Mugen Spirit Yokai Kuko Bundle 3

This pairing brings together two unlikely partners. One is a modern Kentucky bourbon distilled at O.Z. Tyler in Owensboro, the historic facility renamed Green River Distilling Co. in 2020. The other is a 1980 Armagnac that spent more than four decades in a Gascon cellar. Both reward slow tasting, and each one sharpens your sense of the other.

This bourbon single barrel comes from Louisville-based Mugen Spirit, a whiskey house that pairs Kentucky bourbon tradition with Japanese folklore and artistry. Mugen co-founder Kojin Tashiro hand-selected it for the New York market, choosing from the much-talked-about OZT barrels distilled at Green River Distilling in Owensboro. It aged nine years and was bottled at full cask strength, 125.2 proof. The result is dense and dessert-forward, with roasted honey, graham cracker, and praline over a baking-spice backbone. The name comes from Japanese fox lore: a Kuko, or “sky fox,” is a celestial kitsune said to reach divinity after thousands of years.

Pick #170 takes the long view. Forty-four years in oak turned this Ténarèze Armagnac from Domaine du Carpoulat into a deep study in rancio: fig paste, date syrup, walnut, cocoa, antique leather and old books, all grounded by cellar stone. Bottled straight from the cask, nothing softens the spirit, yet the tannins feel polished, and the texture stays viscous and silky. The club chose it for its rare balance of mature depth and lively structure.

Taste them in sequence, bourbon first, to see how American oak and four grains compare with French oak, grapes, and four decades of time. The bundle makes a strong gift for a collector who already has the usual allocated bottles.

Bottle 1: Mugen Spirit Yokai Kuko 9 Year Four Grain Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon

• Age: 9 years
• Distillery: Green River (OZT barrel)
• Bottling Proof: 125.2 (cask strength)

Bottle 2: OADE Domaine du Carpoulat “Yak To The Future” 1980 Armagnac, Prime Barrel Pick #170

• Vintage: 1980
• Age: 44 years in oak
• Region: Ténarèze, Gascony, France
• Producer: Domaine du Carpoulat
• Bottler: OADE
• Bottled straight from a single historic cask
• Proof: 105