Casey Jones Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review

Casey Jones Distillery
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
“Authentic Square Pot Distilling”
2 Years Aged
107.2 Proof (cask strength, so your results may vary)

Casey Jones Distillery released their first Kentucky Straight Bourbon late November 2020. They use a very unique square pot still also known as a square still or coffin still to produce their bourbon (and moonshine). In addition, Casey Jones uses the moonshiner’s technique of mashing and fermenting all in the same tub. Now that’s efficiency!

The Coffin Still (Square Still)

Remember way back in your moonshining days when you needed a still that could easily be broken down and moved on a moment’s notice? A still that you could just throw in the back of your pickup truck when the sheriff or revenuers showed up? Those good ol’ days when NASCAR drivers were earning their real “winnings” by running moonshine? Those were the days! Well, I imaging that those were the days. I certainly wasn’t a part of them, although I think I wish that I was…maybe…

Nonetheless, this type of still dates back to those times. Casey Jones (the person) was famous (or infamous) for making high quality stills that could be easily disassembled and transported on a moment’s notice. This square or “coffin” still was a highly functional still that could produce high quality spirits, while being easily transportable. Rumor has it that Casey Jones also designed the cylindrical condenser which was reported to make “a higher-proof, better-tasting product in half the time”. That sounds like a bit of marketing jargon to me, but I guess it sold at the time… (In the photo above, the condenser is shown on the right side of the photo and the still itself is on the left.)

More about Casey Jones

Casey Jones paid a bit of a price for his role in the moonshine and bootlegging industry by being sentenced for 2 years to Mill Point Federal Penitentiary in WV. However, his heritage lives on at the Casey Jones Distillery in Hopkinsville, KY, where the same style still and moonshine production techniques of bygone days lives on. The current still is in the first photo, and a still made by Casey Jones himself hangs over their bar and pictured is in the second photo. Check out our writeup about the Casey Jones Distillery on BourbonObsessed.com to learn more about the distillery!

In case you were wondering, this Casey Jones has nothing to do with the Casey Jones of the song the “Ballad of Casey Jones” or the Grateful Dead‘s song “Casey Jones”. That Casey Jones was a train engineer involved in a fatal crash back in 1900. His heroic actions cost him his life, and amazingly he was the only fatality of that crash. Now you know!

Tasting Notes

Let’s taste it:

🛌 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉Nose: Corn, light apple, caramel, baking spices and ginger snaps, light wintergreen; moderate alcohol
👉Taste: The flavors in the nose continue, with the baking spice and ginger snaps taking over and joined by toast
👉Finish: It’s more of the same, and simple syrup sweetness makes a brief appearance. Char becomes increasingly dominant. A cool subtle mint lingers in the moderately long finish.

Summary

I am really enjoying this one. It’s definitely got some of the younger flavors, but it has quite a bit of complexity, and the mint is an interesting touch. To be perfectly honest, it has been very difficult to write the tasting notes on this one because it seems to change with each sip and nosing, although after a few days the flavors seem to have stabilized. Since all the flavors have been very pleasant, that’s not bothering me at all! In fact, in just a few short days, half of the bottle now somehow seems to be gone…🤔🤣

We hope you have enjoyed our Casey Jones Straight Bourbon Whiskey review! Would you like to learn more about the distillery? You can read all about it in our Casey Jones Distillery Tour Review! Also, in the fall of 2024, Casey Jones Distillery reached their 10th anniversary and released a special limited edition blend. Read all about it in our Casey Jones Founder’s 10th Anniversary Blend Whiskey Review!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!