Rare Perfection 12 years

Owned by the same company behind historic brands such as Very Olde St. Nick (VOSN), Rare Perfection was another brand started by Marci Palatella to capitalise on the growing demand in Japan for ultra-aged bourbon. As Julian Van Winkle III’s agent in the Japanese market, Palatella sourced stocks from Old Commonwealth distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY., before transitioning to also bottling sourced stocks from Even Kulsveen at the KBD (Willett), and a variety of other sources, when Van Winkle started producing whiskey in partnership with Sazerac. Famed for sourcing amazing older whiskies the brand quickly gained popularity in bourbon and rye enthusiast circles. However, as demand for aged stocks of bourbon and rye skyrocketed across the board supplies for Rare Perfection, and Palatella’s other brands, dried up and so for many years the brand lay dormant. Frustrated with being unable to source the ‘magically intense barrels of yore’ in 2015, Palatella purchased a tobacco farm in Bardstown KY and transformed it into a small craft distillery with a visitors centre. Named the Preservation Distillery, Palatella’s dream of bringing back brands such as VOSN and Rare Perfection had become a reality and with production beginning in October of 2017, the team at Preservation reignited their efforts to source amazing barrels for these historic brands whilst their own whisky matures. The distillery produces 100% bourbon, rye, and malt whiskey using locally-sourced grains that are distilled using a pot still in 1 – 3 barrel batches. Today the Preservation Distillery produces brands such as Wattie Boone & Sons, Cowboy Little Barrel, Rare Perfection, and Very Olde St. Nick.