Review: Copper & Kings Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Exclusive
Copper & Kings American Brandy opened its doors in 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky, just a short distance from historic Whiskey Row. From day one, the distillery set out to return America’s original spirit to a place of prominence by making standout domestic brandy. Through a mix of in-house distillation and select sourcing from distilleries across the country, Copper & Kings has stayed committed to that aim — an endeavor all the bolder in a city and state defined by bourbon.
While the distillery has released a broad range of brandies made under its own roof, it has never offered a house-distilled bourbon, nor has it ever suggested that such stock existed. Yet a story began circulating in mid-2021 when PM Spirits, working as an independent bottler, reportedly acquired two little-known 60-gallon #2 char barrels of bourbon. Those barrels were later bottled as a two-barrel blend: Mic.Drop. L22-01.
The whispers grew louder once the label cleared federal approval and enthusiasts began poring over its details. For the 2022 release, PM Spirits stated that the bourbon was distilled in 2015, double-distilled on a copper pot still in Louisville, and made from a peculiar mashbill of 60% corn, 13% oats, 17% wheat, and 10% malted barley. It had matured for at least seven years.
At that time, no Louisville distillery known to the public had been running a copper pot still for bourbon in 2015, nor was any producing a four-grain mashbill of this sort. And 60-gallon #2 char barrels? That only deepened the puzzle. The result was a release shrouded in curiosity — until distiller Alan Bishop spotted the label on the Coming Whiskey Instagram page.
In 2022, Bishop was employed as Head Alchemist (Master Distiller) at Spirits of French Lick, but years earlier he had been part of the distilling team at Copper & Kings. He immediately recognized the fingerprint of the bourbon. In 2015, not long after the distillery’s founding, Bishop had been given the chance to run a small bourbon experiment on Copper & Kings Vendome copper pot still using a mashbill he formulated himself: 60% corn, 13% oats, 17% wheat, 10% malted barley.
He later carried that same recipe with him to Spirits of French Lick, where it became the basis for Lee W. Sinclair bourbon — aged in #2 char barrels. In 2020, Fred Minnick named that bourbon the “Best Non-Kentucky Bourbon of 2020,” aged less than 7 years. Although there has never been official confirmation linking Mic.Drop. L22-01 to Copper & Kings, Bishop has stated plainly that he believes it to be bourbon he distilled during his tenure there.
Since that era, Copper & Kings has continued focusing on American brandy. If more bourbon from that one-off 2015 experiment or other limited runs exist, none has been publicly acknowledged. What the distillery has done, however, is release well-selected sourced bourbon finished in brandy casks — barrels previously used for its own brandy.
Starting in 2023, Copper & Kings introduced a remarkably mature blend of Kentucky bourbons built from three mashbills, all finished for at least a year in apple brandy casks. One component was a very old bourbon made from a mashbill of 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley. It had spent 15 years in new oak before receiving an apple brandy cask finish of at least one year.
In August 2025, Bourdon Spirits Company purchased Copper & Kings from Constellation Brands. Along with a formidable stock of American brandy, Rob Bourdon inherited an cache of bourbon barrels — including some originally earmarked for that 2023 blending project. Copper & Kings has long been admired for its distillery exclusive single barrels, and not long after assuming ownership, Bourdon stumbled upon a striking example from those inherited stocks.
This barrel held Kentucky bourbon distilled in 2017 from the 74/18/8 mashbill. It matured for 15 years, 2 months, and 28 days in new oak before being moved into a 6-year-old Copper & King’s apple brandy cask for another 3 years, 3 months, and 18 days. The bourbon entered the finishing cask at 128 proof on August 2, 2022, and was bottled on November 20, 2025. In all, it spent 18 years, 6 months, and 16 days resting in cooperage.
Kentucky — formally a state since 1792 — has seen its share of interesting bourbon, but this barrel stood apart. Bourdon believed it was too remarkable to blend, so it was released on its own as a distillery exclusive single barrel cask strength offering.
Copper & Kings kindly supplied Drinkhacker with a bottle for review. The distillery has released many memorable single barrels over the years, but does this one eclipse them all? Is a brandy-focused Louisville distillery about to catch the bourbon world off guard? Let’s find out.
Copper & Kings Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Exclusive Review
After more than 18.5 years in oak, the aroma opens with dark chocolate and concentrated cola syrup. Even on the first pass, it’s clear that this whiskey isn’t ordinary. Nearly two decades of barrel time contribute a pronounced note of toasted pecans. A bit later, the apple brandy cask makes itself known through the scent of well-oxidized Honeycrisp slices. The nose stops you for a moment — an invitation to take your time before moving on.
The first sip brings a concentrated Honeycrisp reduction, soon joined by the impact of a buttery, perfectly baked pie crust. Midway across the palate, dark chocolate — around 60% cocoa — takes hold before giving way to a measured cinnamon accent. The texture carries a satisfying weight without becoming syrupy.
The finish introduces a touch of black pepper paired with baked red apple peel. As the whiskey persists, traces of cinnamon dust and burnt orange peel remain. From opening aroma to final fade, this distillery exclusive single barrel delivers with astounding finesse.
Bourbons aged this long often fall outside my preferred zone, yet this one maintains a striking sense of composure. There’s no harshness, no coarse tannin, nothing that feels exhausted by time. The apple brandy cask plays its part with poise — fully present, never overbearing, never lost.
Every now and then, a bourbon halts your attention the moment it touches your tongue. The last time that happened for me was in 2022 at The Bar at Willett with fellow Drinkhacker writer David Thomas Tao, when we tasted a 27-year-old Willett Family Estate bourbon distilled by Heaven Hill. That moment has stayed with me ever since.
Likewise, tasting this Copper & Kings distillery exclusive on Thanksgiving Day 2025 — sitting at the desk in my guest bedroom — carved out another lasting memory. Sir Thomas More once remarked, “It is the part of the wise man to resist pleasures, but of a fool to be overcome by them.” Anyone lucky enough to pour this bourbon is going to be made a fool.
127.6 proof.
A+ / $250
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