For diehard bourbon fiends, Colonel Randolph 16 Year is a deep cut. Only produced at our hallowed facility for one year—1990 through 1991—and exclusively exported to Japan, due to a supremely low initial production run, few bottles remain in the wild. Snagging this unicorn gets collectors revved up, if recent five-figure hammer prices are any indication.
At Old Commonwealth, our mission is to revive old brands as premium whiskey so you can drink history. And we’re absolutely thrilled to bring Colonel Randolph 16 Year back, in a supremely unique fashion: this single barrel offering was personally selected by Gordon Hue, the very same industry luminary responsible for reviving the Colonel Randolph brand in 1990. At 106 proof, this 16-year Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey—made with the exact mashbill as Hue’s release—shines brightly, with a depth and flavor profile that emulates and encapsulates vintage whiskey.
Huge in Japan: Colonel Randolph’s Fascinating History
Back in the late Eighties, overseeing an Ohio spirits and wine retail chain, Hue tapped Julian Van Winkle III to bottle 766 barrels he bought from a Pennsylvania distillery, the majority of which released under the now legendary A.H. Hirsch label. (Many were bottled at the facility that is now Old Commonwealth Distillery.)
“Bourbon wasn’t selling in America,” Hue recalls, “but the Japanese loved it.” After buying countless cases of A.H. Hirsch, the importer, Nishimoto Trading, asked Hue for alternative labels. “A.H. Hirsch had exclusive and high-end positioning in a Tokyo department store called Mitsukoshi,” says Hue. “There was another department store across the street, and Nishimoto wanted to sell it bourbon without diluting the Hirsch brand. The caveat: they wanted a brand already in existence.”
In 1990, the Japanese had enormous four-color catalogs of American whiskey brands that were “thicker than phone books,” Hue laughs. “These were 400 pages and had bottle shots galore. I hadn’t heard of half of these brands.” Flipping through this encyclopedia of bourbon, Hue came across a brand he did recognize: Colonel Randolph. “It was a Chicago label that was registered to a liquor distributor I knew: the Leavitt family,” says Hue. After calling, Hue was pleasantly surprised to hear he could have the label, even the design. That was vital to the Japanese, who Hue describes as meticulous about copying the original.
Gordon Hue's 1990 release of Colonel Randolph, on the left, and the 2025 release, on the right.
For Colonel Randolph 16 Year, Hue instructed Van Winkle III to use the same Pennsylvania whiskey employed in A.H. Hirsch, though the proof was left at 116. (A.H. Hirsch proofs vary, but hover in the low- to mid-90s.) The back of the bottle was in Japanese; no bottles were made for the American market. Three shipments of Hue’s Colonel Randolph 16 were sent to Japan—“It was a tiny quantity, a little more than 50 cases,” Hue says—before the Japanese economy crashed in 1991, and demand dried up.
Reviving Colonel Randolph 16 Year
After locating a handful of barrels of 16 year liquid, made by a renowned heritage distiller, that so happened to be the identical mashbill to Hue’s original Colonel Randolph bourbon, we brought Hue in to sample each barrel, blindly.
We ran through various proof options, too, including the 116 proof of the original, but Hue settled on the 2025 release at 106 proof because, as he says, “this whiskey has it all: sweet notes, caramel up front, toffee in the middle, and tremendous length without being overly sweet,” adding the finish goes on “for minutes. This is damn good stuff.”
Gordon Hue tasting his new Colonel Randolph 16 year single barrel selection.
Colonel Randolph 16 Year Tasting Notes
Nose: Rich tannins, charred oak, cinnamon, honey, dusty brown sugar, toffee, coffee cake, almond butter, and vanilla.
Palate: Baking chocolate, cherry syrup, candied peaches, and pecan pie. It’s got an exceptional mouthfeel, and decent heft to the liquid that’s pleasing as it coats your mouth. It’s softer than you may assume, given the alcohol on the nose.
Finish: Dark chocolate note that is extensive, finally trailing off with a light hit of maraschino cherry at the very end. There’s enough sweetness to be pleasing, but it never becomes cloying.
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Colonel Randolph 16 Year Bourbon Overview
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Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon
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Distillery: Undisclosed
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Age: 16 Years
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Proof: 106
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Mashbill: 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley
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SRP: $349
How to Buy Colonel Randolph 16 Year
A special OC VIP sale begins through Old Commonwealth’s online retailer on February 6, 2025, at 11AM EST. To become an OC VIP (it’s free), you can sign up below, and we’ll send you the VIP link on the morning of the 6th.