Western Spirits Beverage Company

Some of the most storied names in Kentucky bourbon never touch a still, and Western Spirits Beverage Company is proof that a brand builder with patience and good barrels can earn a serious reputation anyway. The Bowling Green company is best known for Calumet Farm Bourbon, a line of age-stated Kentucky straight bourbons named for the farm that bred two Triple Crown winners and eight Kentucky Derby winners. For those who follow well-aged sourced bourbon, the Calumet Farm Single Rack Black releases are worth seeking out.

History & Heritage

Western Spirits Beverage Company is headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Company profiles date its founding to 2009, though some whiskey press places it a year earlier. Its flagship Bird Dog Whiskey, a flavored whiskey line the company bills as the most awarded in the world, anchors a portfolio that also includes Sam Houston Bourbon, Lexington Bourbon, Twenty Grand Vodka, KRU Vodka, Marfanista Tequila, and Bokeelia Rum.

The Calumet Farm brand arrived in 2013, launched in a small initial batch the same year the farm's colt Oxbow won the Preakness Stakes. The name carries real weight. Calumet Farm was founded in June 1924 by William Monroe Wright, the Calumet Baking Powder magnate, on roughly 1,000 acres of bluegrass in Fayette County, Kentucky. After his son Warren Wright took over in 1932, the farm turned to Thoroughbreds and went on to produce two Triple Crown winners, eight Kentucky Derby winners, and eleven horses enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Western Spirits puts that legacy on the label.

The Whiskey

Western Spirits is a non-distiller producer: as of July 2026 it owns the Calumet Farm Bourbon brand and the rest of its portfolio, while the whiskey itself is sourced from undisclosed Kentucky distilleries and bottled under its own labels. Whiskey press analysis of the mash bill, 74 percent corn, 18 percent rye, and 8 percent malted barley, has pointed toward Barton 1792 Distillery as a likely source for the older Calumet Farm stock. In January 2017 the company also joined Bardstown Bourbon Company's collaborative distilling program, beginning custom distillation for its brand portfolio that same month. The flagship of the line is the Single Rack Black series: each release is a batch of just 19 barrels pulled from a single center-cut rack of one rickhouse, bottled with an age statement, with releases at 10, 14, 15, and 16 years.

The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library holds 13 expressions from Western Spirits, including Calumet Farm 16 Year Old Single Rack Black Bourbon Whiskey, bottled at 106 proof, and Calumet Farms 15 Year Single Rack Black Bourbon. The 10 year mark is covered by Calumet Farm 10 Year Old 'Bull Lea' Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a 92 proof release named for the farm's foundation sire, and the line runs down through Calumet Farms Straight Bourbon 8 Yr Vintage Release to the entry point, Calumet Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch.

Why It Matters

Well-aged Kentucky bourbon with an honest age statement is increasingly hard to find at any price, and Western Spirits has made a specialty of it. The Single Rack Black concept also rewards close attention: because each batch comes from one rack rather than a broad blend, releases vary in character from year to year. With 13 expressions on hand, The Sentinel Room can pour the Calumet Farm line as a true vertical, from the Small Batch through the 8, 10, 15, and 16 year releases. For those who appreciate good whiskey, tasting the same sourced stock at different ages, side by side, is one of the more instructive evenings the Reserve Whiskey Library can offer.