Preservation Distillery Old Man Winter Bourbon Review

Old Man Winter Bourbon is one of those sourced, blended bourbon brands that has been around for long enough to have practically seen the entire bourbon/American whiskey/brown liquor boom come up from its infancy, but it’s still not a brand that is particularly widely known thanks to its small bottle counts and sporadic releases. A product of the small, farm-based Preservation Distillery in Bardstown, the company says that Old Man Winter has appeared for “several decades,” but in what capacity? Does a release from 10 or 20 years ago have anything in common with what is found in this bottle today? Details are scarce, so it’s best to focus simply on what we have before us now.

Preservation Distillery is a very small distilling operation, specializing in pot still bourbon, produced only a couple barrels at a time. The overarching company, however, is associated with small batch, high-end blended whiskey releases such as Very Olde St. Nick and the Rare Perfection series, which may or may not contain some portion of the Preservation Distillery pot still product, blended in with sourced bourbons. That is indeed the case for Old Man Winter Bourbon: This is a blend of the Kentucky pot still bourbon (presumably a small-ish amount) with sourced liquid from some of the usual suspects in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. Once upon a time, this brand apparently carried a robust age statement, but it’s now non-age-stated, and we would surmise it’s a blend of both relatively young and old spirits. The final product is bottled (for the 2023 batch) at 54.9% ABV (109.8 proof), in a heavy duty bottle with redundant wax top, at an oddly specific MSRP of $158. The company calls it “An amalgamation of bourbon from our vintage stocks at Preservation Distillery.”

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So with that said, let’s get to tasting this wide-ranging blend.

On the nose, Old Man Winter Bourbon is sweet and perfumed with a variety of fruity tones, though it stands out as being a bit on the hot side for this proof point. I’m getting stand-out citrus and peach-like stone fruit aromatics, wrapped up in warm caramel, clove and allspice, along with sweet vanilla buttercream. There’s also an underlying sweet graininess that is evocative of cream of wheat or oatmeal with maple, and hints of aromatic, dry woodshed-like oak. It’s a nice nose, aside from the fact that the ethanol stings a little more than I’d like here.

On the palate, this one boasts a nice, silky texture and a combination of sweet and spicy elements. There’s significant rye spice to be found here, with peppery and chile-like components and herbal spice, along with sweeter, wood-derived baking spice notes, particularly allspice. There’s some dry oak and tannin on the back end, balancing out a more immediate rush of honey/light caramel sweetness with stone fruit and apple. Overall residual sweetness is moderate, with a sturdy heat–though not quite as hot as I thought it might be–that evokes tingling chiles.

All in all, this is an intriguing combination of elements that is likely bringing together enough different points of origin to become something widely enjoyable but somewhat indistinct. It’s a little rough and tumble when it comes to the alcohol side of the spectrum, but I quite like the way it’s combining fruit and spice in particular. As is the case with some of these other Preservation Distillery releases, though, I can’t help but think that the consumer would probably appreciate more transparency when it comes to charging $150 or more on a bottle.

Distillery: Preservation Distillery
City: Bardstown, KY
Style: Blended bourbon whiskey
ABV: 54.9% (109.8 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $158 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.