The folks at Bardstown were kind enough to send me good sized(200ml!) samples of their last two Fusion releases. The Series 8 is a blend of two of their 4 year old bourbons with 58% of the 75/21/4 recipe, 12% of the 70/18/12 and a 12 year old 78/10/12 Kentucky bourbon. The Series 9 includes the same high rye Bardstowns distillate, their 4 Grain which is 60/26R/10W/4 and that same 12 year.
Since I received the samples for free I won’t be assigning stars.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 8
Age: 4-12 years
Proof: 95.5
Neat
Notes: The nose is sweet and rich with vanilla cream notes. The palate is grain forward with layers underneath bringing sweet honey and rye spice. Very good finish with a nice lingering spice balanced with vanilla. Overall this is like a nice slice of rye bread with a honey and buttercream spread but in a glass.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 9
Age: 4-12 years
Proof: 96.8
Neat
Notes: The nose is all sweet, bright fruit (apricot maybe?). The palate brings wheat bread and jelly notes(same fruit as the nose but sweeter). The finish is short and clean with a bit of spice and grain.
Conclusion
It’s been a lot of fun tasting these Fusion releases over the years and seeing the Bardstown distillate come of age. These last two releases were the best of the run especially Series 8. I’ll miss the 12 year bourbon in these blends but I can’t wait to see how Bardstown Origin series kicks off and for them to start using their own distillate in their collaborations.
TL;DR: The last 2 Fusion releases were easily my favorites of the bunch especially Series 8. Can’t wait for the Origin Series!