K.LUKE Toasted Barrel Batch 3 & High Rye-Low Rye Batch 10 Barrel Proof Bourbon Reviews

 

K.LUKE Whiskey Company was established in 2021 by Jonathan Maisano. He owned Masiano’s Fine Wine & Spirits of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, for 18 years and picked over 400 private barrels for his store.

 

“K.LUKE Whiskey Company small batch blends are created by sourcing from several different distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana with different mash bills up to 36% rye and a variety of ages. This allows the focus to be on building multilayered and exciting blends instead of the individual components used to create each blend. Jonathan creates several blends based off his notes and ratings of their barrel inventory, then all blends are run through several rounds of blind tastings with blends being adjusted one barrel at a time by taste (Jonathan and Jennifer do all the blind tastings) until a favorite is decided for bottling. This is TheSpiritOfBlending.” – Jonathan and Jennifer Maisano, K.LUKE’s owners

 

Who are those distillers? When you say “Indiana,” that usually means Ross & Squibb (MGP), and considering that Bardstown Bourbon Company is doing the bottling, it is a safe assumption it is at least partially responsible for the Kentucky component. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, and what the Maisanos suggest is correct – we should concentrate on what the whiskey smells and tastes like.

 

Today, we will explore two releases from K.LUKE: Toasted Barrel Small Batch Barrel Strength and High Rye Low Rye Small Batch Barrel Strength.

 

K.LUKE distributes its products to Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wyoming, and through Seelbachs and SharedPour websites.

 

In full disclosure, K.LUKE provided me with a sample of each in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review, and I thank them for doing so. Now, let’s #DrinkCurious and see how they did.

 

K.LUKE Toasted Barrel Small Batch Barrel Strength

 

 

Batch Number: 3

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Cooperage: 75% medium and 25% heavy new toasted barrels from Kelvin Cooperage; 3 month finish

Alcohol Content: 59.4% (118.8°)

Age: NAS

750ml price: $109.99

Release Date: 8/15/2024

 

Appearance: I poured this into my Glencairn glass to sip neat. It possessed an orange topaz color. A thick rim jettisoned wide, fast tears.

 

Nose: The aroma consisted of rich toffee and caramel. I smelled maple, fresh leather, buttered croissants, and orange zest. When I drew the air through my lips, I encountered thick vanilla.  

 

Palate: Batch 3’s mouthfeel was thin and silky. The front of my palate found campfire-roasted marshmallows accompanied by Mexican street corn. It was an unusual combination that required several attempts to nail down. My mid-palate found almonds, brown sugar, and tobacco, while the back included charred oak, fresh leather, and orange zest.

 

Finish: A ton of caramelized marshmallows and toffee were competing for attention as the finish began. When those fell away, I tasted maple syrup, barrel char, nutmeg, and a hint of ginger spice. The duration lasted 1:29, placing it somewhere between medium and medium-long.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Toasted barrel finishes can be very hit-and-miss with me. There are times when they become over-oaked and over-spiced. Neither was an issue with Batch 3. There were plenty of sweet notes to quash anything that could be considered unpleasant. Batch 3 is a layered, well-balanced pour that caused me to pour a second dram. That’s a sure-fire recipe for my Bottle rating.

 

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K.LUKE High Rye Low Rye Small Batch Barrel Strength

 

 

Batch Number: 10

Mashbill: Corn 69.3% Rye 25.4% Malted Barley 5.3%

Cooperage: Undisclosed new, charred oak

Alcohol Content: 60.1% ABV (120.2°)

Age: NAS

750ml price: $109.99

Release Date: 8/15/2024

 

Appearance: Poured neat into my Glencairn glass, Batch 10 was a bright orange-amber liquid. A thin, jagged rim formed, which discharged slow, medium-width tears.

 

Nose: As I brought the glass under my nostrils, I took a bold punch of tobacco to my olfactory sense. Afterward, I could smell allspice, nutmeg, red berries, and old leather. Plenty of toffee held in the air as I pulled it into my mouth.

 

Palate: Before I could identify this Bourbon’s texture, old leather, caramel, and brown sugar commanded my attention. Batch 10 had a full-bodied, slick mouthfeel that coated everywhere. My mid-palate discovered mocha, ginger, and lemon citrus. Flavors of black pepper, oak tannins, and charcoal hit the back of my palate.

 

Finish: I timed Batch 10’s finish at 1:38, making it medium-long. Chocolate ginger, charcoal, black pepper, and brown sugar flavors remained; the black pepper outlasted the rest.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: It seemed like Batch 10 was trying to confuse me as I sipped it. It went from savory to sweet, then spicy, tart, spicy, and sweet again. It seemed unbalanced. Typically, that would result in a lower rating, yet these sensations meshed near-perfectly on the finish. Batch 10 is one of those nifty experiences in which you must taste how these things happen. And because of that, I’m giving it my Bottle rating.

 

Final Thoughts: Last year, I had the opportunity to review High-Rye Low-Rye Batch 5 and rated it a Bottle. Now that I’ve tried my second and third, I am here to tell you that Jonathan knows what he’s doing and is one heck of a talented blender.

 

While I did say that Batch 10 was an experience whiskey, I preferred Toasted Barrel Batch 3 over it. These Bourbons are just in different universes. Cheers!

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.