Blade and Bow has unveiled 30-Year-Old Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the second expression in its 30-Year-Old collection. The 1,200-bottle release will roll out in select markets from November 2026, alongside the return of the original 30-Year-Old Limited Release. The new bourbon comes at its natural barrel strength of 164.2 proof (82.1% ABV), with no water added.
It uses the same liquid as the 30-Year-Old Limited Release, which debuted in 2025. Blade and Bow bottled that expression in 2023 and brought it down to 109 proof.
The whiskey went into barrels in spring 1993. It spent most of its maturation in the rickhouses of Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky.
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READ THE STORYNicole Austin, Diageo’s director of American whiskey liquid development, picked 42 barrels from an original 96 to create the blend.
“What I find so compelling about the 30-Year-Old collection is that these aren’t two different whiskeys,” said Austin. “They’re the exact same blend, presented in two distinct ways.”
She added: “The Limited Release reflects the balance I was looking to achieve when we first developed the liquid, while Cask Strength allows enthusiasts to experience it in its undiluted form and explore that balance for themselves.”
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The official notes from the brand describe a nose of citrus oils, dark berries, baking spice, fig, molasses and old oak. The palate offers roasted nuts, ginger, dark sugar and blackcurrant with “a cool menthol lift.”
Each bottle comes in a custom leather box. The suggested retail price is $2,500 (£1,866 / ₹238,000) per 750ml bottle.
Stitzel-Weller Distillery will be the first place to buy it. It will offer 25 bottles by reservation only, with bookings opening on November 16. More bottles will follow in periodic drops through the holiday season, and the brand will keep some stock for later.
Today (October 30), 30 bottles of the returning Limited Release go on sale at the distillery. Select markets will get it after that.
Visitors can taste both expressions at the distillery’s Garden & Gun Club. Options include tasting experiences with keepsake glassware and 1oz pours.
Diageo introduced the Blade and Bow brand in 2015. The name represents the two parts of a skeleton key, the blade shaft and the ornate bow. The brand links this to the Five Keys of Bourbon: Grain, Yeast, Fermentation, Distillation and Aging.
Stitzel-Weller opened on Derby Day in 1935. The distillery operated until distilling stopped in 1992.
