Old Carter Straight American Whiskey Batch 5 750ml

Old Carter Batch 5 Straight American Whiskey shows the blender's hand at work: a 13-year-old, 134.9-proof (67.45% ABV) barrel-strength straight American whiskey, assembled in small batch by Old Carter Whiskey Co. from sourced Kentucky stock and bottled uncut in 2021. The release ran to 2,429 hand-numbered bottles, each one carrying the age statement and mid-130s strength that defined the heart of the numbered series.

After the record 139.6 proof of Batch 4, Batch 5 settled into the register where the line spends most of its time — the low-to-mid 130s — without losing any of its density. Thirteen years in Kentucky oak translate into deep caramelized sugar, vanilla bean, toasted nuts, worn leather and warming spice, all held together by the plush, unfiltered texture that comes from skipping chill filtration entirely and bottling straight from the blending tank. Water is optional here; the blend drinks with surprising composure at full strength, though a few drops draw out orange peel and honeyed oak.

Old Carter has always been a blending-first house. Mark Carter personally composes each batch from fully matured barrels, a craft he and Sherri sharpened during their years reviving Kentucky Owl before founding their own label in 2018. Batch 5 is a study in that craft: not the loudest release in the series, but one where barrel selection, age and proof land in balance — the kind of blend that rewards a slow pour more than a headline number.

In the collector's ledger, Batch 5 sits at the midpoint of the age-stated era, bridging the extreme early batches and the no-age-statement releases that would follow from Batch 9 onward. Its 2,429 hand-numbered bottles make it a realistic acquisition for series completists, and its poised, 13-year profile makes it one many choose to actually open. Few slots in the twelve-batch run offer that combination, and its 2021 arrival — the first American whiskey release after 2020's double-header — marked the start of a steadier annual rhythm for the line.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 134.9 (67.45% ABV) — barrel strength, uncut
• Age: 13 Years
• Origin: Kentucky (sourced)
• Distillery: Undisclosed Kentucky distillery — blended and bottled by Old Carter Whiskey Co.
• Whiskey Type: Straight American Whiskey
• Batch: Batch 5 — 2,429 hand-numbered bottles, 2021 release
• Filtration: Non-chill filtered
• Series: Old Carter Straight American Whiskey — Small Batch