West Bottoms Kansas City Whiskey

Kansas City Whiskey is a truly unique blended whiskey that uses the pre-prohibition practice of rectification. The result is a subtle yet completely distinctive flavor that has been perfected by the company's Master Distiller, Alex Lindsey.

West Bottoms Kansas City Whiskey is a 50/50 blend of Rye and Bourbon whiskeys, finished with just a touch of 15yo Oloroso Sherry. The heavier rye content gives it a more “whiskey-forward” flavor, and the Sherry gives it a smooth finish. Kansas City Whiskey is best enjoyed neat or on the rocks, but its complexity also makes it an excellent companion for any traditional whiskey cocktail.

47% - 94 Proof

What is rectification? Before prohibition, distillers were taxed on how much whiskey went into a barrel – not how much came back out. The longer you age a whiskey, the better the flavor. It also means you lose a lot more of your whiskey to evaporation – the “Angel’s Cut”. So obviously distillers didn’t want to age their whiskey very long, but they also needed to soften the burn of young whiskey. Welcome to the stage, Rectification!

Distillers started blending just a little bit of fortified Sherry wine to ‘rectify’ the burn of a younger whiskey and give it more color. This was allowed by United States regulators and was never really taken off the books through and post-prohibition. This unique practice was re-discovered and implemented by J. Rieger & Co., thus birthing Kansas City Style Whiskey.