Review: Bourbon de Luxe Batches 2 and 3 (2025)

Rolling Fork Spirits built their initial following on the backs of sourced rum, rum-and-rye blends, and (under the brand name Wayward Cask) highly-aged French brandy. In late 2024, they entered the bourbon market by relaunching Bourbon de Luxe, a label with history dating back to 1911; Rolling Fork co-founder Turner Wathen hails from the same whiskey family that once owned the brand, along with many others.

The resurrected brand’s Batch 1 release was an eight year old Kentucky bourbon, and Batches 2 and 3 follow in that same vein. Batch 2 is another cask strength (119 proof), eight year old Kentucky straight bourbon, this time comprised of six barrels sourced from two Bardstown, Kentucky distilleries. It’s limited to 1,116 bottles with a suggested retail price of $65.

Batch 3 is another beast entirely, a four-barrel blend of 16 year old, cask-strength Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 126.1 proof. The whiskey was distilled in Frankfort, Kentucky. Though the exact source is again undisclosed, the age, proof point, and current market trend suggest this is likely from the run of “BuffTurkey” bourbon, distilled around 2009 at Buffalo Trace for Wild Turkey. (That whiskey was distilled using Wild Turkey’s mashbill and aged primarily in Wild Turkey warehouses, though the distillation was done at Buffalo Trace using their grains and yeast.) This particular batch is limited to “under 500 bottles” and carries an MSRP of $299.

Let’s see how they taste!

Bourbon de Luxe Batch 2 (2025, 8 Years Old) Review

An initial pop of Creamsicle kicks off the nose, a pairing of orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream. It’s a sweet, mildly tart beginning that quickly shifts to more traditional Kentucky bourbon aromas of vanilla extract and vanilla fudge, hot pralines, and cinnamon-dusted peach cobbler. Oak dances around those confectionary elements for a composed batch of scents that ultimately smells like a nicely-aged bourbon on the cusp of leaning further into wood.

A first sip brings a fascinating combination of honey-sweetened tea, lemon drops, and minty chewing gum. That sweet mint builds with time, punctuated by the smallest amount of blue raspberry cotton candy. It’s brighter and a little less oak-forward than the nose, but never cloying, even with a viscous mouthfeel that welcomes a Kentucky chew. A lightly tart black tea finish lends enough tannins to keep things on the rails; at this point, I welcomed some of the astringency, which lent balance.

119 proof.

A- / $65

Bourbon de Luxe Batch 3 (2025, 16 Years Old) Review

Deeply oaked with both medicinal and Luxardo cherry notes, the nose is an immediate draw for fans of bourbon with a barrel in the driver’s seat. There’s the standard vanilla and dark caramel, to be sure, but those play second fiddle to dual scents of minty/herbal rye spice and blackstrap molasses. Nosing blind, I wouldn’t have been shocked if this turned out to be a Kentucky-style (aka high corn) rye, pronounced as those herbal elements are.

The palate hits early with bright red maraschino cherry, fresh mint sprigs, and preserved ginger. Cedar wood and more herbal rye eventually settle in across the midpalate. Notably, a few drops of water unlock a lot of potential in this pour, dialing up both the fruit (black cherry candy) and baking spice (clove, allspice, and more ginger) while allowing the oak to linger even longer on the finish. Ironically, the dilution extends those flavors enough that it almost improves the perceived mouthfeel, tricking one into thinking the bourbon has become more viscous. There’s a lot to unpack here, and I’m glad I gave it the time.

126.1 proof.

A- / $299

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