Cream of Kentucky Cask Strength Bourbon
The Stats
- Producer: Cream of Kentucky / J.W. Rutledge Distillery
- Location: Kentucky
- Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Proof: 115 (57.5% ALC/VOL)
- Age: NAS
- Mash Bill: 77% Corn / 18% Rye / 5% Malt
- Release: Ongoing
- Price: $100
Cream of Kentucky is one of those brands that comes with enough history to make you pay attention before you ever pour it. The name dates back to the late 1800s; Norman Rockwell once created advertising for it, and Jim Rutledge helped bring it back to life in the modern era.
Our bottle came in at 115 proof with a suggested price around $100, although we found ours for $85. That price difference matters.
At $85, this sits in a pretty attractive spot for cask-strength Kentucky bourbon. At $100, expectations go up. We start looking for more depth, more complexity and a finish that really hangs around.
What we got was a bottle with some real strengths, especially on the palate, but also a few places where it never quite separated itself from a crowded field of high-proof bourbon. And that made the value question almost as interesting as the whiskey itself.
The Whiskey Behind the Bottle
I. Trager & Co. introduced Cream of Kentucky in 1888, and it later became part of Schenley. During the brand’s heyday in the 1930s and 1940s, Norman Rockwell provided artwork for its advertising. The last known Schenley bottling came in 1970 before the brand eventually returned in 2018 with an 11.5-year single barrel bourbon.
That relaunch leaned heavily on older whiskey and Jim Rutledge's involvement, which gave Cream of Kentucky instant credibility with bourbon drinkers.
The current Cask Strength release is a very different animal. It carries no age statement, leans on the brand’s historic “Double-Rich” flavor promise, and currently uses a mash bill of 77% corn, 18% rye and 5% malt.
The expression has also evolved. The Summer 2024 release came in at 106.4 proof and used a 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malt recipe. That suggests Cream of Kentucky Cask Strength isn't a fixed profile from year to year, which makes each release a little more interesting to evaluate on its own.
That matters because this doesn't appear to be a fixed bottle that will taste identical year after year.
The Cask Strength release has also gotten some outside attention, earning Double Gold and a Best of Class finalist nod at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Tasting Notes
Aroma
The nose mixes sweetness with a slightly earthy, musty edge. Scott found musty sweetness, while Arthur picked up fruit salad, musty grain and nuttiness. There is some fruit here, but the grainier note keeps it from feeling especially bright or expressive. For a 115-proof bourbon, we wanted a little more intensity from the nose.
Taste
The palate is better. Scott found creamy vanilla, berries, cherry and charred oak. Arthur got vanilla, caramel, fig and baking spice.
The vanilla gives it a softer center, while the fruit, oak and spice keep things balanced. Scott found more richness and fruit, while Arthur's experience was a little more straightforward. There is good flavor here. It just never becomes especially complex.
Finish
The finish brings spicy heat, sweet pepper and oak, but this is where the bottle loses some momentum. With this proof, we expected more length and weight. Instead, the flavors fade a little faster than we wanted. That was probably the biggest limitation of this bottle for us.
Artfully Bourbon Rating
7.5 / 10 - Very Good
Cream of Kentucky Cask Strength landed in a pretty fair middle ground for us. There is a lot to like. The palate brings creamy vanilla, fruit, caramel, fig, baking spice and charred oak, and the proof gives it enough weight to feel substantial.
But the nose never quite opens up; the profile stays fairly straightforward, and the finish fades sooner than we wanted. One of us rated it a little higher than the other, but 7.5 feels right. Our bottle was good. It just did not taste like an award winner to us.
Buy or Skip:
Conditional Buy
At $85, this is a buy for us. There is enough richness, proof and flavor here to make that price feel good, even with the fairly straightforward profile and shorter finish.
At the full $100, though, the decision gets tougher. That is where we start wanting more complexity and staying power from a cask-strength bourbon. This one is good, but it did not quite give us enough to make $100 feel like an automatic yes.
If the profile sounds like your kind of bourbon - creamy vanilla, fruit, spice, and oak - it is still worth considering. We just would not tell everyone to chase it at full price.
Where Does It Rank?
Every whiskey we review is scored using the same 10-point scale, making it easy to compare bottles across styles, distilleries, and price points. Explore our complete whiskey rankings to see how every bottle stacks up.
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Details
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12 oz. capacity
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Stainless steel core with enamel finish
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Lightweight construction
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Rounded edges for comfortable sipping
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Lead- and BPA-free
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Not microwave-safe
Care
Hand wash only.
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