A 20-year-old Kentucky bourbon at barrel strength, 116.4 proof, from the Japanese-market years of Very Olde St. Nick. Its blue wax and hand-numbered cask lot mark it out on the shelf.
About This Bourbon
This is the 20 Year barrel-strength bourbon, bottled at 116.4 proof (58.2% ABV) under blue wax, with a cask lot number such as A039 or A065 written on each bottle. Japanese import stickers are common on surviving examples. No water was added, and at two decades old it is still at a high strength.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dark toffee, old oak, dried cherry, vanilla bean, leather and clove.
- Palate: Full and powerful, with brown sugar, cocoa, black cherry and a firm oak grip.
- Finish: Very long, warming and oak-led, with dark sweetness and spice.
Serving & Food
Serve at room temperature in a copita or Glencairn and take small sips at first. Adding water a teaspoon at a time rounds off the strength. Good with dry-aged beef, dark chocolate truffles or candied walnuts.
How to Enjoy
Tastings of long-aged barrel-strength bourbon, or marking an anniversary with a bottle that has two decades behind it.
Product Details
Producer: Very Olde St. Nick
Bottler (era): Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Bardstown
Style: Kentucky bourbon whiskey, barrel strength
Age: 20 years old
Proof: 116.4
ABV: 58.2%
Closure: Blue wax seal
Volume: 750mL
Origin: USA
Region: Kentucky
About the Distillery
From the 1990s into the early 2000s, Very Olde St. Nick was bottled in Bardstown by Even Kulsveen's Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) at the Willett site, which was not distilling at the time. Julian Van Winkle III later explained the change: he had not had enough older whiskey to keep supplying the brand, so its owner switched to Kulsveen, who had access to stock from his neighbours at Heaven Hill.
The KBD years also brought the smaller-format labels that collectors now link to this era, first used in the early 1990s. Old St. Nick Distillery was registered as an assumed name of KBD. The bottles kept going to Japan.
To install this Web App in your iPhone/iPad press
and then Add to Home Screen.
