O.K.I. Brand Acquired by New Owners - First Release Scheduled for Fall of 2020

Updated on 5/6 with additional information from O.K.I.

Cincinnati entrepreneurs, Chad Brizendine and Jake Warm have acquired the brand O.K.I. from New Riff Distilling. Their plan is to release their first single barrel bourbon bottled at cask strength (no watering down) in Kentucky in Autumn of 2020.

O.K.I., which stands for Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana will source their product from Lawrenceburg, Indiana (most likely made by MGP) and will have a 36% rye mash-bill. As part of its acquisition, O.K.I. will update its brand story and packaging, focusing more on the rich bourbon heritage of the entire region dating as far back as pre-Prohibition.

For Jake Warm, he is continuing his family's history in the Spirit business saying:

My great grandfather, Jake, built the iconic Seagram's warehouse at the Lawrenceburg distillery in the 1930's. At the time, it was the world's largest whiskey maturing warehouse. I'm very proud that our first O.K.I. barrels will be aged in the same buildings my family built 90 years ago. 

My Take

It's always exciting when a new bourbon brand comes to market. I'm especially excited about this one because it literally has Ohio in the name, which means that the product will hopefully be available in our state. I've reached out for confirmation. In the meantime, I'll continue to cover any O.K.I. news I can find on the site. Stay tuned. 

5/6 Update: I reached out to O.K.I. and they confirmed that the initial release will only be focused on Kentucky, but Ohio and Indiana are slated for the coming years. Additionally, the release this fall has been aged 5-6 years, has a mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley and will have an MSRP of $69.99. 

Source: O.K.I.