Some whiskeys are made to sit on your bar cart and be consumed whenever you damn well feel like while others should be kept under lock and key, pulled out only for special occasions, and one of those is the extremely rare Blade and Bow 22-Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which has been re-released this spring.
Bruh, I don’t think you heard us. Twenty-two years old! Might we remind you that the minimum requirement for a straight bourbon is only two years.
If you’ve heard of Blade and Bow, congratulations on knowing your bourbon. If you haven’t, you just graduated to the next level of whiskey wisdom. Blade and Bow is an intentionally kept secret.
The rare 22-Year-Old bourbon is a 46% alcohol by volume old school whiskey lover’s dream, having earned awards for its blend of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
North American Whiskey Educator Doug Kragel describes the ultra-rich taste as, “with a pronounced nose reminiscent of toasted oak layered with vanilla bean, figs, and a light touch of dark caramel … accented with notes of torched sugar and apples baked in honey and spices.” That’s pure whiskey porn if you ask us.
“It’s the kind of rare whiskey that makes you want to savor every note slowly because, at some point in the future, supply will run out,” Kragel adds.
“It’s the kind of rare whiskey that makes you want to savor every note slowly because, at some point in the future, supply will run out.”
Blade and Bow is run by booze conglomerate Diageo, who makes Johnny Walker, Crown Royal, Smirnoff, Don Julio, Guinness, and many others. Their foray into craft bourbon was intentionally underground since Blade and Bow is inspired by the passion and craftsmanship of the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery.
A landmark in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Stitzel-Weller began distilling in 1935 and championed the production of wheated bourbon. Their claim to fame is an elongated aging period starting at 10 years. Blade and Bow’s 22-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon was re-released to honor the 84th anniversary of this historic distillery, which now houses public tours for Bulleit Bourbon.
Blade and Bow also styled their logo off of the Five Key symbol that has a rich presence at Stitzel-Weller. It stands for the five steps of producing bourbon. Inspiring our minds further, the name Blade and Bow is derived from the anatomy of a key.
Blade and Bow will toast the 22-year-old bourbon at its fourth annual A Stitzel-Weller Affair on May 3. Otherwise, the bottles will be released in only 12 states: California, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, New York, South Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. The trick, though, will be finding where in those states the spirit is being released.
It’s worth the chase to track down a bottle, not only for the taste but to own a piece of bourbon history.
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