Bib & Tucker has launched The Golden Spike, a 15 year old bourbon that’s hitting shelves now. This is the oldest whiskey yet released by Bib & Tucker. Previously, its most aged expression was a 12 year old Single Barrel Small Batch (No. 102258), launched in 2022.
The whiskeys of Bib & Tucker have scored well in Whisky Advocate tastings, with five releases over the past three years rated 91 points or higher. Its 6 year old Small Batch (No. 24) finished at No. 14 on our Top 20 list back in 2021. Bib & Tucker’s sister brand, Redemption, still leads the portfolio in terms of age, with the 2017 release of its Redemption 36 year old bourbon. Only 18 of those bottles were made available, and last year one of them sold at a Sotheby's auction for $36,000. That 36 year old was part of an ongoing collection of rare, super-aged releases from Redemption called The Ancients, which has also included an 18 year old rye, of which 300 bottles were produced. Future Ancients releases all promise to be rare and will be seen sporadically, not on an annual basis.
Distilled and aged in Tennessee and following the Lincoln County process of charcoal filtering, Bib & Tucker The Golden Spike is bottled at 50.4% ABV and its 1,440 bottles produced carry a suggested retail price of $200. It's available only in Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. Each bottle of The Golden Spike is sealed with a gold stopper that’s a miniature locomotive, engraved with the Bib & Tucker name. The Golden Spike name was inspired by the creation of America’s first transcontinental railroad line. When the final link was made connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869, Stanford University president Leland Stanford completed the work by hammering in the final, ceremonial golden spike.
Bib & Tucker was originally the creation of 3 Badge Beverage Corp., the spirits company owned by California winemaker August Sebastiani. In 2017, Sebastiani sold the brand to Deutsch Family Wines & Spirits, which also owns Redemption Whiskey, acquired from founders Dave Schmier and Michael Kanbar in 2015. Schmier now owns Proof and Wood, an independent bottler whose labels include Tumblin’ Dice bourbon, The Senator rye, and Roulette rye.