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Kentucky Owl The Wiseman Bourbon Review

What happens when a pharmacist's 1879 bourbon brand is revived by his great-great-grandson? Discover if Kentucky Owl The Wiseman lives up to its name.

OVERALL RATING

7
$30
  • Genevieve is a South African whisky enthusiast with a PhD in Philosophy and founder of Kenton on Whisky, a coastal tasting venture.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Kentucky Owl was founded by a pharmacist, Charles Mortimer Dedman, in 1879. One of his bourbons was marketed as “The Wise Man’s Bourbon”, a name widely thought to reference Dedman’s profession as whiskey was commonly prescribed for medicinal purposes.

The distillery was hit by prohibition. It ceased operations, and around 250,000 gallons of Kentucky Owl whiskey were seized by federal authorities and transported to a government warehouse. Shortly afterwards, the warehouse burned to the ground, and to this day nobody knows for certain what caused the fire.

The brand was only revived in 2014 by Dedman’s great-great-grandson, Dixon Dedman, who initially sourced mature bourbon from other distilleries and blended and bottled it under the revived Kentucky Owl name.

The Wiseman was first released in 2021, and it’s a blend of four bourbons: Kentucky Owl’s own 4-year-old wheated bourbon, Kentucky Owl’s own 4-year-old high-rye bourbon, and two older Kentucky sourced bourbons, one aged 5 and a half years and the other 8 and half years. It’s bottled at 45.4% ABV (or 90.8 Proof).
Appearance:
Tawny
Nose:
Sweet vanilla and caramel to start, followed by warming spices, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Perhaps a touch of cocoa. There’s also some sweet, stewed orange peel, reminiscent of oranges simmering for marmalade. A touch of white pepper.
Palate:
A fairly rounded texture. Plenty more vanilla and caramel. Baking spice and dried fruit, lots of raisins and dates. There’s also a woody note that I find becomes almost hay-like.
Finish:
Lingering spice and vanilla. Faintly drying.
Comments:
A fairly complex and enjoyable bourbon, with plenty going on to keep things interesting. I’d say it’s one of the more nuanced bourbons I’ve tasted recently, with a pleasing balance of sweetness, spice and oak.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Genevieve Jacot-Guillarmod

Genevieve is a whisky enthusiast from South Africa with a PhD in Philosophy, so she enjoys both drinking and thinking about whisky. She loves tasting new whiskies whenever she gets the chance - so much so that a few years ago she set up a small whisky tasting business, "Kenton on Whisky", in the tiny coastal town where she lives (this also serves as an excellent excuse to grow her selection of whiskies beyond reasonable limits).

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