Bardstown Bourbon Co. Plantation Rum Finish

My initial note would have read: “This is rum. Do not buy, unless you want to buy an overpriced rum.” However, I then did the following note-enrichment procedure: 1. Pour bottle into a decanter. 2. Hate contents so strongly that you don’t touch it again for like… 3 months. 3. Decide to kill it over the course of a few days to make room for a new Bardstown product in said decanter. 4. Get really drunk one night playing Rocket League, forget that you haven’t reviewed it yet, and pour last 4 fingers over ice. 5. Immediately realize that you haven’t yet reviewed this on Distiller, and are not of sound mind nor clean palate to be able to make a reasonable review. 6. In a fierce determination to not have to buy another bottle of this, promptly pour back about two ounces into aforementioned decanter. 7. Wait until you’re not hungover. 8. Review whiskey. My methodology may sound strange, but I swear to you that it made a noticeable improvement. Genuinely. Nose is cedar, sourness, mustiness. Not a rum connoisseur but I don’t detect the rum influence on the nose. It’s honestly more reminiscent of Russell’s Reserve or Elijah Craig 18 than of a finished bourbon. Body is: rum. I get tangerine too if I really hunt, but that rum note is everything. Finish is sugar, rum, cinnamon. There’s coconut. There’s no other way to say it: this is a suboptimal product. I think that my accidental dilution and aeration did in fact reduce the bite of that rum finish, but it is still dominant. Bardstown’s finishes aren’t exactly known for subtlety, and I’d argue that nobody errs more strongly on the side of the finishing barrel’s profile (over the base juice) than Bardstown. Most of the time, that’s a blessing. Twice now, it has been… “suboptimal.” This is a step up from Destillare, which… over 2 years later, I haven’t revisited my open bottle once. But this is definitely not their best work, nor is it close to best in genre. Go for Borough (if you can find it), Blood Oath (ditto), or Jefferson’s (totes can find this one) before going for this bottle. BTW: I gotta give it to @pkingmartin… “chalky orange sports drink” is one of those brilliant, non-unlearnable whiskey notes. Once you read that, there is no untasting it. That is my new, overall takeaway from this whiskey, and I’m not hating it one bit.

The nose starts with a mix of light pineapple, toasted coconut and leather then dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts and mild pipe tobacco followed by chalky orange sports drink, sautéed apples and cherries that transitions to light baking spices and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of grilled pineapple rings, toasted coconut and leather before a mild peppery spice that quickly fades to dark chocolate covered espresso beans, macadamia nuts and mild pipe tobacco followed by chalky orange sports drink, sautéed mangoes and cherries that transitions to light baking spices and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with grilled pineapple rings, toasted coconut, dark chocolate mocha, chalky orange, light oak spices, leather and mildly ashy oak. For being finished for around 22 months in rum casks, the rum influence is rather subtle on the nose that I’d likely have missed if I was tasting this blind, but that rum influence becomes more dominant on the taste while not overpowering those typical bourbon flavors before finishing tropical with mild earthy spices, chalky orange and ashy oak. At a price of around $160, it’s a unique finished bourbon but just doesn’t seem worthy of that high of a premium for 10-year-old Tennessee whisky with a rum finish and I’d much rather spend that on plenty of other bottles half the cost that I prefer over this one. Thanks @PBMichiganWolverine for the generous sample.

I’m pouring out a few samples for our ( our as in @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington @pkingmartin @ctbeck11 and @Richard-ModernDrinking ) online tasting in a few weeks. This one is one of my contributions. So, while pouring out some samples, I poured myself a wee dram into a glencairn….middle of the week, and out of character. But YOLO. I was never a fan of Plantation rum. In fact, the few times I’ve had it ( usually at a friend’s), I felt as if I either need to pour it down the drain, or mix it into some colorful sugary cocktail. But I put my hesitation to the side, and gave the benefit of doubt to Bardstown’s blending skills. The only other blender I’d blindly buy would be Barrell. A $150, about 80% more than a blend by Barrell, is a steep price for a risk to take. But in this case, was well worth it . Generally I find rum finished bourbons unbalanced, where the rum is pushed to the forefront, leaving the bourbon notes as an afterthought. Bardstown did a damn good job of combining molasses, vanilla, oak, fig, and chocolates. Really well balanced, well blended. The finish lingers with notes of coffee and molasses. For those that aren’t a fan of sweet rum or rum finished bourbon, give this one a try. Deviates from the norm, for the better.

I'm a big rum drinker and fan of rum barrel finished liquors (when done right) so I bought this hoping it justified the cost. This is definitely a bourbon first, but rum barrel definitely shows up. Tastes like a typical Jamaican barrel as well (very forward with little sweetness). I imagine the ratings will be all over, but wouldn't suggest buying unless you like rum as the rum barrel definitely has a strong presence. Started hot for me, but after about 10 minutes with ice, alcohol presence dies down. Worth the cost? I'm not disappointed as it's a good bourbon, though you can get better at same price or cheaper. It's uniqueness is what sets it apart. If you want a good rum barrel finished bourbon, I think this fits the bill, otherwise look for something else. If you can try it first before purchasing a bottle, I'd definitely suggest doing so. Cheers! 🥃

Definitely get the Rum notes right out of the shoot on the Aroma. Banana, brown sugar and notes of the rum itself. Very nice. Actually opens up and is nice. Glad I waited to review this deeper in the bottle. When I first opened it, "the neck pour" was OK, but nothing special. The bottle has definitely opened. Mouth feel is rich and almost oily. The rum takes a back seat in the flavor, much more than in the Aroma. Essentially provides depth and later adds to the finish. Pine notes, some cedar, black pepper and still brown sugar. Finish is wonderful. Almost like your chewing on it for about 45 seconds to a minute. Great to take your time through the glass. Yeah it's real good

Thankfully the rum finish is not heavy-handed, at least on the nose. I get a good bit of peanut shells, caramel, vanilla. The coconut and tropical fruit seem to be in the background, and honestly I have to work a bit to find them. The palate begins to show more of the rum. Sweet coconut candy and pineapple. Transitions to more of the bourbon flavors, before showing the rum again on the finish. It stays short of cloying, but the finish is quite sweet. Seems to be a tinge of the mineral Dickel note on the finish. Thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample.