The return of the wonderful and mysterious Doc Swinson’s 15 Year is upon us. This newest batch is from the same unnamed source and continues to represent some of the best value available for old cask strength bourbon anywhere in the world. The Doc Swinson’s brand was started by a small (and very lucky) bottler in Washington state who’d made a name for themselves finishing Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee whiskies in various wine casks. When they had an opportunity to secure some high-quality mature Kentucky straight bourbon, they jumped at the chance and so did we. The source of this excellent bourbon is so concerned about its identity being revealed that the barrels are dumped in Kentucky before being transported to the bottler in anonymous totes. Usually we insist on having some idea of where the products we sell are produced, but one taste of this stuff and those standards get thrown out the window, as it’s just too good to care to argue with. We will likely never know exactly where it was made, but as long as it keeps tasting this good, we won’t complain. The most special bourbons from Doc are under their “Rare Release” line. This is the 7th batch of this truly small batch line, but only the second of the unbelievably popular 15 year. This batch contains just 27 barrels and only 100 cases will be available in California exclusively at K&L. Bottled at a cask strength of 109.8 proof, it has all the complexity and depth you’d expect from a great old Kentucky bourbon.
