Front and back of the Bunning Bottle Release

KENTUCKY SENATOR BOURBON UNVEILS SEVENTH SMALL BATCH RELEASE

HONORING BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER AND U.S. SENATOR JIM BUNNING

This marks the second limited edition in vertical series with the John Edwards Release

LEXINGTON, KY — Kentucky Senator Bourbon today announced the release of its seventh small batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: The Jim Bunning Release. The limited edition, vintage bourbon, hitting shelves into April, is the second in a vertical series with the John Edwards Release, featuring the same bourbon aged one additional year. The release is named for Jim Bunning (1931-2017), the only Major League Baseball player elected to both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the United States Senate.

The Jim Bunning Release is aged eight and a half years and bottled at 107 proof. The mash bill consists of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Approximately 4,000 bottles will be available at a suggested retail price of $119.99, the same price as last year’s award-winning John Edwards release. The bourbon is distilled and aged in Kentucky and bottled at Bardstown Bourbon Company. Distribution is handled by Kentucky Eagle Wine & Spirits.

Bunning served two terms in the U.S. Senate from 1999 to 2012. On August 2, 2007, he introduced Senate Resolution 294, which designated September as National Bourbon Heritage Month and established the phrase “America’s Native Spirit” as bourbon’s official designation. Visit https://kysenatorbourbon.com/ for more information.

The Jim Bunning Release will be available at select Kentucky retailers, bars, and restaurants, as well as online at www.BourbonOutfitter.com and www.KySenatorBourbon.com. A limited quantity will be featured at Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C., and the Premier Drams Bottle Shop.

“Jim Bunning gave bourbon its official recognition as America’s Native Spirit, and we’re proud to honor that contribution,” said co-founder Andre Regard, a direct descendant of bourbon pioneer Basil Hayden. “This vertical series allows collectors to experience how this bourbon develops with an additional year of aging.”

“Bunning’s Senate Resolution 294 was a landmark moment for the bourbon industry,” said co-founder Damon Thayer, a 2025 inductee into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame for his legislative advocacy work. “This release, and the continuation of our vertical series, reflects our commitment to both quality and Kentucky’s bourbon heritage.”

For more information about Jim Bunning and the Kentucky Senator Bourbon portfolio, visit https://kysenatorbourbon.com/

Damon Thayer (left) and Andre Regard (right)

About Jim Bunning: 

Jim Bunning (1931-2017) was born in Southgate, Kentucky. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, earning nine All-Star selections. On June 21, 1964, he pitched a perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Mets, the first perfect game in the National League since 1880. He retired with 224 wins and 2,855 strikeouts and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Bunning served on the Southgate City Council, in the Kentucky State Senate, and in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1999 to 2012.

Jim Bunning

About Kentucky Senator Bourbon

Kentucky Senator Bourbon is an award-winning small-batch Bourbon brand committed to crafting exceptional spirits with a side of American history. Each limited-edition release is named after a U.S. Senator and represents a blend of tradition, character and U.S. heritage; it is distilled and aged in Kentucky for at least six years (the same length as a U.S. senate term), but often longer.

Founded by Andre Regard and Damon Thayer, Kentucky Senator Bourbon revives a historic brand once produced by Crigler and Crigler in Covington and later Double Springs Distillers in Bardstown. The brand launched its first revival release in 2021 and has since become known for producing richly aged, 107-proof Bourbon expressions that connect past and present.

Awards & Recognition

• Kentucky Senator Bourbon’s inaugural release, the Alben W. Barkley Release, was highlighted in Forbes’ Online Magazine 
• Fred Minnick, a noted Bourbon author, ranked Kentucky Senator Bourbon in his Top 100 Whiskeys of 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025
• Kentucky Senator Bourbon has won multiple Gold ASCOT Awards for taste and a Double Platinum ASCOT Award for marketing and brand design
• Kentucky Senator Bourbon recently won its first Double Gold medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for its 2024 John Brown release

JIM BUNNING COMPLETE BIOGRAPHY
1931-2017

Hall of Famer. U.S. Senator. Champion of Kentucky’s Native Spirit.

The Jim Bunning Release marks the seventh small-batch Bourbon in the Kentucky Senator portfolio. Aged eight and a half years, the Jim Bunning Release honors a true Kentucky original who never shied away from a challenge…whether on the pitcher’s mound, in the halls of Congress, or standing up for Bourbon itself.

Jim Bunning grew up in Southgate, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. His father ran a ladder-manufacturing business, and his mother kept the household grounded in Catholic faith and sturdy values. Competition ran in his blood. Jim lettered in three sports in high school, earned an economics degree from Xavier University, and in 1952 married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Catherine Theis. They were married from more than 60 years and raised nine children together; the Bunnings have 35 grandchildren today.

Bunning signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1950, but honored his parents’ wishes and finished college first. When he finally arrived in the majors, he made it count. By 1957, he led the American League in wins. A year later, he threw a no-hitter. Over 17 seasons, he earned nine All-Star selections and built a reputation as one of the most durable and fierce competitors in the game.

But his defining moment came on Father’s Day, 1964.

Bunning was a Philadelphia Phillie by then, with something to prove and seven kids waiting back home. On June 21, at Shea Stadium, he took the mound against the Mets. Twenty-seven batters came to the plate. Twenty-seven sat back down. A perfect game. The first in the National League in 84 years.

In the ninth inning, catcher Gus Triandos walked out to calm him. Bunning asked if Triandos could tell him a joke. Triandos just laughed and walked back behind the plate. Bunning struck out the final two batters to seal history.

“It couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time,” he said.

When he retired in 1971, Bunning had 224 wins and 2,855 strikeouts. The Phillies retired his number 14. Cooperstown followed in 1996. But Bunning wasn’t done making history.

After baseball, Bunning carried his competitive fire into politics, rising from city council to the state senate to the U.S. House before winning two terms in the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1999 to 2012. To this day, he remains the only Major League player ever elected to both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the United States Senate. Bold, plainspoken, and fiercely independent, he never backed down on budgets, principle, or the Commonwealth.

It was during those Senate years that Bunning made his most lasting mark on Bourbon.

On August 2, 2007, he introduced Senate Resolution 294, officially designating September as National Bourbon Heritage Month. But the calendar was just the beginning. Bunning’s resolution gave Bourbon an enduring title: “America’s Native Spirit.” That phrase now lives on distillery walls, in tasting rooms, and in the hearts of Bourbon lovers everywhere.

Jim Bunning passed away in 2017 at 85. He left behind a legacy that, like a fine Bourbon, only deepened with time.

Aged eight and a half years in charred oak barrels, the Jim Bunning Release is 107 proof with a mash bill of 75 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and 4 percent malted barley. Bold, uncompromising, and distinctly Kentucky.

It is the second in a three-bottle vertical series, following last year’s John Edwards release. The Bunning release will be available at Kentucky bars, restaurants and liquor outlets by late March and early April, and for the first time can be purchased online at www.kysenatorbourbon.com and availability in most states.

Raise a glass to Jim Bunning, number 14 on the mound and number 1 in our hearts. Hall of Famer. Senator. And a true champion of America’s Native Spirit!