Blade and Bow 30 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon 

Release: November 2025 at Stitzel-Weller Distillery 

Oldest bourbon ever released by Blade and Bow

All barrels are from Lot 93C04

Barrel fill date: March 4, 1993

Barrel dump date: August 23, 2023

Total age: 30 years, 5 months, 19 days 

Aged on the top floor in the legendary patented rickhouse of Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, KY for at least the last 10-15 years… potentially longer

Prior to Diageo, oral histories indicate that the windows of the S-W rickhouse were opened and shut on a daily basis… and there are lots of windows.  While Nicole hasn’t found written record or policy regarding the abundance of windows being opened and shut daily… multiple oral histories seem to confirm.

The S-W rickhouse features a concrete floor, spacey wooden ricks, and sheet-metal exterior walls. Due to the specific construction of the ricks, barrels are spread out with more space than most rickhouses… allowing for greater airflow and circulation.

Stitzel-Weller rickhouse floors are 3-barrels high in the ricks… not 5-barrels high as is common

Nicole Austin’s research seems to indicate that much of the magic of Stitzel-Weller was due to the aging conditions of the rickhouse.  While Stitzel-Weller Distillery actively distilled, Stitzel-Weller also blended and bottled lots of sourced whiskey that was aged in the Stitzel-Weller rickhouse

Distilled from corn, rye, and malted barley by an undisclosed Kentucky distillery (no wheat).  It’s not distilled by Stitzel-Weller. 

No agent of Diageo confirmed or denied, but I have solid intel that the bourbon was distilled at Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, KY. United Distillers built Bernheim Distillery in 1992. Diageo was formed in 1997 by a merger of United Distillers and Metropolitan.

Historical records indicate that during this era, Bernheim Distillery used multiple bourbon mashbills that featured rye grain: low, medium, and high rye content. The mashbill for Blade and Bow 30 Year is either legitimately unknown or simply undisclosed. Nicole Austin says that the mashbill is not indicated on the barrel head, but the lot code is on the barrel head.

Blended by Nicole Austin, Diageo’s Director of North American Whiskey Liquid Development and Capabilities; project began in Summer 2023

Blend of 42 barrels. A little more than 90-100 barrels existed in this age range. Only 1-2 barrels were completely rejected. Of the quality barrels that were not blended, some are being set aside for single barrels… and other remaining barrels were consolidated

At roughly halfway through total maturation, perhaps around 10-13 years old, semi-empty barrels (Angel’s share evaporation) were consolidated by United Distillers to maintain full contact with the wood. The actual date(s) of barrel consolidation is unknown, but Nicole estimated based on available evidence. Due to the fact that barrel rotation was not a common practice, Nicole Austin assumes the barrels potentially aged on the top floor following barrel consolidation, but no records indicate a specific amount of time spent on the top floor. There are no records that indicate on which floor the barrels aged before consolidation.

Part of why super-aged bourbon typically doesn’t turn out well is due the evaporation over the years leading to lots of air in the barrel… leading to extra influence from the barrel head… and staves drying out and the barrel deteriorating.  By consolidating barrels, these barrels spent more time with higher fill-levels than what is typically expected for 30 years of maturation in Kentucky. After more than 30 years of maturation, the structural integrity of these barrels was quite good

Nicole Austin has no records from United Distillers to indicate why these 90-100 specific barrels were consolidated… as it wasn’t and still isn’t an industry standard with American whiskey.  However, the practice is a bit more common with Scotch whisky and some rum, especially Cuban rum. Diageo has identified other quality barrels from this same era that were NOT consolidated… so the fact that these 90-100 barrels were consolidated was not necessarily a standard practice.

Nicole Austin does not have details, but she assumes that barrel entry proof was 125 or close to it… as the bourbon industry was struggling in 1993… and higher/maximum barrel entry proof is more cost-effective. In 1993, the maximum barrel entry proof for bourbon was 125 proof… just as it is in 2025.

Barrel char level: officially unknown; no records. 

Non-chill filtered (NCF); Ambient temperature filter

The natural proof of harvested barrels exceeded 160 proof.  As soon as the bourbon hit 120 proof, flocking occurred. The exact proof of the batch at harvest was not disclosed. Nicole Austin did note that the harvest proof was high enough that she researched whether or not a potential cask strength release would be the highest proof bourbon ever released… and found that it would not be the highest proof bourbon ever released.

Bottling proof: 109 proof (54.5% ABV)

At the time of harvesting, most of the barrels were  consistently more than one-third full… after consolidation in the past. Upon noting the fill levels of the barrels, this was Nicole’s first indication that something different was in play… leading to the determination that the barrels had been consolidated at some point many years ago.

MSRP: $1200 (750 ml) & $250 (pour)

Nose 👃: Lemon Starburst. Kool-Aid Tropical Punch powder. Fresh cut carrot. Grape-Nuts cereal. Cream soda.

This is legitimately the most potent nose I’ve ever experienced on a bourbon. As I sat down with the glass, the Lemon Starburst and Kool-Aid Tropical Punch powder were easily detectable as soon as I picked the glass up, but probably still 12 inches from my nose.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to pick out such too strong notes before actually putting my nose to the glass. There isn’t a single hint of being over-oaked. Whatever oak-bomb of a nose you might have expected for 30 years… think again.

Palate 👅: Almond biscotti.  Good & Plenty candy. Grape juice. Blueberry skin. Peach ring candy. Medium-thick mouthfeel.

Much like the nose, it’s throwing my brain for a loop to realize this bourbon has been aged for more than 30 years. Bourbons aged for half of this amount of time frequently pack much more oak influence. The oak is somehow balanced perfectly with fruit.

Finish 🏁: Wintergreen. Vanilla Coke. Grape-Nuts cereal. 

The oak is much more prominent on the finish, yet still wildly controlled… and nowhere near overbearing.

Without doubt, this is one of the three best bourbons I have personally ever tried. The other two: Willett Family Estate 27 Year from Heaven Hill and a 15 year bourbon bottled by Copper & Kings with an additional 3 year apple brandy cask finish.

This one is absolutely spectacular. It’s not amazing because of age for 30 years… It’s amazing that it’s spectacular despite aging for 30 years. 

It’s absolutely amazing, but with my personal income… there’s still no way I would ever justify paying this price. However, if you have that kind of income, and you’re used to spending this type of money on a bottle… you won’t regret it.

Sample provide provided for review by Blade and Bow

Rating: 10 | Insurpassable | No better exists



Review: Blade and Bow 30 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon