A Kentucky bourbon is at the center of a national political scandal. 

The Atlantic, who has drawn the ire of FBI Director Kash Patel, released a Wednesday evening report saying Patel often gifts engraved bottles of Woodford Reserve while on official business. 

Patel has filed a defamation lawsuit the media outlet for a previous report that said he had bouts of excessive drinking which could jeopardize national security. 

“The bottles bear the imprint of the Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve, and are engraved with the words ‘Kash Patel FBI Director,’ as well as a rendering of an FBI shield,” The Atlantic reported in the latest story. “Surrounding the shield is a band of text featuring Patel’s director title and his favored spelling of his first name: Ka$h. An eagle holds the shield in its talons, along with the number 9, presumably a reference to Patel’s place in the history of FBI directors. In some cases, the 750-milliliter bottles bear Patel’s signature, with ‘#9’ there as well.”

Elizabeth Conway, a spokesperson for Woodford Reserve’s parent company, the Brown-Forman Corporation, told The Atlantic that buyers “occasionally have images and messages engraved on the bottle,” which happens “after the point of purchase.”

In an emailed statement to the Kentucky Lantern Thursday, Conway said such engravings happen after the point of purchase “typically in or through local off-premise retailers like liquor stores.” 

“We have no records indicating this engraving occurred at the Woodford Reserve Distillery,” Conway added. “I do not have information regarding whether the Director purchased them, where, or if the FBI was involved.”

Some retailers in Kentucky offer engravings for a range of prices. Liquor Barn’s website says engravings there typically cost $25. Cox’s and Evergreen Liquors locations offer engravings on some bottles free of charge. 

In February, Patel visited Manchester with U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, the Republican who represents Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District. They met with local law enforcement officials in a luncheon that was closed to press.

Asked if Patel had gifted any bottles of bourbon during the visit, Rogers spokesperson Danielle Smoot said in an email that the congressman “did not receive bourbon or any other gifts from Director Patel and no one on our staff witnessed him giving any gifts to anyone else.”

“Have you considered doing a story about him taking time to honor our law enforcement officers in Southern and Eastern Kentucky?” she added.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Linda Blackford for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.