Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series, Bottled-in-Bond

Maker: Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBC), Bardstown, Kentucky, USA

Distiller: Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBC), Bardstown, Kentucky, USA (100%)

Style: Bonded wheat bourbon

Age: 6 y/o (distilled fall of 2016)

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Michigan state minimum: $50

Appearance: Medium copper.

Nose: Toasted almonds, smoked chilis, leather, paperwhite narcissus.

Palate: Full bodied and sweet. Caramel, chocolate covered cherries, heat. Water takes away the heat, but leaves the candy behind.

Finish: Dry and tingly. Oak, hot chilis. Much the same with water, but a little nutty too.

Mixed: At $50 a bottle, I’m hesitant to mix this, but it did well in an old fashioned.

Parting words: This is the first Bardstown Bourbon Company product I’ve reviewed. I almost took a tour there once with my Georgia Bourbon Society comrades (I was named president of the Mitten Chapter), but I had a conflict, so I missed out.

That was before BBC had released any of its own product. I heard the tour was great, but, frankly, I wasn’t too interested in them back then. The point at which I begin taking micro distillers seriously is usually at the point when they release a bonded whiskey (or brandy or whatever). Bottled-in-Bond (from the company’s own distillery) is the test to make it into a regular spot in my liquor cabinet. If you can do that well then you’ve proven that you are worth my time.

BBC has done it well. They’ve actually done it better than they needed to. This six year old tastes like an eight year old from a large distillery. The depth of flavor and complexity was a big, welcome surprise. You can mix it or drink it on the rocks and it will be just fine, but it’s best neat or with a little water.

The entirety of BBC’s line is currently in the Michigan price book. That includes the Origin (100% BBC distilled), Discovery (BBC + sourced whiskey), Collaborative (finished), Distillery (collaborations?), and Fusion (marriage of different mashbills) series. Origin is the most affordable, which is convenient because it’s the series I’m most interested in. The Collaborative series interested me before I saw the prices. Paying well over $100 for finished, sourced whiskey doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

At any rate, THIS bourbon is reasonably priced for its quality and proof. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series, Bottled-in-Bond is recommended!