Brown Formans King of Kentucky Small Batch 12 Year Old Batch 3 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700ml

Brown-Forman's King of Kentucky Small Batch 12 Year Old (Batch 3) Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a 110 proof (55% ABV) non-chill filtered luxury spirit released in February 2026. This monumental release marks the historic brand's first-ever departure from its standard single-barrel format since its modern revival, adapting into a highly prized three-part small batch series. Composed of an undisclosed blend of premium whiskies matured between 12 and 18 years, Batch 3 is packaged in a sleek 700ml export-style bottle format and serves as the highest-proof, boldest exclamation point of the entire trio.

The core ethos of this historic bottling relies on turning the brutal environmental challenges of hyper-evaporation into an opportunity for flavor complexity. Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris and the production team drew the liquid from a curated pool of roughly 100 hand-selected barrels that had spent up to nearly two decades inside Brown-Forman’s legendary heat-cycled warehouses. This aggressive heat-cycling method causes violent temperature spikes that force the spirit deep into the wood, causing a punishing angel's share loss where some barrels retained as little as 16% of their original volume. Marrying these intensely concentrated honey barrels into a precise small batch allowed the brand to build a deeply structured, composite character.

The liquid architecture was explicitly fine-tuned to showcase a brand-new sensory chapter for the prestigious label. The 2026 small batch introduces a modified, rye-forward mash bill consisting of 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% malted barley, offering a spicier framework than the brand's traditional 79% corn recipe. The blending team's ultimate objective was to isolate the 100 base barrels into three distinct proof points, assigning the maximum 110 proof strictly to Batch 3. This deliberate execution ensures that the spirit highlights the heaviest wood phenols and dark barrel characteristics available in the blend, creating a rich, oak-forward profile that carries its high-proof heat with immaculate, full-bodied structure.

The bourbon’s heavy-set tasting profile opens on a massive, aromatic nose that can be detected the moment the cork is pulled, dominated by rich sweet oak, charred barrel notes, deep brown sugar, and dark molasses, brightened by subtle citrus peel, pine, and warm walnut banana bread. The palate delivers an incredibly bold, tongue-coating viscosity bursting with deep caramel, dark chocolate, sweet cigar wrapper, and vanilla cream wafers, which gradually yield to savory mid-palate notes of clove, black pepper, and earthy tobacco. It concludes on an exceptionally long, smoldering finish, where dry oak tannins and warming baking spices are held in check by a lingering, dark-fruit resin sweetness.

For elite spirits investors and serious whiskey connoisseurs, this Batch 3 edition represents a groundbreaking collectible artifact from a defining pivot in Brown-Forman history. While the brand's older single barrels have earned legendary unicorn status on the secondary market, this 12-to-18-year small batch commands its own prestigious tier as a highly allocated trophy bottle. It sits at the absolute pinnacle of the [King of Kentucky](https://amsterwine.com/products/king-of-kentucky-small-batch-3-12-year-bourbon-700ml) modern lineage, tracking leagues ahead of standard [Old Forester Birthday Bourbon](https://www.liquoronbroadway.com/products/king-of-kentucky-12-year-small-batch-batch-3-of-3-kentucky-straight-bourbon-700ml) or Presidential selections as a true gold standard of hyper-concentrated Kentucky craftsmanship.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: 110 Proof (55% ABV)
• Age: 12 Years Old (A small batch blend of straight bourbons aged 12 to 18 years)
• Origin: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
• Distillery: Brown-Forman Distillery
• Whiskey Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Small Batch, Non-Chill Filtered)
• Cask/Cooperage: Fire-charred New White American Oak; Aged in proprietary heat-cycled warehouses
• Bottling: Released February 2026; limited small batch allocation of ~100 total series barrels
• Series: King of Kentucky 2026 Small Batch Series (Batch 3 of 3)
• Selection: Masterminded by Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States
• Tasting Notes: Nose: Deep sweet oak, charred wood, brown sugar, molasses, citrus peel, pine, and walnut banana bread. Palate: Thick and viscous with dark caramel, chocolate, sweet cigar wrapper, vanilla cream wafers, clove, and pepper. Finish: Exceptionally long, robust, and oak-forward with dry tobacco, baking spices, and a lingering dark-fruit resin sweetness.