Kentucky Owl is one of a handful of success stories of Bourbons as of late that has found a way to hit it big with drinkers despite being a fairly recently created brand that has largely relied on externally sourced whiskies and internal blending expertise - the Bourbon dream, if you will.

The brand is rooted in some actual history though - not one of those made up fantastical tales. The brand was once quite a hit pre-prohibition era and was established by Charles Mortimer Dedman in the late 1800s. Obviously prohibition did a number on his business and it was pretty much forgotten. More than a century later, his great-great-grandson Dixon Dedman, who was an innkeeper at Kentucky's Beaumont Inn, worked with business partners who owned Carter's Cellars, a vineyard, to revive the brand.

Dixon Dedman, the man behind Kentucky Owl's phenomenal success. (Image Source: Whisky Advocate)

The brand was basically built on Dixon Dedman's incredible palate, being in charged of sourcing and blending sourced whiskies, that is whiskies that were purchased from other distilleries. Much of which eventually came from nearby Bardstown Bourbon Distilling, which also produces High West Bourbon, and was then placed across various rickhouses (ageing facilities) around Kentucky.

This turned out to be a huge hit and the brand consistently received strong demand, eventually being acquired by Stoli Group which owns a small portfolio of vodkas, gins and even rum - although Kentucky Owl is probably their most noteworthy gem (it gets its own section in their site).

Four Roses' John Rhea takes over and brings in The Wiseman. (Image Source: Ky BWS)

The acquisition resulted in Dixon Dedman leaving the brand to pursue a new venture, and is now helmed by its new master blender John Rhea. John Rhea is already an industry heavyweight, having helmed Four Roses for four decades.

The Wiseman, which if you've seen past Kentucky Owl releases, is packaged in a visibly different manner, reflects the changing guard and is also the first the first release for the brand under John. 

The Wiseman is a clear break from the Kentucky Owl of before. (Image Source: Kentucky Owl)

What's been pointed out is that the Wiseman is designed to bring more accessibility and consistency to the brand - it is their first core release (they've only ever done limited releases in the past) that we can expect all year round, year in and out. They're also priced much more affordably and are bottled at a lower proof - all of which should help the brand start to build a regular and growing fanbase. The hope would be for Kentucky Owl to become a staple in every Bourbon cabinet, but we'll see.

Today we're going to try both Wiseman - the Bourbon and then the Rye (in the next review, here).

The Wiseman Bourbon is a blend of four different Kentucky straight bourbons - Kentucky Owl's own 4 Year Old Wheat and High-Rye, and then a 5.5 Year Old and 8.5 Year Old sourced from elsewhere in Kentucky.

Kentucky Owl The Wiseman Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 90.8 Proof (45.4% ABV) - Review

Tasting Note

Color: Maple Syrup

Aroma: Caramel, butterscotch and allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in particular. There's a tingly nuttiness as well of peanuts, and a light aroma of desiccated coconut flakes. It's sweet but still a tad light, with gentle aromas of green apples and raspberries - that tartness and estery note. There's a bit of parsley herbaceousness as well and a slightly sharper woodiness of pencil shavings. It's quite apparently young but surprisingly not prickly at all. A very all-rounded aroma - a little bit of everything.

Taste: Butterscotch, pancake syrup, a dusting of powdered sugar, and then more on baking spices - frankly, it's so similar to breakfast pancakes. There's more light fruitiness of summer berries and poached apples, but very gentle, and quite a bit of maltiness - think Graham crackers. A light tingly spiciness of ginger candy. There's a bit of banana bread as well, and peanuts, but not too strong. 

Finish: The woody astringency is alittle more pronounced here, with a very gentle spicy kick - in a good way, the sort of rye spice (kinda like ma la, that Szechuan peppercorn) but more aromatic with clove and anise. Very light hit of honey that fades out.

My Thoughts

This is a very all-rounded whisky - like an intro 101 to Bourbon. It has a little bit of everything from the different shades of profiles you find in Bourbon - that classic butterscotch and allspice, the banana bread, the nuttiness, the red fruits. It's not particularly hot either but it is identifiably young, so it's still pretty accessible and easy to enjoy for most palates starting out, whether Bourbons or whiskies in general. 

That said, because it is a little bit of everything, it doesn't demonstrate much distinctiveness or a sense of a house style of sorts. If tasted blind, you wouldn't be able to tell it apart from most other Bourbons. The texture could also be alittle more weighty for a more creamy and hefty mouthfeel, you're looking for something more substantial. The finish is also a tad too astringent for its mellow all-rounded profile.

All things considered - great for beginners (you don't wanna be jumping too soon into some high ABV, strong stuff that will just burn your tongue), but Bourbon junkies can move along.

Should be readily available (and very affordable) on Master of Malt (International), The Whisky Exchange (International), La Maison du Whisky (Singapore), KL Wines (US).

Kanpai!

@111hotpot