No water added because none is needed. We took the same vintage blending philosophy that we used to create Small Batch, except this time the goal was to create high proof bourbon that tasted its best neat. Uncut is so rich and sweet with an unbelievably thick mouth feel, the heat and rye spice finish are a welcome addition. It's like milk with cookies! Blending vintages of our high rye mash bill to achieve this flavor profile at 115-116 plus proof was a very rewarding challenge for us. There is a delicate balance between creamy mouthfeel, tannins and sugars that comes into play that makes the end result magical. Older vintages have more evaporation which means a higher concentration of fats and sugars per ounce which gives them a nice creamy mouthfeel as well as caramel and honey goodness. They also have more tannins because alcohol has been in contact with the wood for longer. A lot of what some perceive as alcohol burn is actually a harshness due to tannins. This can counterbalance the benefit gained by the high concentration of lipid esters insulating your pallet from alcohol heat. There needs to be enough of the older bourbon for the oak flavors and mouthfeel, but also some younger ones to cut back on the tannins and bring in some delicate fruit and caramel flavors. 2021, 2020 and 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Double Gold Winner!

Kentucky Owl Takumi Edition is a collaboration with John Rhea, Kentucky Owl's master blender, and Yahisa Yusuke, Japanese whiskey master blender for Nagahama Distillery in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. John Rhea started his career in whiskey at Four Roses Distillery right out of college, eventually working his way up to Chief Operating Officer and then retiring in 2016 after 40 years with the company. Rhea also served on the board of the Kentucky Distillers' Association for 17 years. He joined Kentucky Owl as master blender in 2021. Yahisa Yusuke is much newer to whiskey blending, but proving to be an up-and-coming blender to watch.