By law, straight bourbon must be aged in new charred oak. That single rule created a global secondary market: once a Kentucky barrel is emptied, it goes on to age scotch, rum, beer — and tequila.
Which means a large share of the reposado and añejo tequila sold in America has spent time inside a barrel that started its life in Kentucky. This guide tracks the bottles where that relationship is explicit rather than incidental.
Our current starting point
Lunazul Reposado is the clearest example on our ranking: produced in Jalisco from 100% blue Weber agave, aged six months in Kentucky bourbon barrels, and owned by Bardstown-headquartered Heaven Hill Brands.
We are expanding this list bottle by bottle. Where a producer does not publicly state its barrel program, we leave it off rather than guess.
Some links on Kentucky Loves Tequila may take you to third-party retailers. Availability and pricing can change.