There's a distillery sitting on the banks of the Ohio River in a small Kentucky town that not enough people are talking about. Augusta Distillery, tucked inside a late-1800s factory building in Augusta, Kentucky, has been quietly doing things the right way — aging bourbon eight years or more, keeping it cask-strength, leaving it unfiltered, and bottling it single barrel. Now they've added two new expressions to the lineup, and both of them are worth paying attention to.
The distillery just announced the release of its Small Batch Bourbon and its Wheated Single Barrel Bourbon. Both are cask-strength, both are aged an average of seven years, and both are available now — online, at the distillery itself on Seminary Avenue in Augusta, and across the 30 states where Augusta products are distributed.
These aren't gimmick releases. They were built with a specific purpose in mind, and that comes through in every detail of how they were developed.
What Makes the Small Batch Different
The term "small batch" gets thrown around a lot in the bourbon world. It's been watered down over the years to the point where it can mean almost anything. Augusta Distillery is doing something a little more deliberate with it.
Their Small Batch Bourbon is put together from no more than eight barrels at a time. That's a hard cap, not a guideline. The idea is to keep the depth and structure that define the distillery's style while still maintaining some consistency from batch to batch. It's a trickier balance than it sounds — pull from too few barrels and you lose the layered complexity that comes from blending; pull from too many and you start to lose the character that makes a small batch worth having.
On the nose, the bourbon opens with caramel, dark cherry, and baking spices. The finish brings dark cherry back around alongside toffee and leather. It's a profile that rewards patience — the kind of pour that opens up as it sits in the glass.
At a suggested retail price of $59.99, it's also positioned to be an entry point into Augusta's style without asking a bourbon drinker to give up anything in the process. No sacrifices on age, proof, or structure.
"We want these bottles opened, poured and enjoyed year-round," said Alex Castle, the distillery's Master Distiller.
That's the attitude. This isn't a shelf trophy. It's a bottle meant to be put to work.
The Wheated Single Barrel Is a First for Augusta
The Wheated Single Barrel is new territory for Augusta Distillery — it's the first wheated expression they've ever released. That's notable for a distillery that has been this focused and deliberate about its identity since day one.
The difference between a traditional bourbon and a wheated bourbon comes down to the grain used alongside corn in the mash bill. Traditional bourbons use rye as the secondary grain, which adds spice and a certain sharpness to the profile. Wheated bourbons swap that rye out for wheat, which softens the whole thing considerably. The result is rounder, smoother, and often sweeter.
Augusta leaned into that quality in how they selected barrels for this release. The emphasis was placed on sweetness, texture, and how well everything integrates together. The finish is smooth and extended, with stone fruit coming through as the defining note.
At $79.99 suggested retail, it sits a step above the Small Batch, which makes sense — single barrel releases require more selectivity and carry more variation by nature. Every barrel is its own thing, and finding the ones that represent the wheated profile at its best takes real attention.
Castle described the Wheated Single Barrel as expanding the conversation the distillery has been having with bourbon drinkers, without walking away from what Augusta stands for. "Small Batch provides a dependable foundation for our portfolio, while the Wheated Single Barrel expands the conversation without compromising our standards," she said.
Augusta's Standards Are Not Up for Negotiation
It's worth stepping back to understand what Augusta Distillery has built before putting these two releases in context.
The distillery runs on two 35-foot Vendome copper column stills and has an annual capacity of 14,000 barrels. That's not a tiny craft operation. But the way they approach their bourbon is closer to that of a small producer than a large commercial one. Everything in the Augusta lineup is Kentucky bourbon aged at least eight years, single barrel, cask-strength, and unfiltered. That combination isn't an accident — it's a philosophy.
Their flagship limited releases fall under the Buckner's name. Buckner's 10, Buckner's 13, Buckner's 15, and Buckner's 17 have all earned serious attention from bourbon drinkers who know what they're looking at. These are long-aged, high-proof, no-compromise bourbons that have put Augusta on the map in a crowded field.
The new Small Batch and Wheated Single Barrel don't try to compete with those releases. They do something different — they create a more accessible entry into the distillery's world while holding to the same core standards. Cask-strength. Aged properly. Built around structure.
Castle has been clear that structure is central to everything Augusta makes. It's not just about getting the flavor profile right. It's about making sure the bourbon can stand up to whatever the drinker wants to do with it.
These Are Sipping Bourbons That Can Also Mix
There's a certain kind of bourbon drinker who won't touch a bottle once they hear it might be used in a cocktail. And there's another kind who thinks any bourbon expensive enough to sip neat is wasted in a glass with ice and a orange peel.
Augusta's take cuts through that debate pretty cleanly.
Castle described both new releases as "sipping-first bourbons that don't disappear when thoughtfully mixed." The Small Batch, with its depth and proof, holds up in spirit-forward cocktails without getting lost. The Wheated Single Barrel, with its softer character and smooth finish, slides naturally into classics like an Old Fashioned or a Boulevardier.
That's a practical approach. A well-made bourbon at a real proof level has the backbone to work in both contexts. The idea that something has to be one or the other is more marketing than reality.
Both expressions also stand on their own neat or with a small splash of water. Cask-strength bourbons often benefit from a few drops of water, which can open up the aromatics and soften the heat just enough to let the flavor come through more clearly. That's not a weakness — it's part of the experience.
Where to Find Them
Augusta Distillery is located at 207 Seminary Avenue in Augusta, Kentucky, on the banks of the Ohio River. The building itself — a late-1800s-era factory — adds to the sense of history and place that's always been part of what Augusta is doing. This isn't a distillery that sprung up to chase a trend. It's rooted in a specific place and a specific approach.
Both the Small Batch and the Wheated Single Barrel are available directly at the distillery, through Augusta's online store, and in the 30 states that carry Augusta products. For anyone who hasn't made the trip to Augusta, Kentucky, this is also a reasonable excuse to start planning one. The distillery operates as a guest experience center as well, which means there's more to the visit than just picking up a bottle.
Why This Matters Right Now
The bourbon market is not short on options. Walk into any well-stocked liquor store and the shelves are full of bottles promising something special. Most of them are telling the same story with different labels.
What Augusta Distillery is doing with these two new releases is straightforward: they're bringing their approach to a broader audience without compromising what makes that approach worth caring about. Seven years of age on both expressions. Cask-strength. Real barrel selection with a clear standard behind it.
The Small Batch at $59.99 is the kind of bottle that belongs in regular rotation — not saved for a special occasion, not poured only when company comes over. It's designed to be opened and enjoyed, which is exactly the spirit in which it should be received.
The Wheated Single Barrel at $79.99 is for the drinker who wants something a little different from the typical bourbon profile — smoother, rounder, with that extended finish that a well-selected wheated expression delivers. For anyone who has spent time with wheated bourbons and developed a taste for them, this is a bottle that deserves a serious look.
Augusta Distillery has been building something real out on the Ohio River. These two releases are the next chapter in that story, and they're one worth following.
