Kings County Releases 9-Year Black Label Bourbon at 134 Proof

The $250 Black Label release spent 9 years and 147 days aging in Brooklyn before emerging at a formidable 134 proof.

Nearly a decade in Brooklyn tends to leave a mark.

Kings County Distillery tells BourbonBlog.com that its new Black Label release is a 9-year, 147-day Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey, distilled and aged entirely in the borough and bottled at its natural 134 proof.

It is old enough to show serious maturity, strong enough to demand attention and limited to the yield of a single 53-gallon barrel. Kings County has not disclosed the final bottle count, but when the bourbon goes online Monday, August 3, at 2 p.m. ET, the $250 release is unlikely to remain available for long.

This is not Kings County’s oldest or highest-proof bourbon. The distillery previously released a 10-Year Black Label Single Barrel Bourbon at 153.2 proof for $299. Kings County described that bottle as the oldest whiskey it had released and said its Black Label selections represent the top 1% of its production.

The new nine-year bourbon therefore does not establish a record. What it marks is something broader: another moment when mature craft bourbon can be judged by the same standards as whiskey from America’s largest and oldest distilleries.

Kings County began distilling in New York City in 2010. More than 15 years later, the distillery has reached a stage when nine- and ten-year-old whiskeys made from its own distillate are no longer hypothetical future projects. They are ready to be bottled. Kings County says it distills all its own whiskey rather than purchasing mature spirit from another producer.

That distinction matters. This is not an older Kentucky bourbon placed beneath a Brooklyn label. It is Brooklyn bourbon that became old.

Nine Years, 147 Days and 134 Proof

Kings County filled this barrel on February 4, 2017, only a few weeks after the end of Barack Obama’s presidency.

The whiskey spent its entire life in a standard 53-gallon Independent Stave Company barrel with a No. 4 char, aging inside Warehouse C at Kings County’s Cook Street facility in Brooklyn. It was bottled only 219 days short of reaching ten years old.

The bourbon was produced from a two-grain mash bill:

• 80% New York corn
• 20% Golden Promise malted barley from the United Kingdom

Rather than using rye or wheat as its secondary grain, Kings County relies heavily on malted barley, reflecting the distillery’s combination of American bourbon traditions and pot-distilling techniques more commonly associated with malt whiskey.

Kings County 9-Year Single Barrel Bourbon Specifications

The barrel increased from 116 proof at entry to 134 proof at maturity, a gain of 18 proof points during its years inside the Brooklyn warehouse. Kings County is releasing the whiskey at barrel strength rather than reducing it to a lower, standardized proof.

According to the distillery, the nose offers cooked date, warm mince pie, citrus tea, coconut macaroon and toasted toffee crumble.

Official palate notes include mixed berry compote, candied ginger, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon roll, birch bark and sassafras root. Kings County describes the finish as showing light tannin, fresh leather and white pepper.

At 134 proof, Kings County recommends adding a small amount of water to moderate the heat and reveal more of the whiskey’s underlying character.

These are the distillery’s official tasting notes. BourbonBlog.com has not yet independently tasted this particular barrel.