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.

Bardstown Bourbon Company was kind enough to send me a sample of their collaboration with Plantation Rum. I tried both the rum and bourbon neat as well as in cocktails.

The bourbon is a 10 year old from Tennessee weighing in at 104 proof. It reminds me of a peanut butter and banana sandwich with notes of rye bread, nuts, funkiness, banana and some oak. It was tasty neat and made an amazing old fashioned where the rum influence especially the funky banana came through nicely.

The rum was very sweet with a sugary sweetness, some banana and ethanol. The dark and stormy was great, especially for sitting outside on a hot day. The fancy cocktail glass they sent me was perfect for the occasion.

Thanks again to the folks at Bardstown!

Bourbon Enthusiast picked an excellent Traverse City Barrel Proof barrel a while back and I’m finally making it to the end of the bottle so it’s time for a review.

Traverse City Bourbon Enthusiast Single Barrel

Age: 7 years

Proof: 118.4

Neat

Notes: The nose is balanced between sweet and spice with caramel, baking spice and black pepper notes. The palate is sweeter with brown sugar, cherry syrup and vanilla balanced by fainter spice and a bit of oak. The mouth feel is nicely viscous and the proof is well integrated. The finish is long especially for the age with a sticky sweet caramel note and just a bit of warm spice. Overall it’s a great bourbon and will be missed.

Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

TL;DR: Another great MGP pick from Bourbon Enthusiast

I had the chance to help pick some Heaven’s Door barrels for Spec’s earlier this year with @jordavis_ and @longhornbourbon 🥃 We selected 4 barrels and my favorite of the bunch was a 7 year old sourced from MGP weighing in at 116.4 proof. It’s a classic MGP flavor profile with a sweet, fruity nose, brown sugar on the palate and a long warm finish. It’s dangerously easy to drink for the proof and this bottle has gone very fast. Heaven’s Door is continuing to improve their offerings and I’m looking forward to the barrels they bring to Texas next!

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!

It’s been a while since the days of readily available 15 year Knob Creek picks so I was very excited to see Beam releasing a new extra aged bourbon. I was lucky enough to grab a bottle yesterday and got into it as soon as I was off work.

Hardin’s Creek: Jacob’s Well

Age: 15 years 4 months

Proof: 108

Neat

Notes: The nose is sweet with notes of salted caramel and rich oak. The palate brings more caramel, vanilla cream, leather and a good amount of rye spice. The mouthfeel is excellent for the proof which is also well integrated. The finish is slightly dry with vanilla extract, oak and warm spice.

Stars: 3 - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle

Conclusion

This is an excellent whisky that is up there with Booker’s 30th and Booker’s Rye for my favorite Beam releases. It’s more drinkable than Booker’s 30th and the old 120 proof 15 year picks while bringing just as much flavor. It reminds me a bit of Doc Swinson’s 15 year release 6 as well. I’ll definitely be looking for a backup and keeping an eye out for future Hardin’s Creek releases.

TL;DR: My 3rd favorite Beam release

I haven’t had much from Braeval but I was curious to try this indie bottling from Total Wine. I’ve now had it for years and finally got through it.

Alexander Murray Braes of Glenlivet 1994 21 Year

Age: 21 years

Proof: 86

Cask Type: Ex-bourbon

Neat

Notes: Easy nose with no proof sting and a bit of sweetness. Simple and sweet on the palate with pear and vanilla notes. A bit of oak and spice but mostly the fruit and vanilla on the short, clean finish. The anemic proof shows on the mouthfeel and .

Stars: 0 - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this over other readily available options

Conclusion

While this was enjoyable it was unremarkable. A more active barrel, higher proof or less filtration may have helped make this more interesting.

TL;DR: Fine but nothing to write home about.

When I saw that Balvenie was releasing a higher proof (for them), age stated whisky finished in pineau des charentes casks I knew I needed one. I’ve been a fan of Balvenie since I started being able to afford drinking it and my last trip to Scotland deepened my appreciation for their whisky. I first discovered pineau des charentes finishing with Joseph Magnus’s Murray Hill Club Special Release 2 and was immediately a huge fan.

Balvenie 16 Year French Oak Finished in Pineau Casks

Age: 16 years

Proof: 95.2

Neat

Notes: The sweet wine notes are prevalent right away with honey, pear and a hint of spice on the nose. The palate brings vanilla cream, fainter pear and more spice. The finish is long and soft with vanilla sweetness, subtle oak and touch of spice. The mouthfeel is excellent for the proof and the proof is well integrated letting you know it’s there without overwhelming.

Stars: 3 - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle

Conclusion

All in all this is a fantastic pour and despite the higher price I’d definitely grab a backup if I came across one. I hope this leads to more releases like this from Balvenie and Glenfiddich.

TL;DR: Higher proof, 16 years, great finish, what’s not to love?

I polished off two great bottles from Doc Swinson’s yesterday to make some room for their new releases.

The first is release 9 from their Exploratory Cask Series. It’s a 15 year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey weighing in at 113.8 proof. It’s sweet and rich upfront with caramel, nuts, vanilla frosting with spice and oak coming in at the end. The mouthfeel is viscous and quite nice for the proof. The slightly dry, spicy finish makes me want to take the next sip. This is an excellent release of a well aged KY bourbon and I’m glad I grabbed one.

Stars: 3 - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle

The second bottle is the initial release (20-001) of their Blender’s Cut. It’s a 5 year old Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey weighing in at 115 proof. It’s a well blended 5 year old MGP that is more refined than some of the similarly aged single barrels I’ve tried. The nose is warm and sweet with rye spice and caramel. The palate brings in brighter fruit to balance those notes and the clean finish amps up the spice and brings in a bit of vanilla extract.

Stars: 1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies

While I’ll miss these I’m sure that Funky Drummer and Tres Amigos will fill their space on my shelf.

TL;DR: Both were good, the 15 year was great. Looking forward to the new releases.

When Calumet announced a 16 year old Kentucky bourbon (or more realistically when @comingwhiskey posted it on Instagram) I was intrigued. We don’t see very many KY sourced releases break that 15 year mark so I decided I needed a bottle.

Calumet Farm 16 Year Citation

Age: 16 years

Proof: 106

Neat

Notes: Delicious old bourbon notes of rich oak, leather and brown sugar with a touch of bitterness and some warm spice on the very long finish. Excellent mouthfeel and proof integration.

Stars: 3 Stars - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle

Conclusion

This was really good and definitely surprised me. I have tasted Calumet’s 14 and 15 year old releases which were also enjoyable but didn’t stand out at the time. The proofing on this is just right, it’s strong enough to let you know it’s there but had no burn for me. I was also impressed that the mouthfeel and finish weren’t dry at all given the age. I would easily put this in the top tier of old sourced Kentucky bourbon that you can actually find!

Also apparently this whiskey is named after a champion race horse.

TL;DR: Excellent bottle that hits all the right old bourbon notes. Worth the price.