Pinhook Vertical Series Bourbon War 6 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey

We hear something about this one being the next Van Winkle.

The story of Pinhook Whiskey starts in 2014 with its first release. You see, each fall the folks in the newly restored Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, create a single batch of Bourbon and a single batch of Rye. Each release is named after a thoroughbred racehorse coming up in the Bourbon Lane Stables — the horse’s stats are even printed on the labels. So each issuance is a bit different, just like each racehorse is different. It’s a great story and they sell out every year. In 2016 they refurbished the Old Taylor Distillery (mothballed in 1972) and are now bottling their first completely in-house Spirits.

Pinhook Vertical Series Bourbon War tells the story of both a horse and a Bourbon. Let’s start with the horse. “Bourbon War” the horse was foaled (born) on February 23, 2016, he is sixteen hands tall, and performed well with two wins and one place in seven starts. He ran in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 2019.

“Bourbon War” the Bourbon is a unique experiment that started in 2019 with a four year-old release. Each year they issue a limited release of dedicated barrels with a mash bill of 75% corn, 20.5% rye, and 4.5% malted barley so that we Whiskey-lovers can taste how the flavor of identical Spirit changes over time — from four to twelve years.

A blend of 120 barrels originally sourced from MGP and aged at Castle & Key, Pinhook Vertical Series Bourbon War 6 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey greets with rich aromas of brown sugar, licorice, and toasted almond. They make for the perfect introduction into the subtle flavors of smoke and honey, supported by black cherries, cloves, and Tahitian vanilla. Now, that’s what we call a successful experiment.