BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Chicken Cock Whiskey, a brand founded in Paris, Kentucky, in 1856, is marking its 170th anniversary with two limited-edition bourbons, including a ceramic rooster decanter and a bottle that restores founder James A. Miller’s name to the brand for the first time in more than a century.
The releases will debut Sept. 10-13 at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival.
This new release follows a complete brand redesign announced in May.
The 170th Anniversary Limited Edition Rooster Decanter has a suggested retail price of $199.99. The ceramic decanter contains 8-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 115 proof. The rooster has been part of Chicken Cock’s branding since the company’s early years and appeared in its advertising and labels.
The 170th Anniversary Edition Legacy Kentucky Straight Bourbon has a suggested retail price of $99.99. It carries the name of James A. Miller, who founded Chicken Cock Whiskey in Paris in 1856. The company says Miller’s name had not appeared on a Chicken Cock bottle for more than 100 years.
Miller’s distilling roots date to at least the late 1830s, according to the company. After his death in 1860, G.G. White continued using Miller’s name on Chicken Cock bottles and advertising. The name disappeared during Prohibition.
The Legacy Series bourbon is a blend aged at least six years and bottled at 115 proof. Its packaging uses pre-Prohibition advertising imagery and a medicinal-style bottle design associated with the company’s history.
“170 years is a milestone few whiskey brands ever reach, and we’re celebrating it in true Chicken Cock fashion,” said Will Woodington, Chicken Cock Whiskey’s manager of brand engagement, in a press release. “At Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2026, we’ll debut two limited releases that honor where we came from while raising a glass to where we’re headed.”
Chicken Cock’s history dates to James A. Miller’s first distilling venture, J.A. Miller’s Old Bourbon, in the late 1830s. The company says Chicken Cock became the first whiskey from Bourbon County to ship internationally and later gained a presence in Old West saloons, Gilded Age social clubs and Harlem’s Cotton Club during Prohibition.
Matti Anttila, CEO of Grain & Barrel Spirits, revived the brand in 2012.
Chicken Cock opened Circa 1856 Bardstown, its first brand home, in 2024 in one of the city’s oldest residences. In 2025, it opened Circa 1856 Louisville, a tasting room and speakeasy in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood.
The two anniversary releases are being sold through retailers nationwide and the company’s online shop.
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