maturity and depth to the entire dram. Cinnamon spiced cherries, blackberry jam and a hint of flat root beer are always elite-level to find in any bourbon. This King just so happens to have them in spades (see what I did there?). Something about Warehouse G allows rye grain to come alive (even though this recipe uses 7% less rye than Old Forester’s). I can taste Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookies, candycanes, toasted citrus peel and a touch of ginger root. Finally, an elegant layer of vanilla wafers wraps things up neatly.

Finish: Surprisingly, it’s those vanilla wafers that come through first once the sip is complete. I can also find cinnamon, toffee and Oreos on the finish. Residual notes of seasoned oak, varnish and new leather remain. What’s most impressive to me are the fruit notes that remain. Typically, these are the first to drop off. But I’m tasting berry jams and candied citrus peel galore. I even pick up on a little bit of peppermint bark, too.

Score: 9.6/10

These King of Kentucky bottles are so good, it’s like Brown-Forman used a cheat code to make them. Few other bottles can achieve this level of balance with an absolute tidal wave of flavor. If you’re reading a review like this and believe that tasting notes are made up, it’s probably because you’ve never had a pour of King of Kentucky.

While it didn’t achieve a perfect score, I can tell you that each sip is virtually flawless. The heat is balanced, but there’s enough proof to satisfy even the biggest proof hound. It contained most of my favorite flavors/scents like blackberries and butterscotch. And the tannins had every sip taste like the barrel was dumped at the peak of maturity. If it feels like I’m writing a love letter to this bottle, it’s because I am.

Final Thoughts

I won’t use flowery language to wrap up this review. If you have the money to buy King of Kentucky, then do it. I don’t care which year, which warehouse or which barrel it is, they’re all worth it. The only other challengers to KoK in terms of bourbon perfection are William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg, Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition or Russell’s Reserve 15. Even then, some of those will have their off-years. But King of Kentucky seems to always be the best version of itself. Buy one. You won’t regret it.

Epilogue

As I finished this review, I started to think about a concept I’d love to see from Brown-Forman (if they’re reading this). Why not create a limited release within a limited release by creating a batched version of King of Kentucky? It could be made up of maybe a gallon or two drawn from each single barrel that’s been harvested that year. I assume the results would be phenomenal. Plus, it has some precedence from within your family of brands: Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill Single Barrels and Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill Small Batch. You can thank me by sending a bottle to review when it comes out!