In recent weeks, I’ve spoken a lot about Bardstown Bourbon Company as both a business and a tourist destination. Today, I’m going to focus solely on the whiskey itself.
BBCo. Fusion contains some of the first in-house distilled whiskey the company has released. I’ve been saying for a while now that the future of whisk(e)y is blending, especially in the bourbon world where large batches of well-aged stocks just don’t exist anymore. Bardstown Bourbon Company is taking blending in a few different directions. With Fusion, they created a whiskey made up of 40% 11 year, 7 month Kentucky bourbon and blended it with 42% high rye BBC bourbon aged 2 years, 1 month and 18% wheated bourbon from BBC aged 2 years, 3 months. The transparency of mash bills, ages, and blending percentages is a big plus for me.
Unlike some blending NDPs with more “interesting” pricing models, this is retailing for $59.99. There are enthusiasts out there that will see that percentage of 2 year old whiskey and associate that with a 2 year age statement. While that’s technically true, it doesn’t tell the whole story. If the end product tastes good, I really don’t care what goes into the bottle.
That’s a big “if” though. Let’s get to the tasting notes.
[table2 caption=”Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion #1 – 49.45% ABV” colalign=”center|left”]
Category|Notes
Appearance| Caramel
Nose| Cinnamon, toffee, sweet cherries, vanilla, apples, hint of melon, cherry cola.
Taste|Surprisingly sweet at first, orange peel, intense red hots, slightly leathery, clove, pepper, milk chocolate, astringent oak.
Finish|A very soft arrival, oaky vanilla, allspice, caramel. The oak and spice remain for a bit. Spice but little heat.
Overall Thoughts|There’s youth to this whisky but it’s not “2 year old” levels of youth. I heard that BBCo. went through about 50 different blends before settling on this one. They’re working on Fusion Batch 2 and I expect it to be even better as both their own stocks age and their blending skills evolve over time. The main knocks on this were a slightly rough oak note on the palate and a finish that lacked complexity. That’s to be expected with whiskey this young. Other than that, this is a flavorful whiskey that has me excited for the future of these releases.
Total Score|84/100
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