Blade and Bow Solera Reserve 12 Year Bourbon Whiskey

Blade and Bow Solera Reserve 12 Year Bourbon Whiskey (750mL) is the brand's first limited annual expression carrying a 12-year age statement, finished not in one cask but across four styles of vintage vats. Anyone who has worked through the standard Blade and Bow bottling and wants to see what the solera method does with genuinely mature whiskey will find that answer here.

Process & Profile

Bottled at 52% ABV — 104 proof — this Kentucky straight bourbon starts as 12-year-old Blade and Bow stock distilled and matured under the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Co. name in Louisville. Nicole Austin, Diageo's Director of American Whiskey Liquid Development, guided it through a multi-vat solera finishing and blending program using vintage Cognac, Bordeaux, Moscatel and Port vats, layering fruit and tannin without the raw new-wood grip that single-cask finishes often carry. The brand takes its name from the five brass keys that hung on the door at Stitzel-Weller — the blade and the bow being the two halves of a skeleton key, the five standing for grain, yeast, fermentation, distillation and aging.

On the nose, red fruit, dried figs, currants, golden honey, and soft vanilla with a lift of ripe orchard fruit.

On the palate, caramelized sugar, almond toffee, cocoa powder, dark cherry, and baked apple over a thread of building spice.

The finish is long and warm, closing on dark fruit and oak spice with a lightly tannic, silky texture rather than a dry bite.

The solera system is what separates this from the rest of the category. Rather than emptying a batch and starting over, each fill builds on the one before it, so Stitzel-Weller's older stocks — including whiskey laid down before the original plant closed in 1992 — carry forward into every bottling. Blade and Bow's fractional blending took a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the 12-Year is the first release to pair that method with a stated age. It sits between the $48.99 standard bottling and the 22-Year in the brand's lineup, and unlike either, it returns annually.

Serve neat in a Glencairn, or over one large rock, which is how Austin drinks it. The cocoa and dried-fruit weight holds up well against a dark chocolate dessert.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this whisky?
A 12-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon from Stitzel-Weller, finished through a multi-vat solera process in Cognac, Bordeaux, Moscatel and Port vats.

What are the specs?
12 years old, 52% ABV / 104 proof, 750mL. Blade and Bow does not publish the mash bill for this release.

What does it taste like?
Red fruit, figs and honey on the nose; caramelized sugar, almond toffee, cocoa and dark cherry on the palate; a long, warm finish of dark fruit and oak spice.

How should you enjoy it?
Neat in a Glencairn, or on one large cube if you want the fruit notes to open up.

Why is this release notable?
It is the first Blade and Bow with a 12-year age statement and the first to apply the brand's solera blending across four distinct vintage vat types.