Review: Castle & Key Small Batch Bourbon – 4 Years Old vs. 6 Years Old, 2025
Castle & Key has been cranking out all manner of spirits for years, but it’s only in the last few that its bourbon program has really ramped up. Recently the company sent us two samples of its Small Batch offering, which has been evolving since its launch in 2022.
What we’re tasting today is the first batch of Castle & Key Bourbon Small Batch Bourbon, 2022 Batch 1, bottled at 4 years old, and a newer release from somewhere in 2025, bottled at 6 years old. (Castle & Key no longer includes batch numbers on the 6 year old expression of Small Batch.) Both are made from 73% white corn, 10% rye, and 17% malted barley, though the proofs vary slightly.
Digging into this evolution, Castle & Key is careful to note that “the 6-year-old expression represents more than just additional aging — it embodies time, patience, and craftsmanship, resulting in a richer, more complex spirit.”
Let’s see how the last four years have helped this product evolve.
Castle & Key Bourbon Small Batch Bourbon 2022 Batch 1 4 Years Old Review
Rob reviewed this whiskey upon its initial 2022 release, so consider these notes additive to his astute commentary. To me the nose evokes honey-roasted peanuts more than honey itself, with a rustic character that feels decidedly youthful. Toasty oak massages in notes of caramel and some char, with the later stages of the whiskey running to toasted coconut and, eventually, some of the peppery rye that Rob mentions — though it’s definitely on the mild side. On the whole it’s a very innocuous experience, one which I would compare with a mass-produced value pick like Jim Beam White Label (a whiskey with which this shares a lot of DNA). 98 proof. B / $NA [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Castle & Key Bourbon Small Batch Bourbon (2025) 6 Years Old Review
Two extra years have really changed the game for C&K Small Batch, with those corn-heavy aromas taking a back seat against a rush of brighter fruit, spicier rye, and bolder pepper notes. Peanuts and popcorn are still in the mix, but now they find some balance — or rather, they’re boosted by the rest of the experience. Bright red apples and clementine oranges give the whiskey a fresh vibrancy, chased by green banana, lacy caramel, and soothing vanilla. The whiskey never hits the tongue anywhere close to its 50.5% abv, the finish an exploration of milk chocolate, gingerbread, and buttery almond cookies. The fade-out is sweet and layered with plenty of delightful vanilla-scented sugar, lush and soothing. I finished off one of the samples of these two whiskeys; you can guess which. 101 proof. A- / $40 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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