Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Single Barrel Review [In Depth]
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Single Barrel Details
Distillery: Chicken Cock (contract distilled / sourced from Bardstown Bourbon company)
Type & Region: Bourbon, Kentucky, USA
Alcohol: 59.6%
Composition: 80% Corn, 11.5% Rye and 8.5% Malted Barley
Aged: 9 years (7 years in virgin oak then 2 more years in another virgin oak cask)
Color: 1.4/2.0 on the color scale (tawny)
Price: $150
From the company website:
We had so much damn fun the first time around, we decided to do it again! We let professional golfer Kevin Kisner loose in our rack room and let him hand select the best of the batch. Chicken Cock, like golf, has along, rich history that he admires. Whether it’s golf or good whiskey, this ain’t no hobby for Kiz.This Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey was first placed in ex-bourbon barrels for seven years, then finished in new white oak barrels for an additional two years to add complexity and flavor. Each single barrel for the Kisner release was selected by Kisner with input from Chicken Cock Whiskey’s Master Distiller, Gregg Snyder.
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Single Barrel overview
Up until this review, I had no idea who Kevin Kisner was. I don’t watch golf and don’t really play. Sure, I’ve gone to the driving range a few times, but I’m not at all a golfer. Apparently he’s pretty good at golf and is sponsored by Chicken Cock.
As weird as the name is, it’s a legacy whiskey brand from Kentucky that’s just as old as Old Forester. The only difference is that the Old Forester survived prohibition (because it was allowed to produce “medicinal” spirits) while Chicken Cock did not.
Even though many brands did not survive Prohibition or its aftermath, some (at this point maybe many) of these brands are being revived in the 2020’s. To be clear, it’s really just the brand, imagery, and trademarks, not so much the original bourbon itself. That one is…a lot harder to bring back…and that’s a longer discussion for another time.
There’s a lot of history behind the brand, so instead of trying to rehash it, check out their website for all sorts of details and images. It’s an interesting read and a fun peek into bourbon history.
The main specs you need to know about are that it’s 7 year old Kentucky bourbon distilled by Bardstown Bourbon Company (I believe this correct as their small batch bourbon comes from Bardstown Bourbon Company) that’s then dumped into virgin oak casks for another 2 years of finishing.
Finishing in another virgin oak cask should supercharge the aging process, providing more mature notes at a less mature age. There are no exact numbers, but generally speaking they are trying to turn a 9 year old bourbon (7 years in the first virgin oak barrel + 2 in another virgin oak barrel) into one that feels maybe 12+ years old.
Two years in a second virgin oak cask is a long time, and I expect that it’ll result in some oak-forward bourbon. It’s not just woodiness, but wood influenced things such as sweetness, wood spices, and fruit. That’s the goal at least.
What also makes this bourbon unique is that these barrels were individually selected by Kevin Kisner, the pro golfer. You could call these Kevin Kisner single barrel selects. I suspect that he picked bourbon from the finishing cask (the second one) and not the first one.
Let’s find out if this selection hits a hole in one (or maybe a one under) in this Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon review.
This sample was provided at no cost to me. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Chicken Cock Double Oak Kevin Kisner Single Barrel smell
The scents start with roasted caramel, toasted oak, vanilla, red apple peel and orange peel, more oak, cinnamon, cocoa powder, licorice, and some nuttiness and wood varnish. Even at the high ABV, the heat feels well controlled and doesn’t sting my nostrils.
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon has nice dried fruitiness and a lot of oak, but it’s not overly burnt. There’s more of a fresh cut wood and wood varnish thing here. As nice as this smells, the body and richness aren’t noteworthy. They’re above average, but not more than that.
After swirling and rest I smell caramel candy, more fresh orange and orange peel, vanilla, apricot, red apple, roasted oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, freshly cut oak, herbal fennel, nougat, and some nuttiness, varnish, and mint with some simmering heat.
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon has the woodiness of a much older bourbon, so the 2 years of virgin oak cask finishing have done their job. I won’t rehash the comparison to 17 year old Hardin’s Creek, but bourbons only aged in one virgin oak cask usually don’t pick up this much oak and varnish in under 13-15 years.
This definitely smells woody and mature, with dense sweetness and oak with citrus and fruit accents, but it doesn’t feel complete yet. What I mean is that there’s a lot of woodiness, but the sweetness and fruitiness haven’t fully caught up. They’re like 80% of the way there, so while it definitely smells great and the oak does not overpower, but I’m not blown away by it.
