Kentucky Owl puts Japanese spin on latest release and there could be more bourbon soon
Kentucky Owl is about to release its fourth version under master blender John Rhea and for this one the bourbon aimed for a spin on popular a Japanese whisky.
It’s the second “international” take on Kentucky bourbon, following an Irish edition released in February, and Damian McKinney, Stoli Group International CEO, said Thursday that more are planned.
“We’re very supportive of the Ukrainian situation, the tragedy there,” McKinney said. “And with Kentucky Owl, our approach to the co-creation has been to see if we can in some way make this world a better place.”
The Kentucky Owl Takumi Edition Bourbon Whiskey is a collaboration between Rhea and Yusuke Yahisa of Nagahama Distillery in Japan. Takumi means artisan or expert in Japanese.
Rhea and Yahisa worked together, with Rhea selecting four Kentucky Owl samples of different ages and mash bills then sending the samples to Yahisa who developed different blends to reflect his Japanese whisky style, according to the release.
“This collaboration encompasses not just the art of blending, but the flavors and taste profiles that both countries are famous for in their whiskeys,” said Rhea in a statement. “The Takumi Edition provides bourbon lovers insight into the flavor profiles sought after by a Japanese whisky blender. As someone who has worked in the industry for several decades now, it was exciting for me to work with a rising star in whisky with a unique perspective.”
The Takumi Edition Bourbon is a blend of 4-, 5-, 6- and 13-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons with mash bills containing corn, rye or wheat, and malted barley.
The latest Kentucky Owl release is 100 proof, with a suggested retail price of $150, and is available to buy beginning in October at fine retailers nationally.
According to the tasting notes, the Takumi Edition has a savory nose of light rye bread, mised with sweet caramel and tangy fruit salad. On the palate, you get buttery rye bread, caramel, cinnamon and fruit with a flavorful and lasting finish.
Yahisa is an up-and-coming master blender, according to the news release. Nagahama distillery is one of only 10 Japanese distilleries to have earned awards in the world’s three largest whisky competitions (San Francisco World Spirits Competition, International Spirits Competition and the World Whisky Awards), despite being Japan’s smallest distillery. Started in 2016, Nagahama Distillery is located on the shores of Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake, and produces single malt whisky with its own distinct flavor characteristics imparted by the unique climate.
McKinney said the Japanese edition, like the Irish version produced by Rhea and Louise McGuane of J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey, are designed to elevate the brand to a wider whiskey-loving audience worldwide.
Rhea, McKinney said, is a magician, and putting him in a room with the best blenders in other countries has produced amazing spirits.
Kentucky Owl is an ultra premium brand and in limited supply. “There is a degree of rarity in this. You’re never going to see great quantities,” he said.
Kentucky Owl supply answer? New distillery
But fans can expect to find more of it available, if they can wait a few years.
Giving an update, McKinney said plans are moving forward with the proposed distillery in Bardstown.
Stoli Group, which bought the bourbon brand in 2017, announced plans in 2019 to build a $150 million architectural masterpiece, a lakeside complex in a former quarry to include a new distillery, a visitors center, cooperage, rickhouses, bottling center, restaurant and convention center on 420 acres.
Work has been stalled but McKinney said Thursday in an interview that construction will begin soon on the pyramids design by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban to house the distillery.
Costs have risen significantly in the interim, with the project now expected to cost “hundreds of millions,” McKinney said.
A temporary visitors center is expected to open on the site in April 2023, McKinney said, so people can visit, experience Kentucky Owl and watch the pyramids emerge. Construction on the visitors center will begin next month, he said.
“We’ve not wavered from our vision,” he said. “We’re not just building a distillery to produce bourbon but the heart and soul of Kentucky Owl.”
The distillery is expected to begin operating in about two and a half years, he said, with the first releases anticipated in 2029.
