2XO Kiawah Blend Bourbon |
In an industry where labels matter, designations like “craft,” “sourced” or “blended” can make or a break a business. In-the-know drinkers understand that craft doesn’t automatically mean good, big or mainstream doesn’t equal bad, and in the right hands, sourced and blended products comprise some of the best bottles on the market.
Dixon Dedman is a whiskey blender. He relaunched Kentucky Owl in 2014, nearly a century after his great-great grandfather founded the brand, and was quickly lauded for creating a coveted line of bourbon and rye blends. For the past couple years, he’s been head-down on his latest project, 2XO Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The 2XO means “two times oak” and references the fact that each expression receives additional maturation after its initial time in barrel. The brand includes an everyday blend dubbed the Oak Series, as well as a series of limited-release, small-batch blends called the Icon Series, and Gem of Kentucky, a line of single barrel releases.
The just-launched 2XO Kiawah Blend ($115 on ReserveBar) is the fourth release in the Icon Series, with previous bottles including The Phoenix Blend, The Innkeeper’s Blend, and The Tribute Blend.
“When we started Icon Series, I wanted to put a story behind each one of these, so we developed this Icon narrative,” Dedman told me via Zoom interview, noting that such narratives seem more impactful than a simple spring or fall release. "It’s been a lot of fun because once people understand the story, the whiskeys become more relatable."
Dixon Dedman on Kiawah Island |
Rather than infusing a direct South Carolina influence into the Kiawah Blend, Dedman channeled the coastal state thematically and emotionally while tasting whiskey samples on the beach.
“This is the place that brings my family joy,” he said of the state where his mother was born and where he went to college. “Even work isn’t really work here; it’s fun and exciting."
To create the Kiawah Blend, Dedman enlisted two bourbon mashbills. The first sports a high concentration of rye, to the tune of 35%, while the second contains a more moderate 18% rye. He then puts the high-rye bourbon, which makes up 60% of The Kiawah Blend, into new charred oak barrels for at least nine more months. That additional oak interaction brings more sweetness to the finished product and helps to balance out the whiskey’s rye spice.
“I enjoy playing with that additional oak during the maturation process,” said Dedman. “I’m using two different char levels right now, but I can expand to more char levels or different types of oak — I can make it as difficult as I want.”
For the Kiawah Blend, he was looking to create a heavy sensation on the front of the palate, with lots of sweet oak. The bourbon is rich and viscous, with spice on the back end, and it’s supremely drinkable even at a semi-hefty 52% alcohol-by-volume.
“I want drinkability in all the blends we recreate,” said Dedman. “I want you to enjoy one, and then maybe another one. That proof point has all the weight I was looking for, but it doesn’t blow out your palate.”
The next Icon Series release should come out in August or September, and once again it will be wholly different from its predecessors.
There’s also more in store for the Oak Series, which to date features the flagship and readily available American Oak. A French Oak expression will come out in the fall, and Dedman describes it as having nougat and nutty almond flavors, with toffee on the back end.
When creating any new product, Dedman’s blending philosophy is to start with a blank canvas and then try to make the best composition possible. It sounds simple, but the options are limitless.
“The idea is to go into it with an open mind and see where it goes,” he said. “That's the fun part.”
