O.K.I. Bourbon Brand is Making a Comeback in Fall 2020.

O.K.I. Bourbon is coming back  to the market very soon. O.K.I. stand for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The once discontinued brand is responsible for some of the best sourced MGPI whiskey the market has seen. The O.K.I. label has been purchased from New Riff Distillery by Chad Brizendine and Jake Warm, out of Cincinnati, Ohio . 

Brizendine was a co-founder of George Remus Bourbon from MGPI, and Warm was an investor in Remus. New Riff discontinued the O.K.I. brand in 2018 once their own distillate was ready to come to market. Previous to this, they were sourcing and aging from MGPI distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. 

What are the plans for the new look O.K.I. label? O.K.I. will still be sourcing its 36% rye bourbon from that same Lawrenceburg producer, MGPI, also known as the Seagram’s distillery. The bourbon will also be aged in the Seagram’s warehouse at the Lawrenceburg distillery. Warm’s great grandfather actually helped build this warehouse, which I am sure will become part of the company’s new backstory. 

According to Brizendine, “95 percent of the world’s bourbon supply comes from the Tri-State region of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, and we’re very proud of that. We look forward to working with distilleries across the region to source bourbon and rye for future O.K.I. releases.” 

Although O.K.I. will be holding mostly true to its previous roots, the new owners do plan to update the brand story and packaging before they release their first single barrel. This release is scheduled for fall 2020. There is no confirmation on the age of the barrels that will be used, but it is rumored they will be around the 5-6 year age range. Bottles are scheduled to be released at cask strength. 

Are you all as excited as I am for this breaking news? If they can produce a product as good as some of the previous O.K.I bottles I have been able to try, I will be seeking this out.