The numbered Kentucky Owl batches are the ones collectors chase. Each release is a small-batch cask-strength blend assembled by Dixon Dedman from mature Kentucky bourbon stocks he's spent years sourcing. Batch 11 continues a tradition that began with Batch 1 in 2014, when Dixon resurrected his family's pre-Prohibition brand.
Bottled at 114.8 proof, Batch 11 is uncut and unapologetic. There's no age statement — Dixon blends for flavor, not numbers — but the depth of the liquid betrays significant maturity. This is bourbon dense enough to chew.
The nose is immediately decadent — brown sugar fudge, dark cherry, charred white oak, and a ribbon of tobacco leaf that hints at long years in the rickhouse. On the palate, the full proof hits like warm velvet — molasses and black cherry up front, dark chocolate and dried fig in the middle, leather and bourbon spice spreading through every corner of the mouth. The cinnamon-clove backbone is bold without being aggressive.
The finish is cavernous. Cocoa and oak char dominate, fig jam sweetens the midway, and dark spice carries on well after the glass is empty. A single drop of water opens a riper, jammier side worth exploring, though it holds up beautifully neat.
Batches 1 through 10 all became near-mythical on the secondary market, and Batch 11 follows the same trajectory — released in strictly limited quantities, with Dixon personally signing off on every blending decision. For devotees of Kentucky blending art, this is the release that justifies the hunt.
