Bardstown Bourbon Co. Origin Series Bourbon

I have been thoroughly enjoying Bardstown Bourbon Co. and their Origin series and obviously am looking forward to trying out their other lines as well. That said, I favorably reviewed their bottled in bond and wheated and am now sitting down to finally try the Straight Bourbon. A superbly balanced nose on this selection. A creamy dessert comes to mind on a backdrop of tannins. Honey, peanut brittle and custard present very strongly on the nose, followed by cocoa powder, tannic oak and leather. Dive deeper in the nose to reveal stone fruit and oranges as well. Palate starts sweet and indeed has quite a viscous mouthfeel throughout. Sweet cream with vanilla starts the taste softly which blows wide open to tingling peppercorn, cinnamon, mint leaf, tannic oak and leather. It really packs a wallop and certainly isn't as creamy sweet as the nose suggests. The finish remains dry and spicy. Leather continues to dominate along with oak. The tongue, sides and roof of your mouth still tingle from that peppercorn. Breathe through your mouth and you'll be rewarded with citrus, although because of the tannic bite... tastes more of orange pith than anything. This is by far and away the spiciest and driest of the 3 Origin bourbons. This is great if you're into Rye but I am not so enthused by the inherently spicy characteristics of Rye so this is definitely my least favorite with the Wheated coming in a resounding first place. Still - it is damn nice to have such variety amongst their Origin lineup and indeed, this bourbon is quite far outside the "norm". Look - for the price? Just pick up a bottle. Hurry, before the hipsters discover Bardstown Bourbon Co and all of their bottles become rarer than unicorn piss.

Bardstown Bourbon Co. ORIGIN SERIES BOURBON 6YR (Fall 2017) *NOSE: RYE SPICE! And I do mean lots of it. Dry, Dusty, and Spicy. Just hints at Sweetness with Light Cocoa Powder, Dry Brown Sugar, and some Wood Spice. Simple, but very good. *NEAT: There's more Sweetness here than the nose would lead you to believe, but to get to it, you've got to get through the Spicy Dry Coating that consists of Rye, Oak Spice, Black Pepper, Orange Peel, and Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Once you do, the Sweetness shows up on the backend with the Holy Bourbon Trinity: Vanilla Bean, Caramel, and Honey. That Dry Spiciness comes back on a Long Peppery Finish with an excellent KYHug. You're left with a Layering Coating of Oak, Cinnamon, and Vanilla that hangs around even after the Glencairn is empty. *SPLASH: Doesn't change the Nose much, but the Palate gets more of the Honey & Vanilla while only losing a smidge of the Spice. *VERDICT: I was underwhelmed by the lone Bardstown bottle in my collection (one of the Fusion Series, not sure which) so I was a little reluctant, but I was persuaded by the $40'ish price tag, the 6YR age statement and the super high Rye Mashbill. Glad I talked myself into it. This is good. I mean surprisingly good. Maybe even (gasp) Special Release good. Not overly complex, but f you like Spicy this should be on your radar. This is what I was hoping for from my other Bardstown bottle (which if memory serves was about $20 more). If this continues to be readily available it will definitely have a spot on the shelf.

Color: light-medium copper. Nose: Familiar vanilla and caramel. Slight hint of molasses. Palate: Initial alcohol burn followed immediately by cocoa — like a packet of hot cocoa. First time I've got such a strong cocoa flavor. I've seen it mentioned in the expert reviews here, for other bottles I've had in the past. But never have I actually tasted it until now. I'm getting a lot from this juice on its maiden voyage. Slightly sweet... slightly bitter cherry on the front end, orange zest appears on the back end. I drink my bourbon with either an ice cube or a large ice ball — depending on proof. Drinking this with a cube. As the cube has dissolved, a smooth and leathery-caramel flavor is revealed. Finish: Spicy and oaky with a slight drying quality. Final thoughts: I've wanted to try past Bardstown offerings, but they've always been a bit over what I've been willing to pay for, going on reviews alone. But coming in at under $50.00, this is excellent bourbon. A smooth, flavorful easy sipper. I would definitely buy this again. As a side note, the bottle is really nice. The artwork that appears inside the bottle, against the back light, is very pretty. Brownie points!

Nose is cedar, mustiness, yogurt covered animal crackers. Salt. Body is basic bourbon done well. Caramel, leather, vanilla, sugar. There’s some grape in there too. Finish is baking spices, black pepper. Hint of marshmallow. I like this more than black label origins, but it’s for subjective flavor profile reasons. They’re both solid products, and on both they got the pricing right. If I were going to keep one Bardstown product in stock, it would be this one. Leaps and bounds better than the fusions I’ve tried, half the price of the premium products. Well done BBC. The first company ever to use that initialism, I believe. Up next: origins green.

Finished the bottle before I got to legitimately reviewing this 😅 If I am being honest, this bourbon is not completely outstanding - but thats what makes it great. Not highly complex, but has that iconic “bourbon” taste of sweet vanilla and caramel. At a price point of about $55, this is a fantastic daily sipper. Both this and the black(?) label Origin expression from Bardstown are amazing bang-for-your-buck bottles. Don’t expect this to be life changing, but do expect to be completely satisfied everytime you reach for this bottle.

Dark golden straw in color, the legs show up slowly but in great number. Plenty of corn on the nose: corn flakes and semi sweet deer feed corn, as well as buttered toast, vanilla, cobwebs, and a hint of smoke. Mid palate dries out a bit, and moves on to oak sawdust and spice fest. Clove, cinnamon, and white pepper. Thins out rather quickly and leaves a pleasant warmth after the swallow. There's a subtle lingering sweetness into the simple finish. Not bad, Its just underwhelming compared to their other offerings.