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Brown-Forman’s King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon (Batch 1) spirit image
94Excellent

Brown-Forman’s King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon (Batch 1)

Bourbon Brown-Forman King of Kentucky
  • Distiller

    Brown-Forman

  • Bottler

    Brown-Forman

  • ABV

    52.5%

  • Age

    12-18 Years

  • Price $200+

This is one of three batches of King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon that Brown-Forman Released in February 2026. Long exclusively a single-barrel product, this is the first batched King of Kentucky product released in modern history. According to Brown-Forman Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris, the casks that went into these blends are "rare, aged barrels" that Morris has been waiting for the right moment to share with the world.

At 105 proof, Batch 1 is the lowest-ABV of the trio (batch 2 is 107.5, and 3 is 110 proof). Each batch is a blend of barrels ahed between 12 and 18 years. According to the brand, some of the barrels were as low as 16% liquid due to extremely high Angels' Share.

Each King of Kentucky Small Batch release is available in limited quantities at a suggested retail price of $299 per 700-milliliter bottle. All of the bourbon in these batches was blended at the Brown-Forman Distillery (aka Early Times Distillery) in Shively, Kentucky.

Suggested Cocktails
Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 94
  • The Daily Pour
  • By David Morrow
  • Not the most complex expression in the world, but just pure opulence, excellently balanced and an example of how great the classic Brown-Forman profile can be.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 94
  • Whisky Advocate
  • By David Fleming
  • Full-bodied, well-balanced, and with plenty of richness and thickness of flavor.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Nose:

    Delicious nose. It's classic rich, elegant, perfumey, dessert-forward Brown-Forman goodness. Notes of vanilla custard, blueberry, chocolate covered cherry, lavender, cream cheese frosting, salted caramel, sweet cream, chocolate ganache and a light touch of melon.

  • Taste:

    Nice thick viscosity. Big dark chocolate and espresso notes lead here, followed by cherry, coconut, ash, oak and tannin.

  • Finish:

    The finish is medium to long and quite oaky and astringent. Brown sugar leads into cinnamon, nutmeg, leather and tannin, then moves into candied orange, ginger and vanilla.

  • Overall:

    Incredible, delicious bourbon. Not the most complex expression in the world, but just pure opulence, excellently balanced and an example of how great the classic Brown-Forman profile can be.

  • Score:

    94

  • Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.

  • By David Morrow
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources