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    Diageo Announces the Return of Blade & Bow 22 Year Bourbon

    BillBy Updated:4 Comments3 Mins Read

    You may remember our posts from a couple of years ago about Blade & Bow’s limited edition 22 year old bourbon.  Well it’s back.  Diageo has announced a re-release.  We know from the Orphan Barrel lineup that Diageo seems to have an inexhaustible supply of hyper aged bourbons, and while 20+ year old bourbons usually taste vastly over aged to my palate,  the previous release was actually pretty tasty, so I’m looking forward to this one.  The provenance of this whiskey is a little clearer this time around as well.  It’s a mixture of distillate from the “New” Bernheim distillery (now Heaven Hill) and what is now Buffalo Trace.  So it seems to be from similar stocks used for Lost Prophet mixed with the bulk of the Diageo releases (15 year Harper, most of the Orphan Barrels, etc).

    From Diageo

    Background 

    Blade and Bow 22-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a limited release whiskey that pays homage to the artful passion and renowned craftsmanship of the legendary Stitzel-Weller Distillery. This whiskey is the latest to be released from Stitzel-Weller, the historic distillery that now serves as the home to a number of high-quality whiskeys.

    Brand Inspiration 

    Blade and Bow is named after the two parts of a skeleton key – the blade shaft and the ornate bow handle – part of the iconic Five Keys symbol found throughout the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery.  These keys represented the five steps of crafting bourbon – grains, yeast, fermentation, distillation and aging.  More importantly, these keys grew to symbolize the southern traditions of hospitality, warmth and enjoying the finerthings in life.  To this day, the five keys can be found throughout the distillery.

    Packaging 

    Blade and Bow Limited Release 22-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is packaged in a geometric bottle with six sides – one bearing the Blade and Bow logo and product information, with the other five representing each of the five keys to bourbon found throughout the Stitzel-Weller distillery.Five different keys – some rarer than others – will adorn the bottles,with consumers being encouraged to collect all five.

    Liquid Story

    Inclusive of whiskeys distilled at both the distillery historically located at 17th and Breckinridge in Louisville, Ky. and the distillery historically located at 1001 Wilkinson Blvd. in Frankfort, Ky.,this limited release offering was most recently aged and bottled at Stitzel-Weller.

    Tasting Notes 

    Beginning with a pronounced nose reminiscent of toasted oak layered with vanilla bean, figs, and a light touch of dark caramel, Blade and Bow 22-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey tastes smooth and smoky with good oak structure, accented with notes of torched sugar, sweet vanilla bean and a spicy dry rye finish.

    Awards

    • 2015 San Francisco Spirits Competition Best Kentucky Straight Bourbon
    • 2015 San Francisco Spirits Competition Double Gold 
    • 2016 Ultimate Spirits Challenge 99 Score 
    • 2016 Ultimate Spirits Challenge Chairman’s Trophy
    • 2017 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible: Blade and Bow 22-Year-Old: Best Bourbon 10 Years & Over from Multiple Barrels

    Bill is the Co-Founder, Editor-in Chief, and official Bourbon-o-Phile for ModernThirst.com, and Founder and Chief Blending Officer for Four Gate Whiskey Company. He is a native of Louisville, KY in the heart of Bourbon Country. He attended the University of Kentucky in the mid to late 1990s. He has also been published on Liquor.com. He has conducted various bourbon and whiskey tastings in cities across the country, and consulted for multiple national labels. He is married with two daughters, and lives in east Louisville. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @BillStraub and email him at [email protected].

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    4 Comments

      • Bill on

        What sort of info are you looking for? I know it was for sale at an event at the Bulleit Experience a couple weeks ago (around $225?), but I haven’t seen it in any other stores yet.

        Here’s a direct link to the fact sheet from Diageo:

        LINK

        Reply
    2. Matt on

      Hi Bill,

      I didn’t see anything in the fact sheet about where it was distilled. Do you know if it was distilled in Indiana or direct from the new Diageo distillery in Shelbyville, KY?

      Great article and thanks!

      Reply
      • Bill on

        Hi Matt,

        It’s a mixture of distillate made at what is now Buffalo Trace and New Bernheim (now Heaven Hill) according to their press release.

        Reply
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