August Points Auction
Hear ye, hear ye! The August VBP Points Auction is upon us, and the King himself has decreed - ye must bid yon points! Brown-Forman's King of Kentucky Small Batch returns in three separate batches, each one drawn from barrels aged 12 to 18 years, made from a 75/15/10 corn-rye-malt mashbill, each bottled at a different proof. Alongside that, Rittenhouse has debuted their 10 Year Bottled-in-Bond Rye, a rare age statement from the cult favorite Rye. Wild Turkey is also showing off some new goods with the Austin Nichols Archives series, beginning with a 16-year-old, 120-proof Gold Foil Edition. Auction closes Friday, August 14th at noon, subject to popcorn bidding.
In the Points Auction this Month
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Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives — Gold Foil EditionThe debut release in Wild Turkey's new Austin Nichols Archives line. This is a direct callback to the "Cheesy Gold Foil" era of Austin Nichols-labeled Wild Turkey — bottles from the late 1980s and early 1990s that bourbon obsessives routinely pay four figures for at auction. This version was aged 16 years and bottled at 120 proof (60% ABV). Kentucky straight bourbon, distilled at Camp Nelson in Lawrenceburg. Expect the profile that made those originals famous: dense oak, dried fruit, baking spice, and a proof level that still somehow feels composed. |
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Rittenhouse 10 Year Bottled-in-Bond Rye — 250th Anniversary EditionHeaven Hill's Rittenhouse is the bar-rail rye that converted a generation of bartenders, but this is something different. The 250th Anniversary Edition marks the USA's semiquincentennial with a 10-year BiB expression — four years older than the standard. Mashbill is 51% rye, 35% corn, 14% malted barley. Bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV) per Bottled-in-Bond Act requirements, non-chill filtered, drawn from 90 barrels selected across multiple rickhouses and floors at the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville. Expect the rye's characteristic black pepper and dried herb alongside a maturity the standard release doesn't offer. |
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King of Kentucky Small Batch — Batch 1 (105 proof)Brown-Forman revived the King of Kentucky label — originally a legendary single-barrel series from the Old Forester distillery — as a small-batch program. Batch 1 is a blend of barrels aged 12 to 18 years on a derived mashbill of 75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley, bottled at 105 proof (52.5% ABV). Nose: brown sugar, cinnamon, mature oak, buttery pie crust, black cherry. Palate: caramel, baking spice, raisin, tannic oak. Finish: leather, baking spice, dry fruit. The lightest proof of the three batches — the entry point if you want to compare across the set. |
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King of Kentucky Small Batch — Batch 2 (107.5 proof)Same 12–18 year age range and 75/15/10 mashbill as Batch 1, bottled at 107.5 proof (53.75% ABV). The profile shifts noticeably: fig and date on the nose alongside tobacco and mature oak. The palate leads with cinnamon, clove, and pepper, with sweet molasses pushing back against the spice. Finish is dry oak and baking spice. The most fruit-forward and savory of the three — a different character despite the shared source. |
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King of Kentucky Small Batch — Batch 3 (110 proof)The highest-proof expression in the August auction set, at 110 proof (55% ABV). Same age range and grain bill as Batches 1 and 2. Nose: mature oak, cocoa, baking spice, leather, dark fruits. Palate: cherry cola, tannic oak, baking spice, jammy dark fruits. Finish: drying oak, baking spice, fruit leather. More oak-driven than Batch 2 and richer than Batch 1 — if you're buying one, this is the one that benefits most from a few drops of water. |
