Kings County Cask Strength Batch 13

BourbonReviewsNew YorkKings County

Sep 16

Written By David Levine

Kings County Cask Strength Batch 13

Kings County Distillery, NY

63.7% ABV/127.4 Proof

3+ YO, Bottled in 2020

Eye: Dark maple syrup.

Nose: Super maple-y. Some heat leads into corn sweetness. Smells syrupy, too. Buttered popcorn comes after some air (real butter not the diacetyl butter).

Palate: A little hot here, though the maple keeps going. Lots of oaks spice that pleasantly dries the mouth. Classic bourbon notes follow, caramel and vanilla with some dark smoke from the barrel. All leads to dried red fruit sweetness with a warming and medium-bodied, corn-forward mouthfeel.

Finish: Corn-forward, drying, but some rye and fruit hang around.

Overall: On the sweeter side of the spectrum for me, though the heat is definitely a young, smaller-barrel heat. This does benefit from some air but not as much as I’d like.

Rating: 5.3

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)