Kentucky Owl Dry State 100th Anniversary Limited Edition

Kentucky Owl Dry State 100th Anniversary Limited Edition

Kentucky Owl was founded by Charles Mortimer Dedman, a local pharmacist, in 1879. After marrying his wife, Dedman was given a large parcel of land on the banks of the Kentucky River, as a wedding gift from his adopted father who was a local town judge. C.M. Dedman Distillery was established here on the banks of the Kentucky River, producing "The Wise Man's Bourbon" under Distilled Spirits Plant Designation "No. 16," one of Kentucky's original distilleries and part of a booming industry. Kentucky Owl achieved much success and production continued until Prohibition halted distillation. The family-run facility was no match for the "forces of teetotalism, temperance and eventually, the Feds." In 1916, Prohibition left several local distilleries with ample reserves of bourbon. As for Kentucky Owl, approximately 250,000 gallons of bourbon were left over in various stages of aging. Today these reserves would be worth about $40 million in inventory. After Federal agents descended on the Dedman's distillery, the bourbon was seized and shipped up the river by barge to the state capital in Frankfort for "safekeeping" in a warehouse. Currently, Kentucky Owl is in the midst of designing a stunning state-of-the-art distillery park with rickhouses for aging, a bottling center, as well as a vintage dinner train to stop on the property. It will be built at Cedar Creek Quarry in Bardstown. The 420-acre site will boast beautiful lakes with crystal clear, limestone-filtered water that will be used in their whiskey production. Kentucky Owl Dry State 100th Anniversary Limited Edition comes in the wake of the 100th anniversary of the Prohibition. It pays tribute to the period after the Volstead Act sent the country into a "dry state". This rare edition is limited to less than 2000 bottles and combines some of Kentucky Owl's most prized barrels. It comes in an elegant wooden box, made according to design trends of the time and entirely by hand. Bottled at 100 proof, you can expect complex aromas of spice, fruit, and toffee, followed by sweet oranges and caramel, culminating in a satisfyingly long finish.