2025 King of Kentucky Bourbon Review: 17-Year Majesty

BOTTLE DETAILS

• DISTILLER: Brown-Forman
• MASH BILL: It is not listed, but if it's like past King of Kentucky releases, it's 79% Corn | 11% Rye | 10% Malted Barley
• AGE: 17 years
• YEAR: 2025
• PROOF: 127 (63.5 ABV)
• MSRP: $399

STEVE'S NOTES

SHARE WITH: Only those who will appreciate such rare and outstanding well-aged bourbon.

WORTH THE PRICE: When you look at the insane number of younger, less complex, less flavorful, heritage-free, hype-heavy releases out there with price tags double, triple and more than this, absolutely yes. If you've got $399.99 to blow and love what I'm going to tell you about this whiskey, don't hesitate to get it. If you're on the fence, get a friend to split it with you.

I'll add, though, that in 2023, KoK cost $299.99. So why the 33% increase, B-F peeps?

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Your odds at winning the lottery are about the same as ever seeing this on a bar. So, just hope you find a bottle when you're truly flush with disposable income.

OVERALL: The press release on this 8th iteration of King of Kentucky begins this way: “This is the ultimate expression of American whiskey—a bold, robust bourbon that has been aged to perfection,” said Brown-Forman master distiller emeritus Chris Morris."

And with my first sip, I share aloud to the four cramped walls of my bottle-stuffed office, "Yes, Mr. Morris, it is that. Everything you said and more."

I don't know what was wrong with me when I tasted KoK's initial revival release in 2018, but I didn't like it. I was well accustomed to high proof whiskey back then, but at 135 proof, it was hot as hell–scalding seemingly just for kicks–and I cried "Uncle." It took quite a bit of water to beat some manners into it and ready it for sipping and a review.

I'm sure my wimpy, "Why, oh why so hot, dudes?" review never even reached the eyes of Brown-Forman's KoK team, and I knew when I got my 2019 sample, there was no reason to think anything had changed. So, creeping up slowly toward it like a kid suspecting a firecracker was a dud that might go off, I was cautious about tasting it.

One sip was all it took to change my tune immediately; just one luxuriant cherry-coke-and-oak taste of remarkably well-aged whiskey. I loved it. Somehow 131.3 proof seemed just fine on my palate, as did every similarly high proof press sample after it.

When people ask me about my favorite whiskies, the only reason why I don't include this is it's in my life and out so quickly that I forget about it. 100ml of bourbon of this quality doesn't last long, especially if good friends are around. That I never see this out in the wild only further dims my memory of it.

Which brings me to a little good news about this year's release: “These 63 barrels, personally selected and tasted from the highest-quality warehouses, are a true masterpiece,” Morris added. That means this year's batch will yield 5,000 bottles with proofs ranging from 124.4 to 135. That's close to double the number of bottles filled in 2021. So maybe there's hope that others will find and buy it without draining a child's college fund.

Enough babbling, let's get onto the business of enjoying this 2025 KoK. On the nose are spiced candied walnuts, a distant whiff of mulled red wine, dark chocolate and that wonderful bubble gum note woven into the formerly named Early Times mash bill. Let it rest (if you can) and return to it for a whiff of toasted hazelnut, charred oak and a little pipe tobacco.

On the palate comes cherry hard candy with oak and herbal tones, and, of course, that delicious cherry-coke-and-oak note and lightly syrupy texture. That a whiskey this old lacks a drying finish is nigh miraculous. Oh, it's warm and lingering to be sure, but it's incredibly clean, fruity, floral and loaded with lightly toasted oak. I have no more words to describe this bourbon other than simply fabulous. One I would surely splurge for if I found one.

This is one of those bottles that makes me want to say to Chris Morris, "Just do more of this, please. Lots more of it."

Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.