I got a gift certificate to Hokus Pokus for Father’s Day, and since I received the 15 Stars Bourbon as a gift, I decided to splurge on a bottle I was kind of iffy on – Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series Number 8. At $140 it wasn’t something I was eager to buy given that it is a blend of whiskies, including some Canadian corn whiskey. But, a lot of people have raved about these releases, so I decided to pull the trigger.

There are some really interesting whiskies in this mix. It is 66% Kentucky low rye boubon that is 12 years old, 17% Indiana Rye (51% rye, 45% corn, and 12% malted barley) that is 7 years old, 11% 12 year old corn whiskey from Canada (who knew that was a thing?) and 6% rye whiskey (95% rye) from Indiana that is 6 years old. This is 114.1 proof, which is likely cask strength for this blend. This was also finished with five oak staves in the barrels.

On the swirl there is a nice film but big thick legs. On the nose is cherries, vanilla, baking spice, and chocolate with some nice oak. On the palate is dark fruits, brown butter, English pipe tobacco, and baking spices. Delicious. On the finish you get a hint of herbal rye, baking spice, and cocoa powder. Really nice clean finish. Really nice mouthfeel as well. At this proof, it is very drinkable and packs a lot of flavor.

This is a pretty phenomenal blended whiskey that any bourbon lover would enjoy. I am not sure what possessed Bardstown Bourbon Company to use really old Canadian corn whiskey for a flavor note, but they damn sure picked some really good Kentucky Bourbon and some pretty special MGP Rye to put into this mix.

I have a pretty good palate for whiskey; I can definitely pick out what is good and what is not so good. But I don’t have the skills of people like Jonathan Masiano, Joe Beatrice, or the good folks at Bardstown Bourbon Company to taste disparate whiskey types and go,”yeah, let’s blend these together, this is going to be great!” All I can do is be Salieri and recognize Mozart’s greatness.