Bardstown Bourbon Co. Origin Series Wheated Bourbon

My first foray into Bardstown as recommended by the owner of one of my favorite stores where I purchase a big majority of my bottles from. And he does know my taste quite well, having filled all of my online special orders. Bitter and bright orange pith ushers in nutty and sweet bear claw pastries drizzled with vanilla frosting. It is actually quite a stunning blend of sweet, spice, tannins and citrus. Very interesting and very unique indeed. The taste opens up with spicy sweet cinnamon toast crunch with orange marmalade riding on the back, but slowly give way to spicy peppercorns and tannic oak. Although not especially viscous in mouth feel, that prickly pepper does give you a little pleasant tongue tingle. Quite delicious in fact. The spicy and dry character pulls through the finish where you really do notice the tongue prickle. Orange pith adds a slight zing of citrus to an otherwise dry but satisfyingly long finish. Wow! This one swings way above its price point and this is WELL worth the sub $60 price tag. Actually this Origin series Wheated Bourbon is good enough to make me interested in other Bardstown offerings.

Bardstown Origin Series wheated bourbon. 53% corn, 39% wheat, 8% malted barley, distilled 2018, aged 6 years, bottled at 106 proof. Tasting neat. Light copper color and strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is sweet grain, caramel, floral vanillia, and a hint of spice in the far back. On the palate, soft caramel chews, light brown sugar, vanilla oak, and then char and a spicy grassy flash with ethanol shows up. Oily coating and rounded mouthfeel. The finish turns a little sour-- fruity sour-- with white pepper, spice, and tingling mint dominating. Finish is clean and average length--no lingering off-flavors. Very nice. An ice cube accentuates the soft sweeter side of this whiskey. I've been a fan of the Bardstown lineup (I like the bottle style too), but prefer the Origin straight BIB bourbon to this wheated bottle. This is a nice soft bourbon, and I can see why people liken it to Weller whiskies in terms of proof, flavor, and price point. A quality product that's easy to drink and enjoy.

Light amber color, nice legs. This is my second pass at the bottle. First impression was straight up caramel with a hint of fruit. This time, I'm picking up banana bread soaked in sweet caramel sauce. The palate still hits hard with caramel, accompanied with cinnamon and white pepper. I can also find apple in the background. The finish lasts quite a while, fading into a soft salted caramel, a touch astringent along the way. This is good but a bit one note. Swirling in an ice cube brings the fruit forward and backs off the pepper, leaving you with more of a carameled apple profile.

3.25 may be a tad low but stand by the rating. My chief complaint is a definite grainy note that comes through. There’s a good amount of spice on the pallet, which I enjoyed, but it did have a touch of ethanol. I got the bottle for $45 and I’m fine with it, but I wouldn’t be rushing out to buy another one. I’ve seen some people do blinds against the Weller antique 107. I did the same line in the Weller, crushed the BB

The nose is a little dust, saeet caramel and baking spice. On the tongue, warm and rich and big sweetness. A bit of caramel amkesnway to spice and heat and noce warmth from the proof. Its sweet and soicy and smooth. The wheat is really nice, reminiscent of antique 107 in my eyes. Very delicious. The finish is a little more proof than is there but not in a bad way. Very nice

One word: Vanilla Vanilla cream and sweet bread on the nose. Then vanilla extract on the pallet. Finish is thin to medium with the sweet vanilla extract moving to more of a oak and vanilla. Letting it rest and revisiting after a few minutes make the nose more like a vanilla maple syrup and still strong but not as sweet vanilla on the pallet, almost like melted ice cream.