Following the launch of 2XO The Phoenix Blend, American whiskey blender Dixon Dedman has released the second small batch blend in the brand’s Icon Series, The Innkeeper’s Blend.
The Innkeeper’s Blend pays homage to the Dedman family’s century-plus history in the hospitality industry, the company says, as previous owners of the Beaumont Inn on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail.
“The Innkeeper’s Blend allows me to pay tribute to my family’s long history in hospitality and the values instilled along the way,” says Dixon. His great-great-grandmother started the inn in 1919, and Dixon was eight years old when he first remembers “helping out” there. Dixon joined the family business after graduating college in 2003, and by 2008 he was fully running the inn. “The hospitality business taught me a lot,” he says. “It trains you to deal with everything that comes your way, to adjust, and react on the fly. The Innkeeper’s Blend is a nod to that part of my life that put me on this current path.”
2XO, meaning Two Times Oak, refers to Dixon’s blending process where he re-barrels some of his aged whiskey into new charred oak barrels, with both #3 and #4 char levels.
The Innkeeper’s Blend is made up of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys composed of two proprietary mash bills from different distilling partners: one a high-rye 35% bourbon mash bill, and the other a low-rye 16-18% bourbon mash bill.
On the nose, The Innkeeper’s Blend gives off hints of butterscotch, red apple, cherry, cinnamon and earthy notes, the company reports. On the palate, there are notes of caramel, vanilla, crème brulee, plum, cherry and light black pepper spice, before finishing with a light, peppery spice.
Like all the small batch blends in the Icon Series, The Innkeeper’s Blend is a limited-time release. The Innkeeper’s Blend will be available in select markets nationwide in limited quantities, and online at ReserveBar, with a suggested retail price of $100 per 750-ml. bottle.
The Innkeeper’s Blend will be followed by the third release in the Icon Series, The Tribute Blend. Additionally, 2XO will release the first blend in a new Oak Series, American Oak, which will be an everyday offering, and a single barrel, limited-time release from the Gem of Kentucky Series.
The Innkeeper’s Blend, and all 2XO Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys, are brought to market through Prestige Beverage Group.
