Redemption's New Bourbon Comes in 600 Different Versions

There won't be one Redemption Single Barrel Bonded bourbon released this year. There will be somewhere around 600 of them.

That's because every bottle of Redemption's newest bourbon comes from a single barrel, with roughly 550 to 600 individual casks expected to roll out nationally this year. Each will share the same rye-heavy mashbill, the same bottled in bond designation, and, thus, 100 proof. What they won't necessarily share is exactly the same flavor.

Rolling out nationally at retailers and online this month with an SRP of $50, Single Barrel Bonded is Redemption's first bottled in bond whiskey and the beginning of an ongoing single barrel program. Each bottle carries its barrel number, distilling season, mashbill, and age statement. All are at least 6 years old, though master blender Alan Kennedy says most land in the 7 to 8-year range.

For Kennedy, the conceit behind the new expression goes back to what made single barrel bourbon interesting in the first place. “There’s an idea of a single moment expressing time,” he says. “By not blending it, you get to see what’s happening through nature and the rickhouses. The true creator of whiskey is time and Mother Nature.”

Kennedy points to Blanton’s, which helped establish the modern single barrel category under Elmer T. Lee, and Four Roses’ single barrel program. Single barrel bottled in bond bourbon itself isn't new—Henry McKenna has offered a 10 year old version since the 1990s. Redemption’s spin on the format is to lean into the differences among the barrels. While private barrel selections have exploded in popularity, Kennedy says buying an entire barrel has become increasingly difficult for many bars, restaurants, and liquor stores, both financially and in terms of inventory.

The whiskey is distilled at Ross & Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, using Redemption’s rye-heavy bourbon mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. Each barrel must also meet the bottled in bond requirements: produced by one distiller during a single distilling season, aged at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at 50% ABV.

Kennedy considers the last requirement revealing. “That’s kind of the litmus test,” he says. “That’s the point in proof and flavor of the truest expression of what it can be. If it’s not good at (50% ABV), a lot of times that means it’s got faults.”

The proof also suits Redemption’s unusually high percentage of rye. Kennedy considers 6 to 10 years a sweet spot for this particular 36% rye mashbill, before extended aging begins sanding away some of its more assertive qualities. “It’s vibrant and spicy, and it hasn’t toned down,” he says. “It has fight left in it.”

That fight is evident in barrel No. 0130, distilled in fall 2018, which I tasted for this story. At 8 years old, the bourbon’s nose is immediately spice-driven, with cinnamon, ginger, and clove mingling with old leather, oak, burnt sugar, and barrel spice. It’s medium-weight but surprisingly creamy, hitting the center of the palate with baking spice before warmth slowly spreads down the sides of your tongue. Crème brûlée provides sweetness and lift against the drier leather and rye flavors. The finish changes direction again, with tart berries dusted with dark chocolate shavings emerging and lingering well after the sip. It’s pleasing, punchy, and well-integrated. It has enough age to temper harsh edges, but it’s still wide and multi-dimensional.

Another barrel will, by design, tell a slightly different story. But that’s Kennedy’s whole point.