The James E. Pepper Distillery is located in Lexington, KY on the original site of James Pepper's distillery.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places but had sat abandoned for over 0 years until it reopened and distilling commenced in 2017.  It is considered a craft distillery per the ACSA guidelines for production volume, though it does distribute products to many different states.  

The man, himself, has a storied history.  Colonel James E. Pepper (1850 - 1906) was a third generation whiskey producer of "Old Pepper" whiskey that was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution.  At one time, it was the largest whiskey distillery in the US.  It is said that a bartender in Louisville, at the famed Pendennis Club, created the Old Fashioned cocktail in his honor.  During one of his many trips to the Waldorf Astoria in New York, where he socialized with the likes of John Rockefeller, Teddy Roosevelt, C.V. Vanderbilt, Charles Pillsbury, Fred Pabst, among other titans of industry, he introduced the world to the Old Fashioned.  He was also a large proponent of the Bottled-in-Bond act of 1897.  

When you come across this bottle in the store, the beautiful antique design is most likely what is going to catch your eye.  It is actually a recreation of a bottle used by James Pepper in 1945 and was designed to highlight the color of the whiskeys produced by Pepper.  They were known for their beautiful color that is a product of their low entry proof and barrels built by the finest coopers.  

This product uses a blend of the oldest stocks and unique mashbills that the Pepper distillery has, per their website.  The mashbill is made up of Corn, Rye, Malted Barley, and Malted Rye.  The malted rye is a unique component of the mashbill that most bourbon produces do not utilize.  Malted rye is said to "tame" the rye spice a bit and extrapolate the delicate sweet and floral notes of the grain.  Another unique component of their distilling process is the low entry proof, no more than 110.  This means while you may not get a huge bold punch in the face bourbon, you will get an enjoyable, repeatable, all-around refined whiskey that is easily enjoyed.  The website states the blend for this has an average age of 5.5 years and the proof comes out to 105.4 making it very approachable for a barrel proof product.  It is bottled straight from the barrel, uncut and unfiltered.  

Tasting:

On the nose I get lightly toasted oak, anise, caramel, and hints of banana nut bread.  The sip brings dark dried fruits like cherries and figs.  Traditional oak and vanilla are present but then you get hit with a round of tobacco and pecan notes.  There is little spice here, if any, and the finish continues this trend though it is a very long finish that has slight clove and nutmeg offerings.  If you are someone who enjoys a delicate, nearly spice-less profile, this is certainly for you.  Personally, I'm digging this, and for $65 for a barrel proof product, that's hard to beat.  I'm thinking I need to put this to test against my Top 5 Barrel Proof bourbons.  I'm not sure it's top 3 worthy, but certainly could have a shot at 4 or 5.  Better yet, this may need to be considered in the Top 5 Craft bourbons.  Stay tuned!