King of Kentucky Small Batch 1 Bourbon

King of Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon (2026 Release - Batch 1 of 3)

Price

$499.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 12 Years (Blended from barrels aged 12 to 18 years) | Region: Kentucky, United States | Proof: 105.0

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Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

105

Proof

52.5%

ABV

2026

Released

Feb 2026

Announced

700 mL

Format

Kentucky

Region

King of Kentucky Small Batch Batch 1 is the 105-proof bottling of Brown-Forman’s 2026 release, the lowest of the three strengths and the one Chris Morris calls the baseline of the collection. It carries a 12-year age statement, a mash bill of 75% corn, 15% rye and 10% malted barley, and comes from the Brown-Forman Distillery at Shively, Kentucky under DSP-KY-354 in a 700 mL bottle. Roughly 100 barrels aged 12 to 18 years were blended to one profile before the whiskey was divided into three batches and brought to strength with Kentucky limestone water.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

105 proof, 52.5% ABV — the lowest strength of the three 2026 batches.

Morris described it at the launch as the baseline of the collection: the reading everything else is measured against.

12-year age statement, from a blend of barrels aged 12 to 18 years.

75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley — a first for Brown-Forman, and not the 79/11/10 recipe behind the single-barrel King of Kentucky.

Bottled at 700 mL, priced by Brown-Forman at a suggested $299, into 36 markets.

Brown-Forman wrote this batch its own tasting note rather than one description shared across the three.

Nº 02

The Small Batch Build

Small Batch 2026 Batch 1

Batch 1 was not distilled or matured separately from Batches 2 and 3. Brown-Forman blended roughly 100 barrels aged 12 to 18 years into one profile, divided that whiskey three ways, and brought each portion to its own strength with Kentucky limestone water — 105, 107.5 and 110 proof. Everything upstream of that division is shared: the 75% corn, 15% rye and 10% malted barley mash bill, one proprietary yeast strain, the Brown-Forman Distillery at Shively, Kentucky under DSP-KY-354, and the 12-year statement. The barrels themselves came out of the selection pool for the annual single-barrel release and were set aside when their yields proved too small to fill bottles on their own; some held 16 percent of what had gone in. Blending them was the way to use whiskey of that age that would otherwise not have reached a bottle.

Nº 03

The Batch

How the blend was built

Batch construction

Approximately 100 barrels blended to a

Single profile, then divided into three and bottled at different proofs

Proofing

Brought to bottling strength with

Kentucky limestone water

Mash bill

75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley

Stated by Brown-Forman for the Small Batch Collection, and a departure from the 79% corn, 11% rye, 10% malted barley recipe used for the single-barrel King of Kentucky releases.

Yeast

One proprietary strain, shared across

All three batches

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Nose: Brown-Forman lists chocolate, caramel and toasted marshmallow, set against dried apricot and clove.
Palate: Oak and toasted coconut, with the fruit still legible underneath at this strength.
Finish: Silky, and the shortest of the three batches.

Strategic Position

Batch 1 is the entry point to a three-rung vertical, not a lesser version of it. Because all three batches are the same whiskey at different strengths, the 105 is where the fruit and the pastry notes sit highest before proof starts pushing oak forward — which is why Morris treats it as the control. It sits alongside the older bottlings on the long-aged Kentucky bourbon shelf at Midnight Whiskey.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Collector Note

The 2026 collection is the first time King of Kentucky has been issued as a graduated series, and Batch 1 anchors the bottom of it. Two things follow from that. The first is that a 105-proof bottling of a brand built on barrel-strength single barrels is an unusual object on its own terms — it exists because the barrels behind it gave up too little liquid to bottle individually, not because Brown-Forman set out to make a lower-proof King of Kentucky. The second is positional: if you intend to read the series across, this is the rung that goes missing first, because it is the easiest of the three to open. The 107.5-proof second batch and the 110-proof batch at the top are listed separately.

→

How to Taste It

Open this one first if you have the other two. Neat, at room temperature, in a glass you will use for all three — the spread across the collection is five proof points end to end, and a different glass will hide more than the proof reveals. Morris built the release around what a measured addition of water does to a single spirit, so a few drops here are part of the point rather than a correction; add them after the first neat pass, not before.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Brown-Forman Distillery, Shively, Kentucky
Class: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Release: King of Kentucky Small Batch, Batch 1 of 3, 2026
Proof: 105
ABV: 52.5%
Age statement: 12 years on the label
Format: 700 mL

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Release	King of Kentucky Small Batch, Batch 1 of 3, 2026
Proof	105
ABV	52.5%
Age statement	12 years on the label; the blend is drawn from barrels aged 12 to 18 years
Mash bill	75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley — stated by Brown-Forman for the Small Batch Collection, and a departure from the 79% corn, 11% rye, 10% malted barley recipe used for the single-barrel King of Kentucky releases.
Yeast	One proprietary strain, shared across all three batches
Batch construction	Approximately 100 barrels blended to a single profile, then divided into three and bottled at different proofs
Proofing	Brought to bottling strength with Kentucky limestone water
Region	Kentucky
Distillery	Brown-Forman Distillery, Shively, Kentucky
Regulatory ID	DSP-KY-354
Format	700 mL
Announced	4 February 2026

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What proof is King of Kentucky Small Batch Batch 1?

King of Kentucky Small Batch Batch 1 is bottled at 105 proof, or 52.5% ABV. It is the lowest of the three strengths in Brown-Forman's 2026 Small Batch collection, below Batch 2 at 107.5 proof and Batch 3 at 110. The three are the same whiskey brought to different strengths with Kentucky limestone water, so proof is the only specification that separates them.

How old is King of Kentucky Small Batch?

King of Kentucky Small Batch carries a 12-year age statement. The blend behind it draws on barrels aged between 12 and 18 years at the Brown-Forman Distillery in Shively, Kentucky, and a Kentucky straight bourbon takes its age statement from the youngest whiskey in the blend. All three batches in the 2026 collection share the same age statement.

What is the difference between King of Kentucky Small Batch and King of Kentucky Single Barrel?

They are different whiskeys on different recipes. King of Kentucky Single Barrel is bottled one barrel at a time at barrel strength from a mash bill of 79% corn, 11% rye and 10% malted barley, and Brown-Forman continues to release it each fall. King of Kentucky Small Batch, introduced in February 2026, blends barrels aged 12 to 18 years on a 75% corn, 15% rye and 10% malted barley mash bill — a first for Brown-Forman — and is proofed down with Kentucky limestone water to 105, 107.5 and 110 in three separate batches.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Small Batch 2026 Batch 1

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King of Kentucky

The Elemental Distinction

The Small Batch Build