Bardstown Bourbon Co. Discovery Series #2

Ok barton, heaven hill, and turkey 10, 12, and 14 years old. Not in that order. Anyway great stuff on paper. Nose - Pretty traditional bourbon notes here. So can you pickup the blended distilleries? Well actually, yeah you can. Barton rye notes are generally a touch off putting...sourced ok whatever, but I get them here. I then get that turkey funky note, and there's a hint of nutty elements but not peanuts that I get on heaven hill. For me it's a lot of 1792 barrel proof and rare bread with a touch of something else. Sweet, rich, complex, weird...and that classic bourbon vanilla, oak and caramel. One nice note to add is some apple cinnamon cider served in a hay barn. Taste - Once again just a swirling mix of flavors but so much just traditional bourbon. OK so this is more oak driven with some funky notes. I don't say this often with bourbon but it's almost starting to get into savory elements as the oak and bourbon are playing this perfect balance where neither the bitter oak nor the sweet bourbon are able to get too far out in front, though the net whisky is still caramel with a touch of vanilla forward. There's a nutty note. Some fancy french pastry like bready and chocolatey notes. Totally creme brulee. And just this tootsie roll, candy falling apart, aged stout, but yet vanilla forward thing. Then the oak gives you impressions of being in a barn and just in some funky turkey rick houses. I'm super impressed with this one. SO much of the sourced bourbon lately has been really just MGP, barton, or dickle. This brings in well aged versions of turkey and heaven hill and then by blending them you get a whole new and frankly better experience. It's a bit tough at first to jump into this one, it's a whirlwind of what is that, but at the end of the day, it's one of the most complex straight bourbons I've seen in some time. I'll go 3.75. The only real issue here is there's no wow element or moment of DAMN. It's all about the complexity and challenges of pulling apart these notes. I'm not sure however that a lot of people who aren't here want to do that. If I were just drinking this on the rocks....I'd like it but I wouldn't buy again. As a geek, I might get another if they're around in a year.

I have my own ideas about bourbon, and this is what a premium straight bourbon should taste like. At $130 per bottle, this is money well spent on a well aged and well blended bourbon. The whiskeymakers at Bardstown are reminiscent of those at Compass Box, creating blends with a sense of purpose, delivering challenging and tasty delights. Discovery series #2 is a boulangerie in Paris. The rich and complicated sweet and baking spice aromas are overwhelming and intoxicating on the nose alone. And then you take a sip, and it is surprisingly gentle for 61.1% ABV. The dark chocolate and raisins are well balanced with confectionary sugar, cinnamon, and pastry dough. Soft rye spices, oak, and pistachios emerge in a lengthy and satisfying finish. There are no bad notes. So many bourbons are being released immature and with bad notes. I’m talking about fusel alcohols, corn syrup, corn oil, nut oils, pumpkin, and raw peanuts. Some of these are well hidden in barrel strength ABV, and it seems a lot of NAS barrel strength bourbons from famous brands these days are being bought up and flipped in an unhealthy current bourbon market. I have recently tried barrel strength E.H. Taylor, Elijah Craig, Weller, and Stagg Jr., and these are bakeries in Cleveland. As I said, I have my own ideas about bourbon, and I’m not saying boulangeries in Paris are better than bakeries in Cleveland. But, bakeries in Cleveland should not cost as much. The first investment in oak maturation is not to add flavor to the whiskey, but to subtract bad notes. When you go above $100, you should get a properly matured bourbon without bad notes. If you find your barrel strength NAS of choice at retail price, go ahead and enjoy. But you should not pay secondary market pricing, which are as much as this Discovery series costs or even more, for bakeries in Cleveland. Just spend the money instead on retail prices for Barrell, Bardstown, Kentucky Owl, Old Carter, etc. Score: ** (unimaginably good) How much does a bottle cost?: $120-140 How much do I think a bottle is worth?: $160

I was really excited about this one. Heard some great reviews like It's Bourbon Night, try before your die whiskeys. Lucky I was able to get a sample of it, with an MSRP of $120. I was able to find it in my area for this price and almost purchased it. Might of been my pallet after trying the William Heavenhill, th ediction 12 year. That baby was 134.4 proof! 1 ounce sample in a GC. Allowed it to breathe for 15 minutes N(3): Got a funky musk. The aroma was there but nothing really jumped out. Got a little bit of fruit sweetness. I had a couple of big sniffs after the first tasting, still no real change. I've had more come out of Buffalo Trace or Wild Turkey 101. P(3.25): Not complex or bold. It's good. Got some cherries and a bit of mint. Adding another quarter point because the mint was delightful and not overwhelming. F(3.75): Wow...this baby was hot. Punched my throat. I'm pretty good at handling high proof, JDBP, ECBP, Stagg Jr. After the second sip, it gave me heart burn. But the flavors were good. Vanilla and sweet oak with a drop of citrus. Like a young orange.

Excellent bourbon from a company doing some real creative blending. Nose-Maple sweetness jumps out of the glass, some cinnamon spice and leather notes are underneath the maple with a dash of fruits, mostly reminds me of pears Palate-rich and complex, lots of oak tannins, some of the maple sweetness from the nose appears Finish- lingering, creamy sweetness and cinnamon Verdict-While the price tag on this bottle is high, it is worth it for people seeking a rich, complex and oaky bourbon. One of my favorite bourbons of 2020 so far.

This is great bourbon. Rich, thick, dark cherries, oak, vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate. Finish goes on and on. Reminds me a lot of a very rare barrel proof whiskey that is very tough to find but I’m not going to name drop it, because then I won’t be able to find any Bardstown. This is great juice.

Sweet, high alcohol. A little bit of Rye and sweet at the same time. Maybe a citrus note. Brown sugar or Caramel on the finish. A bit of wood. Very good but discovery 3 is better.