Town Branch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Updated 2025 Review)

A little background

Town Branch Kentucky Straight Bourbon is produced by Town Branch Distillery, the first new distillery built in Lexington, Kentucky, since Prohibition. Established as part of Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co., a family-owned operation founded by Pearse Lyons in 1999 and now led by his son Mark, the distillery revives the city’s historic distilling tradition along the banks of the Town Branch of Elkhorn Creek, utilizing limestone-filtered water. This updated 2025 review revisits the bourbon (originally reviewed by Whiskey Consensus in 2020. Our origional review can be viewed here) with its high-malt mash bill of 72% corn, 15% rye, and 13% malted barley, bottled at 90 proof with a suggested retail price of around $35 USD.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Light Gold

Nose

Lemon, Greek vanilla yogurt, lemon iced tea, cantaloupe, strawberry jam, and pancake batter.

Palate

Clove, melon, peach, brown sugar, and oak.

Finish

Dusting of cinnamon, black tea, caramel, nutmeg, and oak.

In closing

Town Branch Kentucky Straight Bourbon delivers a sweet, fruity nose bursting with lemon, Greek vanilla yogurt, cantaloupe, and strawberry jam that remains its standout feature (very enjoyable and inviting). The palate brings pleasant clove, melon, peach, brown sugar, and oak, showing a improvement in flavor balance since our original 2020 review. At just $35 and widely available, it’s a strong value play for an everyday pour or mixer. That said, the shorter finish, thin mouthfeel, and merely average mid-palate hold it back from higher marks. Solid, approachable, and better than before. I’m a big fan of this distillate’s core flavor (it’s an undeniably strong foundation for future higher-age and higher-proof releases). Solid, approachable, and better than before

NOTE: The sample used for this review was provided at no cost courtesy of Town Branch Distillery. We thank them for the sample and for allowing us to review it with no strings attached.