Bardstown Bourbon Company 6 Year Old "Origin Series #1" Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)

Bardstown Bourbon Company 6 Year Old "Origin Series #1" is smooth, complex, and, delicious. This is a high-rye malt bill Bourbon with notes of baking spice, caramel, orange, and stone fruit. One of the best value Bourbons I have tasted in a long time and well worth the price!

For me, good whisky opens on the nose with nostalgia - Sure Bardstown's first self-made 6yr statement has greatly direct notes of snappy sweetcorn powder and apricot marmalade, but for me, this whisky has the scent of a Summer camp in the dry heat of a Northwoods afternoon, like the dust of a gravel road settling at sunset, a backyard barbeque in the dog days of September, or even the feeling you get after mowing the lawn on the most humid day of the year - this whisky smells and tastes like places I've been and things I've experienced growing up in the Midwest, in a way that's rather hard to explain other than through sense-memory. I could list more direct flavor notes because boy this whisky has them, but Bardstown has truly set an entirely unique sense of place and time in their first "true" statement, and it's one that I hope shines through all of their following Origin releases. Try a bottle and see where Bardstown Originated, maybe you also share the same memories they're so good at bottling.

The Bardstown Bourbon Company's Origin Series #1 is a homerun at this price point. Right off the bat, the nose snaps with great cinnamon and black pepper bite. It moves into dusty spicebox, honey, med-dark caramel, then it hits with tropical fruit notes (pineapple, coconut). The palate starts bright and moves darker. There's flavors of orange marmalade, more coconut, and vibrant spice. Then coffee-flavored caramels and an earthy woodiness come to dominate. This Bourbon has a luscious round texture and slides into a very long finish with tongue-tingling spice.

The importance of Bardstown Bourbon Company in 2023 cannot be overstated. These folks set out to build the world's most sophisticated and nimble whiskey production facility on the planet, and by all accounts they have succeeded. Since 2016 they have been producing a huge portion of the non distiller producer's Kentucky whiskey (and even some whiskey for the big boys who just wanted to increase production the easy way!) if that isn't a testament to the quality they are putting out, try this bottle for yourself. Their first release of 100% their own distillate comes in at a patient 6 years and robust 48% ABV - all at a legacy distillery's price point! Color is liquid amber. Nose: poised and balanced. Given the high rye in the mash, you might expect a spicier profile, but this has it all. The sweet caramel, toffee, coffee, vanilla, and candy corn loveliness is ballast to a prickly herbaceous spice melange and toasty oak. On the palate the wood leads. You've got fresh sawn oak, loads of vanilla and fresh Belgian waffles with grade A maple syrup. Dried fruits and a kiss of zesty citrus blossom adds intrigue and depth to an otherwise very classic Bourbon profile. This is a slam dunk drinker and a shot across the bow for every one in the whiskey game. Up your quality AND lower your prices, or Bardstown Bourbon Company will eat your lunch.

Everyone agrees that Bardstown Bourbon Co. is one of the most exciting new producers in Kentucky. They've done a huge amount of work to get to this point and now that there flagship own distilled bourbon is on the market, I think we can start to talk about them in the same breath as the other big boys. IN lots of ways, they've become the most important distiller in this Bardstown area - eclipsing the often forgotten Barton and the ultra rare Willett Family Estate, which only releases tiny amounts of age stated bourbon at very high prices. Bardstown on the other hand is offering 6 year old bourbon at $40 that hits every single note here. Many might look at the mashbill and think, oh it's going to be a big spicy rye bourbon, but Bardstown has managed to achieve extreme balance here, which is exactly why I keep reaching for it. Let's go! An absolutely gorgeous nose of sweet oak, honey, seville zest, yellow fruits - apricot, quince, yellow cherries, subtle fresh herbs (maybe a bit of mint, tarragon and dill), good sprinkle of baking spice. It's all at once super supple, open and quite complex, focused on corny sweetness and zesty citrus. It really balances the freshness with a sense of completeness. It doesn't feel at all young, but lifted and punchy. ON the palate, we've got a great texture at 96 proof with the stone fruit and citrus taking charge. It's by no means rye driven which is interesting, but hints of earthy spice and minty herbal character remind us it's 36% rye. If Bardstown keeps putting stuff out this good at 6 years old for $40, the big guys are going to have rethink all there plans I think. Every bourbon lover should be tasting this new benchmark from the excellent producer in Bardstown.