9-Year Barrel Strength Single Barrel Bourbon #4588

From time to time throughout the year, we release a superlative single barrel or small blend that is worthy of our black label. I’ve opined on the joys of older whiskeys here, but now some particulars on our second black label of the year: our 9-Year Single Barrel Bourbon, releasing Saturday, August 1st at noon and Monday, August 3rd at 2 pm EST. This bourbon barrel was entered on February 4th, 2017, which maybe doesn’t sound like a long time ago, but it was only about 2 weeks after the end of Obama’s presidency, which put things in a little more perspective. This 53-gallon ISC Char #4 barrel was aged entirely in Brooklyn, at our Cook St. warehouse. Bottled just 219 days shy of being aged a full decade, this is really a rare example of a fully mature craft bourbon. Bottled at 134 proof, this whiskey benefits from a little water to tamp down some of its heat. Pulled from the same lot as a 7-Year Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon that came out 2 years ago, this barrel was waiting for its time in the spotlight. As well-aged American whiskey becomes a little easier to find, the combination of high age and true rarity are hard to find in such a complete package. If this release says anything about American whiskey in 2026, it augurs for a more interesting time in whiskey once again.