Bardstown Bourbon Co. The Prisoner Wine Co. Finish

Rating: 18/23 I'm pretty pissed that Google Sheets just deleted all of my tasting notes for this, so I'm going to do my best to recreate them. I'm skeptical of red wine finishes in general and I don't really think of The Prisoner as a quality brand (this collaboration is no Green Spot Chateau Montelena), but I have some vague recollection of people having good things to say about this particular dram. While I don't remember what those good things were or why people said them, I'm always interested in trying something new, so I'm looking forward to giving this a shot! N: Dry and spicy with red fruits. I get that terroir from the red wine coming out as a kind of dusty earthiness. That transitions nicely into the cask and then that Dickel vitamin scent. There's some limestone as well. There's some nice spiciness coming out of the barrel and also a hint of black licorice. The terroir isn't super lush and funky, so it works well with the barrel and the Dickel vitamin profile. I'm presuming that this is a cabernet sauvignon finish because of the mix of fruit, barrel, and earth, but it could be a blend. I'm not convinced that a red wine finish like this is generally good for bourbons, but it does work quite well with the Dickel profile. A bit of sweet caramel shows up eventually, but there isn't a ton of it. I'm getting a bit of creosote too, which I appreciate because it's been a wile since I tried a bourbon with some nice creosote. It reminds me a little of Joseph Magnus, which is always a good thing. P: Surprisingly fruity and sweet right off the bat. I get a bunch of red fruit before barrel spice (clove, ginger, black pepper, maybe some cinnamon) and then barrel and then vitamins come out. Going further through this, the palate thins out, which is what I expect from a dram with a red wine finish, though it isn't what I hope for. I do get a bit of vanilla in here as well at points. Some black licorice. It's a good palate, though it emphasizes the fruit more than I expected and I'm not sure I like that. It's also on the thin side, unfortunately. There's also a bit more sweetness from the wine than I'd like and it's giving me a little bit of PX sherry vibe. The balance is still quite good and there's some solid complexity. This somehow just barely holds itself together. Oh, there is some creosote after all! Also, a little bit of something slightly vegetal, but it's just a bit rich, not overly funky. F: Dry, tannic red fruit mixes with more of a sweet and tart layer of red fruit that's restrained. Dickel vitamins and some dry wood. - Conclusion - Pulling out some stuff side by side, this lacks the tannic bitterness of George Dickel 15 Single Barrel (15/23). I would definitely choose this. George Dickel Bottled In Bond (2005, 13 years) (16/23) has some more light caramel sweetness mixed with some peanut shells and vanilla. And I guess peanut shells. It's certainly more of a standard bourbon profile. This is more out there and approaches being a cocktail in style, but it's in the very nicely executed cocktail range. Between the two, I'd take this. It's a bit gimmicky, but there really is some nice execution here. Resilient 15 (Barrel #124) (18/23) ups the ante in terms of Dickel maturity, complexity, and balance. This has more of a fight on its hands here. This wins in terms of complexity but its balance doesn't really hold out. I think that this is better than Bardstown Goodwood Walnut Brown Ale (17/23), but it struggles to surpass the Resilient. There is a ton going on here though and the biggest complaint that I have with it is that it's kind of weird. I could be convinced that this is on par with the Resilient and I might even be able to be convinced that it's competitive with 1792 Full Proof (19/23). This is certainly not below a 17. The complexity and balance here are very nice, even though it doesn't abide by the normal rules of bourbon flavors. Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 (18-19/23) definitely displays more alcohol, much like the 1792, though both are substantially higher proof than this. There are bold bourbon flavors to the Wild Turkey, though they aren't necessarily better than what this has. Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Barrel Proof (18/23) has more of the subdued character that is needed for a comparison with this (though it is also 10% higher proof than this is). The Russell's has some nice maturity and balance, though its depth and complexity could use some work. This seems a bit light and ... like a cocktail in comparison, but there's still a lot of good flavors going on here. Old Forester 1920 (18/23) is also tasty and hedonistic with some character to it as it shows off the spices and the barrel. This seems decently competitive with the Old Forester. For a final comparison (which I don't expect to impact the rating here), Joseph Magnus (21/23) is far more leathery with far more creosote, spice, tannin, and wood. But with far less fruit. Joseph Magus is much better than this in my book, but it's not like this isn't also a great dram. After all of this tasting, I'm going with an 18 for this. It seems solidly in that range, even though it's hard to really rate something with so much of a cocktail character to it. I would definitely take this over Bardstown Goodwood Walnut Brown Ale and I hope to find more experiments with Dickel and red wine in the future! Bardstown did a great job of finishing here. Thank you @pkingmartin for sharing this with me!