Chicken Cock Double Oak Kevin Kisner Single Barrel taste and aftertaste
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon has caramel, vanilla, dried red apple peel and orange peel, roasted oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, roasted coffee, more roasted oak, cocoa powder, dried licorice, and some wood varnish and nuttiness. At a hearty 59.6% ABV, some potent but manageable kick.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise with a double Oaked bourbon, but this is very oak-forward. With the ample oak and background nuttiness, this reminds me a bit of Hardin’s Creek Clermont 17 Year. The difference is that Clermont has more viscosity and dark sweetness that filled out the entire experience, while the Kevin Kisner version isn’t quite there yet. It comes back to completeness.
As I sip it again, it does teeter on the edge of being overoaked because of how potent the oak is compared to the sweetness, which is nice but not quite strong enough to fully counterbalance it. Nonetheless, it’s currently in a place where the oak is still enjoyable and mostly balanced, and the bourbon tastes great.
With aggressive “chewing”, I taste bolder caramel, vanilla, orange peel, apricot, roasted oak and then more oak, cinnamon, licorice, red apple peel, nutmeg, dried nuttiness, wood varnish, and lighter roasted coffee and dark chocolate. There’s more kick too, although it doesn’t overwhelm me as I chew and process.
The first time around, the finish leaves caramel candy, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, coffee, dried grass, and more oak, with a lot of lingering toasted oak and some caramel candy sweetness. After “chewing” it leaves caramel, orange and apple peel, vanilla, oak, and cinnamon with a lot of lingering roasted oak, nuttiness, and gentler caramel sweetness.
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon is very flavorful, bold, and woody, yet also oddly straightforward and simple. There’s a lot to like, but the oak is more prominent and aggressive than I’d like. There’s still just enough sweetness and fruitiness so it’s not too out of balance, but the oak (for me at least) covers up the chance for better nuance and complexity. The non-oak parts are still great, but not deep or complex enough to elevate everything together.
This is coming from someone who rated Hardin’s Creek Clermont and Frankfort (both 17 years old) as “Top Shelf+”, so I’m not afraid of stronger oak. Everything else just has to keep up the pace. With Hardin’s Creek, “chewing” unleashed so much round, rich, and layered sweetness, vanilla, and coconut that showed off the lengthy aging.
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon tastes great, regardless of my critique, but the ceiling is only so high.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon Rating
With a “Top Shelf” rating, Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon has a lot to offer and enjoy. It’s generally bold, sweet, and very VERY woody – great stuff going on. At the same time, it feels…I’d say…straightforward and limited.
The scents are pleasant and woody but not quite amazing, but the flavors with “chewing” do propel it over the top as the fullness and personality meaningfully appear. More sweetness comes out and just enough fruit for slightly better balance, but it’s just not as deep, layered, and nuanced as I wish it could be. I don’t think the oak necessarily holds it back…well actually yes I do.
To use a cooking metaphor, it’s “overseasoned” with oak, which covers up some other great traits in there. Or, everything else isn’t developed enough to withstand the oak. For me at least, the oak is a little overdone within the context of everything else.
Your enjoyment ultimately comes down to how much oak you like in your bourbon. You’ll dig this if you like a lot of oak, and find it off putting if you don’t. It’s very sweet, woody, more woody, spicy, and fruity.
As for the $150 price – I personally am not so sold on that. I can understand why it’s that pricey (contract distilling, the cost of a second virgin oak casks, and involving a professional athlete aren’t cheap), but I’m not sure that it fully pays off.
To be fair to Chicken Cock, this was always meant to be a luxury super-premium bourbon for a certain type of customer with money to burn who isn’t so focused on value. But for most, this will still be an easy pass. Even if you can afford it (for example, I can), I’m still hesitant to recommend it and I don’t think that I’d buy this with my own money.
For better or worse, there are a lot of brands targeting people who have that kind of money to spend on whiskey, and I don’t think that it offers enough to stand out from the crowd. At this price, people have every right to expect a lot.
Speaking of alternatives, I think that there are some compelling oak-forward and “Top Shelf” bourbons that could be similar-ish alternatives. If you’re a big Kevin Kisner fan, then by all means go for it and you won’t be disappointed.
Similar-ish alternatives include the cask strength version of Ragged Branch Double Oak (might be called Cowboy Cut / certain barrel picks), Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (single barrel or batched), Still Austin Bottled in Bond High Rye Bourbon, and Knob Creek 12 / 15 / 18 Year, and of course anything Hardin’s Creek. If you want to go even more expensive, then you’re getting into Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Territory.
I think Kevin Kisner will understand this point – when the field is full of amazing competitors, you need to bring your A game (or whatever the better version of that is) if you want to compete with the best. For better or worse, Chicken Cock Kevin Kisner Double Oak Bourbon does well in isolation, but among the crowd of other expensive bourbons, the best are still way ahead of this.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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