Redemption Returns With An 18 year old Bourbon

Despite having a sizable arsenal of well-aged inventory, ultra-aged releases from Redemption Whiskey are few and far between. Back in November 2017, Redemption released a pair of ultra-aged expressions in its Ancients series. The first one was an 18 year old rye, distilled in 1998 at Ross & Squibb Distillery (then called Jos. E. Seagram Lawrenceburg Plant). At the time, the 18 year old was touted as Redemption’s oldest whiskey ever released—but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Just a few weeks later, Redemption rolled out a 36 year old bourbon that was limited to 18 bottles and carried a $1,200 price tag.

Those expressions were well received, and aged Redemption expressions were getting attention from whiskey lovers. In 2023, a bottle of 36 year old Redemption rye appeared in a Sotheby’s American whiskey auction, and wound up selling for $18,000. But by then Redemption had discontinued the Ancients series, and turned its focus on younger and more widely available releases, including the more experimental Specialty Series whiskeys like the wine-inspired Sur Lee rye, rum cask-finished rye, and the fan-favorite cognac cask bourbon. This month, however, Redemption shocked fans by announcing that its Ancients series was returning with a new 18 year old bourbon.

A Rare Find

According to master blender Alan Kennedy, the long wait was due to his reluctance to work with ultra-aged whiskey. While double-digit age statements might look good on a label, he says that the prestige isn’t always backed up by the liquid. “I’m going to be completely honest, I didn’t want to [bring Ancients back] at first,” he says. “Bourbon at 15 years or older, a lot of times, is not the best. It’s not the prime time for it,” he added, explaining that older whiskeys can tend to lose their balance as the oak grows more prominent with time. But he says that this new Ancients expression is an exception to the rule.

Inspiration struck while he was pulling some inventory samples at Castle & Key Distillery (C&K) in Frankfort, Kentucky, along with his assistant blender. During the visit, they came across a selection of 18 year old bourbon barrels, which were distilled at MGP back in the Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI) days. Tasting through them, the pair was instantly impressed by how well-balanced the whiskey was. “It had attributes that I’ve missed in older whiskeys,” he explains. “Older whiskeys have old leather and old oak, but you can only get there usually when it’s overbearing to the rest. But this had that balance that made me want to drink it.”

The original lot accounted for 79 barrels, but not all of them were used to make this release. Four of the barrels were destroyed in transit when they were originally shipped from Indiana to Kentucky, and an additional two were lost to leaks while housed at C&K. Of the remaining barrels, four were disqualified by Kennedy for being astringent, overly tannic, or having heavy char notes which didn’t fit the profile. The final blend includes 69 barrels total; four of them have the brand’s high-rye (36%) mashbill, while the rest use the brand’s mid-rye (21%) recipe. While blending them together, Kennedy specifically chose to go with a long aeration time—pumping air through the tanks for three hours—which he says helped break up some of the oakiness while accentuating vanilla notes.

Redemption Ancients 18 year old bourbon yielded 2,400 bottles, making it the largest release in the series by far—roughly twice as big as the original 18 year old rye. The whiskey carries a suggested retail price of $400, and it can be found at select retailers nationwide and online via ReserveBar. Kennedy says that he would love to create more Ancients series blends in the future, but he doesn’t yet have anything concrete in the pipeline. He notes that the crucial first step would be finding another lot of barrels that he deems worthy of being bottled under the Ancients banner.

Redemption Ancients Series 18 year old Bourbon

ABV: 51.7%
SRP: $400
Availability: 2,400 bottles; at select retailers and online