Limited Release: K&L’s New 7-Year Bourbon Revealed – American Whiskey News
Exceptional Bourbon, Exceptional Value
K&L Liquors’ 7 Year Old Every Drop “Living Legend” Batch No. KY-03-25 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($49.99)
“To say this is one of the most ridiculous values we’ve ever offered at K&L would be an understatement.” — Josh Gelfand, K&L Spirits Buyer
There are few professional moments more gratifying than the work I’ve done on the recent releases of our new K&L Every Drop brand. This historic label, which predates the founding of our store by many decades, found its way to me thanks to a thoughtful customer who had won a miniature bottle from the 1940s at auction and passed it along. So when the opportunity arose to create a new, store-exclusive brand, I knew this magnificent, long-forgotten IP had to be revived.
We painstakingly reimagined every detail of the label, staying faithful to its original design. From the clean, classic lines to the timeless tagline—“Supreme Quality”—stretching across each bottle’s shoulders, it perfectly reflects our ethos. The label’s revival was inspired by an exceptional batch of rare bourbon that we had acquired through a stroke of good fortune: a great old whiskey from Frankfort, followed shortly by a second release of the same.
But how could we continue producing whiskies that lived up to those extraordinary beginnings? My premise was never that Every Drop must be mythical in rarity, but rather that every bottle—and yes, every drop—should offer our customers unmistakable quality, unique character, and exceptional value. That’s a tall order, especially considering that I have no control over the aging or production of the barrels we source. With only tiny samples representing entire lots, I set out—on little more than a wing and a prayer—to find our third batch.
That search led me to a parcel of mature bourbons from a certain distillery near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. While I can’t name it on the label, nothing stops me from saying it outright: it’s that ol’ Kickin’ Chicken in Tyrone. The question then became—how could a seven (nearly eight) year old Turkey compete with the best in class? The answer lay in blending and proofing.
I’ve always found immense joy in blending on the small scale I’m afforded, and this project gave me the chance to shape the final character through careful selection and proof adjustment. When a customer emailed asking if it might be similar to W.B. Saffell—a whiskey twice the price and up to 12 years old—I knew we’d hit the mark. The proof and batch name pay quiet homage to the great blenders behind that legendary bourbon, which indeed served as my guiding beacon.
Now, this is my Tuesday-to-Sunday whiskey. It’s exuberant, balanced, and endlessly satisfying. It’s unquestionably the best value on the shelf today in this style, which is quite distinct from regular WT or Russell’s Reserve—and happens to be a style I personally love. Expect an elegant balance of sweet oak, fragrant fruit, zesty spice, and a rich caramel backbone. It shines in cocktails and stands beautifully on its own.
And if you don’t appreciate Minerva’s Purple Wax, I know a monk in Midway who’d like to have a word.
— David Othein-Girard, K&L Spirits Buyer
Seven years old, bottled at entry proof, and from one of my favorite Kentucky distilleries—one you can rarely get independent barrels from? Oh, yeah. Sign me up. To say this is one of the most ridiculous values we’ve ever offered at K&L would be an understatement.
Getting our own liquid from this undisclosed Lawrenceburg distillery—one that, let’s just say, pairs nicely with the main dish at your late-November family feast—is pretty, ahem, wild. I’m certainly giving thanks for this whiskey.
The nose is full of beautiful fall spice—cinnamon, clove, allspice, and dried flowers—like the potpourri surrounding the gourd on your table. There’s oak from an old barn, sweet caramel, and aromas of apple, apricot, and cherry pie adding layers of warmth. On the palate, the spice continues with musty oak, toffee, orange peel, and pepper, rounded out by peanut brittle and nutmeg before finishing with that classic rickhouse funk, soft leather, and roasted honey.
— Josh Gelfand, K&L Spirits Buyer
K&L Notes: Since 1976, K&L Wine Merchants has been dedicated to sourcing the world’s finest wines and spirits and offering them at the best possible prices. That founding principle has guided us for more than 45 years and continues to shape our portfolio today.
When the price and availability of great whisk(e)y became increasingly prohibitive, we decided to take matters into our own hands. The first brand created by K&L’s Spirits Department was Faultline—a range that spanned the globe with Scotch, rum, and gin—though it was our Indiana bourbon that earned recognition well beyond our borders.
Until now, however, we had never bottled a true Kentucky bourbon under our own label. Enter Every Drop. The historic K&L Every Drop brand, originally used in the 1910s to sell whiskey, had been dormant since the mid-1970s. Revived today as our line of exclusively Kentucky whiskies, it represents our continued pursuit of exceptional barrels bottled solely for our customers.
This batch, distilled from a mash bill of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley at a storied distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, offers a fascinating counterpoint to the mature 16-year releases we’ve previously offered under the same name. Bottled at 107 proof—a nod to the traditional entry proof at this distillery—the whiskey was drawn from ten hand-selected barrels of outstanding quality and carefully blended to create a singular expression available only at K&L.
Aaron Hughes | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 31, 2025
I really like that, in our K&L Liquors “Every Drop” series, we’re including some more budget-conscious options for people who want to experience this lineup but don’t have the means—or the inclination—to spend a few hundred dollars on a bottle. Josh already gave you all the hints we can possibly share about the source of this one, so I’ll leave that part to him.
When I let it sit in the glass for a bit, the nose first showed a maple note that quickly disappeared with a single swirl, revealing baking and barrel spices—everything that goes into the pie except the pumpkin. There’s vanilla crème brûlée in the background, and the palate is fairly sweet but not overly so, with plenty of toffee, peanut shell, vanilla custard, and just a touch of lemon oil weaving through it all.
It’s simply a lovely bottle that, for the price, really over-delivers. This happens to be one of my favorite distilleries, so maybe I’m a little biased—but I genuinely think it’s an exceptionally fair value. Plus, we picked this one just for you, so give it a try.
Cary Herrman | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: November 01, 2025
The caramel hits first – bold and buttery, like a sunshine melting over an old porch swing. It’s the flavor of a Midwest afternoon. As it settles, a touch of oak and spice steps in, rounding the edges with a quiet confidence. “Living Legend” fits – familiar, comforting, and just a little golden around the edges.
Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA
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