KO Distilling Launches Bare Knuckle Straight Bourbon Whiskey

KO Distilling has unveiled its third brown spirit – Bare Knuckle Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Distilled from local Virginia corn, wheat, and malted barley, the Bourbon is aged for two years in charred new American Oak barrels sourced from a cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Our small-batch bourbon is definitely a “knockout” spirit,” said Co-Founder Bill Karlson (the Bare Knuckle branding is a play on KO – “Knock Out”). The bottle labels feature historic fighting figures, such as African-American world heavyweight champion Jack G. Johnson on Bare Knuckle American Rye Whiskey and Irish-American fighter Jimmy Gardner who is depicted on the label of Bare Knuckle American Wheat Whiskey. Gracing the label of KO’s newest release is early 20th-century U.S. champion fighter Mary “Texas Mamie” Donovan.

Bare Knuckle Straight Bourbon Whiskey is bottled at 90 proof and is available now in select markets at a SRP of $41.19. It joins the rest of the KO portfolio of aged spirits, which includes Bare Knuckle American Wheat Whiskey (aged 12 months) and Bare Knuckle American Rye Whiskey (aged 18 months).

 

Caroline Paulus
Caroline Paulus is the Senior Editor for The Bourbon Review. She lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky. Follow her on Instagram @misswhiskeyhistorian to keep up with her latest in bourbon news - and a few old finds, too.