Blind pour #2. Dark amber with thick, slow legs. Oak for days with gobs of spice. Pepper, cinnamon, chili powder. A bit of leather. Dark brown sugar. Dark tobacco. Maybe a touch of cedar. Overripe banana esters. Library books and maybe a bit of sesame oil. Slight varnish. Super interesting. If I had to guess this is 13-14 years old and north of 110 proof, high rye mash bill. Profile at first made me think Elijah Craig but there is more of a Barton or possibly Brown Forman edge the longer it sits. Thick with wood, spice and brown sugar. Like licking a cedar plank crusted with burnt brown sugar. There are many more wood and earthy notes than sweet or fruity notes here. This bourbon could masquerade as a brooding bounty hunter in the dimly lit corner of a bar, his face illuminated only by the draw from his hand rolled cigarette. The finish is dry with leather, dark tobacco… and on the back of the tongue Beam peanut. Is this a Little Book? Could this be Beam with a twist? I believe it is very, very possible… Reveal: Bardstown The Prisoner #1 So my hunches are once again entirely wrong. Tennessee = Dickel around 98% of the time it would seem. I will say this is unlike their highly acclaimed BiB which had way more fruit to it that plays much more of a supporting role here. Honestly the wine finish was missed on me. Oak and spice were 2/3 or more of what came across but could be what is eaten, barometric pressure, etc. Overall this was still an interesting, enjoyable and flavor-packed pour. It certainly drinks like something I’d expect to pay $100 for. Despite being the opposite of what I would expect this is something I would likely pay MSRP for if I wanted something that drank like a well aged and earthy bourbon. Another shout out to @pkingmartin and for the excellent find and for generously sharing this with me! Definitely an educational dram if nothing else.

It’s 2020. It’s December. Let’s shut this year down with a brand new whiskey (or whisky) every day. It’s my own personal whiskey advent calendar. +6! Dec. 11, 2020 This is 9 year old Tennessee bourbon finished in French Oak red wine barrels for a 18 months. Overall big fan of Bardstown, with a big letdown from Destillare. Hoping for a comeback story with this one. Nose is nose hair singing. This is hot. There’s grapes, raisin, sugar, ice cream. It’s on fire, but it’s delicious. Body hits gentler than expected in mouth feel. In flavor, there’s a heavy oak wall, higher than you’d expect for a 9-year bourbon. Get past it, and you’re rewarded. There’s lemon, fruit punch, sangria, cherry. This is delicious. Finish is gentle. There’s lingering sugars, but also tannins and a hint of cherry. There’s a nice buzz, and some cinnamon. Like most red wine finished bourbons, you can find that almond aftertaste, but the other flavors are too rich to make that a dominant finish note. This drink is phenomenal. It’s the best red wine finish I’ve ever had. And yet... it’s still not my favorite bardstown. They nailed this one out of the park, as they often do. It’s a bourbon for red wine lovers, finished bourbon fans, and anyone open to something new and well crafted. ‘Tis the season. I’m day-to-day on my whiskey selection, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. Merry whiskey to all, and to all a beer flight!

Being a big fan of Prisoner wine and Bardstown bourbon, I was very excited about this collaboration from them to see how the wine and bourbon would combine. On the nose: it starts with freshly baked pie with cherry, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry and plums jumping out of the glass in this huge baked fruit explosion then leading to a rich caramel gelato and then raisins, leather and baking spice before a medium ethanol burn. On the taste: it has a rich velvety mouthfeel and a big Hawaiian Punch fruit explosion with all the fruits on the nose coming right at your tongue, then baked pie crust, caramel gelato and a high oak tannin bitterness with leather and barrel spices leading to a medium ethanol bite that finishes with medium length notes of cherry, caramel gelato, almonds, leather and barrel spices. Overall, this is seems like grown up Hawaiian Punch. That little fucker has apparently grown up from my childhood and is now Cobra Kai alumni and is knocking back Bardstown Fusion all day before he goes around karate chopping people’s tongues. The wine influence here is big and I think most people that don’t like wine will not like the mixture of the wine flavors with a bourbon, but for me this works and I like the combination Bardstown has managed to come up with.

Nose- The 100 proof point comes through with some heat but there is also vanilla and interestingly cloves. Body- Cherry and thick tongue coating tannins, this is a bourbon for wine drinkers. Very rich but tastes lower in proof than it is. Finish- The cherry and berry notes fall away to a rich vanilla and clove. This is a fantastic bourbon! I have heard good things of Bardstown and this one has definitely piqued my interest in the distillery. In fact I bought several of these as it is a one and done bottling from my understanding. A great bourbon when you want something rich with heavy fruit notes.

Overall not really impressed, it’s like trying to drink whiskey out a bottle of wine . The nose is the best part of this bourbon , taste disappears after mid palate . I get a lot of grape and black pepper but once it gets about half threw your tongue it flattened out , no hug no burn almost became wine like lol low proof and she shows . I’d pass on this one and it’s price tag but if your not super into bourbons and just want something to talk about and a easy sipper “boo” it might work for you or maybe lady’s who like wine . I bet it’s sourced from Dickle !