Bardstown Bourbon Co. Discovery Series #11 Review

It’s been a busy couple of years for Bardstown Bourbon Co. Beyond the large acquisition of Green River Spirits Co., the prolific Kentucky producer has also been dabbling in the evolution of the American whiskey barrel. This spring, they also saw the first-ever release of their in-house bourbon and rye whiskey brands in the form of The Origin Series, launching right out of the gate with impressive 6-year age statements. Those who have been paying attention to BBC have been able to see quite clearly that their in-house spirit has just about come of age, and it’s natural to wonder what this means for long-time blended flagship releases like the Fusion Series and Discovery Series.

The Fusion Series has always been built around blending the company’s own developing whiskeys with older sourced stock, in order to create a harmonious whole. But the Discovery Series to date has never included Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s own whiskey, as it was focused on blends with significantly higher age statements and profiles of maturity. But with Discovery Series #11, that status quo has finally come to an end. The distillery’s product is now mature enough for it to make its Discovery Series debut, albeit in very limited quantity.

That’s the thing with Bardstown Bourbon Co.–they don’t rush. They don’t force something, when it’s not really working. They may invite a little bit of their own spirit into this Discovery Series #11 release, but they’re not trying to pretend their whiskey is older than it really is. Instead, it’s present as just a small accent, albeit one that will likely slowly grow larger and bolder in future releases.

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Discovery Series #11 is also notable for the fact that it features exclusively Kentucky-sourced bourbon, the first time this has happened in the series since Discovery #4. Its makeup includes the following

— 73% Kentucky bourbon, 13 years old, 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley
— 21% Kentucky bourbon, 10 years old, 78% corn, 13% rye 9% malted barley
— 6% Kentucky bourbon (BBC), 6 years old, 68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley

The presence of the wheat in BBC’s portion technically would make this a four-grain Kentucky straight bourbon, though only just barely. It weighs in at 118.1 proof (59.05% ABV). So with that said, let’s get right into tasting this.

On the nose, BBC Discovery Series #11 is giving me heavy impressions of caramel, toffee and zesty orange, with hints of red fruit, vanilla, cream soda and gingerbread. Toasted oak spice gives way to deeper impressions of molasses–the nose suggests heavy levels of caramelization and deep oakiness.

On the palate, this does indeed turn in an oak-forward direction, with very dark caramel and molasses being balanced by slight woody bitterness and charred astringency. There is deep sweetness, but it’s met by accompanying oak funk and spice, with notes of clove, ginger and espresso/char. Some earthy rye starts poking its way through as I continue to sip, but the crux of this one to me revolves around the combination of heavily caramelized sugars, heavily charred oak–verging on burnt wood sugar impressions–and earthy/herbal rye. The company highlights more fruit impressions on the palate, but to me it’s more of an oak showcase–perhaps more of the company’s wheated bourbon in future installments of the Discovery Series will bring the fruitiness more to the foreground for my palate.

Regardless, the lovely deep caramelized sugars here are their own highlight. Fans of classic Kentucky bourbon profiles should be well pleased.

Distillery: Bardstown Bourbon Co.
City: Bardstown, KY
Style: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
ABV: 59.05% (118.1 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $140 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident craft beer and spirits geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.