The folks at Bardstown Bourbon Company were kind enough to send me a sample of their latest collaboration with Chateau de Laubade. I was a huge fan of the first release so my expectations are high for this one! They did change the source of the base spirit from IN to a blend of KY and TN.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Chateau de Laubade Collaboration 2
Age: Blend of 10-12 years
Proof: 107
Neat
Notes: The TN notes are very present on the nose. Chocolate milk powder, minerality, dark dried fruit, rich oak, long warm finish with cinnamon sugar notes.
Conclusion
Overall this is a nice bottle that blends the KY and TN bourbons to bring out both of their strengths and the 16 months armagnac finish adds a great layer of complexity and sweetess. On the other hand this does not live up to the extremely high bar set by the first release. That said I am certainly going to enjoy drinking it and am very glad to see that the Bardstown folks are able to keep this series going strong even without the 10+ year MGP.
TL;DR: It’s nice but that first batch is hard to beat.