Join Wayne and Rebecca on Your Bourbon Journey for an exclusive pre-release tasting and review of two milestone whiskeys from Neeley Family Distillery (Sparta, KY) ahead of the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival! A massive thank you to Royce and Rebekah Neeley for sending these advance media samples to our table.
The Banana Batch Four Grain Bourbon (112.4 Proof Barrel Strength) Blended by Rebekah Neeley, this is her second Four Grain Small Batch creation featuring Neeley’s signature mashbill with oatmeal. Originally destined to be Bottled in Bond, Rebekah tasted the blend at cask strength and decided it was simply too exceptional to proof down! Sitting at a potent 112.4 proof, it delivers unmistakable notes of Banana Runts, vanilla, and warm, fresh-baked banana bread with an ultra-creamy mouthfeel. Wayne famously dislikes banana notes in whiskey—so does Rebekah’s barrel-strength blend finally crack the code?
PaPaw’s Legacy Reserve: 10-Year Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey (110 Proof) An emotional and historic release, this marks Neeley Family Distillery’s first-ever 10-year age statement. Distilled by Royce and his beloved late Papaw, Royce hand-selected 10 of their oldest, finest barrels and blended them together. Designed to never run out, this perpetual Solera-style blend will have a portion bottled annually and replenished with exceptional barrels so Papaw’s whiskey lives on decades into the future. Bottled at 110 proof barrel strength, only 750 bottles comprise this inaugural run, packaged in a custom presentation box. Expect profound notes of dark caramel, confectionary sugar, rich cocoa, and roast coffee.
Official Release Details:
- The Banana Batch: Available now at the Neeley Family Distillery gift shop and pouring at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival!
- PaPaw’s Legacy Reserve: Releases Friday, September 11 at 11:00 AM EDT at both the distillery in Sparta, KY, and at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY (Strictly limited to 750 bottles).
Heading to Bardstown? Make sure to visit the Neeley Family Distillery tent, taste these incredible pours, and tell Rebekah whether she made the right call keeping the Banana Batch uncut!
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Banana Batch Bourbon
- Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Distillery: Neeley Family Distillery (Sparta, KY)
- Mash Bill: Four Grain (Typically 63% Corn, 17% Oats, 8% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley)
- Age: 5 Years
- Proof: 112 Proof (56% ABV) – Barrel Strength
- Released: Kentucky Bourbon Festival (September 2026)
- Other: Annual single-batch release; kept uncut at barrel strength; pot-distilled; media sample taken 8/20/26
Papaws Legacy Reserve 10 Year
- Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Distillery: Neeley Family Distillery (Sparta, KY)
- Mash Bill: Wheated Bourbon (Typically 64% Corn, 28% Wheat, 8% Malted Barley or 68% Corn, 19% Wheat, 13% Malted Barley)
- Age: 10 Years
- Proof: 110 Proof (55% ABV)
- SRP: TBD (Pre-release)
- Released: Kentucky Bourbon Festival & Distillery Release (September 2026)
- Other: Ultra-limited release of only 750 bottles; packaged in a custom presentation box; pot-distilled; media sample taken 8/20/26
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NOTE: The spirits featured in this review were provided to us as a media sample by the producer for review purposes. We were not compensated for this video, and our opinions remain entirely our own. Please drink responsibly.
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