American whiskey blender Dixon Dedman has unveiled Gem of Kentucky, the premiere offering from his 2XO (“Two Times Oak”) brand.
Gem of Kentucky is a double barreled, single barrel Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
Dixon selected the single barrels from stocks of his high rye bourbon mash bill (35% rye) that spent up to a year in new charred oak before bottling.
“The inspiration for Gem of Kentucky was to take my high rye double barreled mash bill and show the nuances you get from different barrels,” says Dixon. “Each taste profile changes from barrel to barrel. The common theme is the viscosity, the mouthfeel, and the richness of each one of these. And I wanted this liquid in a black bottle, because I didn’t want it to look like any other whiskey bottle on the shelf, something more modern, sleek, and elegant.”
Gem of Kentucky leans on Dixon’s double barreling 2XO process. The differing char levels (char 3 and char 4) on the secondary barreling allow sweet, complex flavors to develop to balance the spicy finish from the high rye distillate, the company says.
Each single barrel taste profile is unique, identified by the barrel number on the front label of every bottle. Some barrels are sweeter with notes of chocolate, cinnamon and toasted marshmallow that flow into baking spices, according to distillery-provided notes. Other barrels are more savory with notes of dark red fruits, nutmeg and a black pepper spice.
Gem of Kentucky follows previous 2XO releases, including small batch blends from The Icon Series — The Phoenix Blend, The Innkeeper’s Blend and The Tribute Blend — and American Oak, an everyday offering.
Gem of Kentucky is an annual release, available in select markets nationwide in limited quantities for a suggested retail price of $199.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
All 2XO Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys roll out in partnership with Prestige Beverage Group.
