June 4, 2024 marks the Seventh Anniversary of this blog. After taking a hiatus for most of May due to graduations, my wife’s surgery, and a super busy court schedule, things have finally quieted down enough for me to take the time to review a whiskey, and I was able to pick up Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series 11 at Hokus Pokus Saturday. They stated the just got this in, even though it was released last October. Sometimes, good bourbon takes a bit to filter through the distribution system to Louisiana.

Unlike the previous Discovery Series 8 that I reviewed almost a year ago, Series 11 is all bourbon and not a blend of different bourbon, rye, and Canadian whiskies. Rather, this is a blend of straight bourbons that still qualifies as a straight bourbon in its own right. Interestingly, 6% of this blend is Bardstown’s own make: a wheated bourbon aged six years in french oak casks. But the other two bourbons are sourced from another Kentucky distillery, with 73% being 13 years old and 21% being 10 years old. The mashbills are really interesting, with a mashbill of 78% corn, 13% rye, and 9% malted barley for the 10 year old, and 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley for the 13 year old. To make this really weird, the thirteen year old bourbon is a Jim Beam or Wild Turkey mashbill; say what? I honestly can’t find where the ten year old came from – maybe Heaven Hill? Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Forged Oak from Heaven Hill’s New Bernheim distillery has the same mashbill. When mashbills are disclosed it is typically pretty easy to guess where the whiskey came from, but these are mysterious. It is 118.1 proof. This cost me $135 which is about right.

The color on this is a very deep amber with hints of mahogany. On the swirl is a thin film but with nice thick legs that slowly develop as they defy gravity. This is a nice oily bourbon. On the nose its lots of vanilla, candied cherries, sweet rolls, and oak. A very nicely layered nose. On the palate is rich toffee, nutmeg, vanilla, baking spices, a hint of clove, cherries, and rum raisins. Lots of really interesting flavors and a nice medium full mouthfeel. On the finish there is a lot of drying oak, with some cherry notes, cloves, and white pepper. The finish lingers despite its dryness. I really like the oak forward nature of this bourbon, but this one was not off-putting to my wife when I had her try it. Letting the bottle rest after opening for two days made this whiskey even smoother without losing the great layers of flavor.

This Bardstown Discovery release represents one of the main reasons that seven years later I am still writing this blog. There continues to be releases of really interesting and really good bourbons that are really different from anything that has come before. The Discovery Series 11 is no exception. That, and after drinking it, it appears they may have actually sweet talked Campari group into selling them some bourbon from some of the same barrels that went into Russell’s Reserve 13 year old, and internet speculation seems to be in accord with my conclusion. For my local friends, Hokus Pokus had a few bottles in the glass case, so if you want a new high end bottle of bourbon for your bar, I highly recommend this one.

Cheers to the seventh anniversary of the Whiskey Jar Blog!