Bardstown Bourbon Company is Releasing Two New Cask-Finished Whiskeys
Fresh off the release of the surprisingly good Victoria Pineapple Finish, Bardstown Bourbon Company is back with a pair of excellent, and unusual, new cask-finished whiskeys. One is a blend of bourbon and rye finished in scotch whisky barrels for nearly three years, the other a blend of bourbons finished in a type of oak that is native to the Pacific Northwest. We got to sample these whiskeys, we and are happy to report that they both are very good and very unique.
Bardstown Bourbon Company makes its own whiskey under its Estate-Distilled lineup, which used to be called the Origin Series but was renamed when the distillery redesigned its labels last spring to give them brighter, more prominent colors and type (a move that not everyone was happy with, if you peruse whiskey Reddit). Those whiskeys are good, but it’s the sourced and cask-finished blends where Lofted Spirits master blender Dan Callaway and his team really shine. For these two new expressions, Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish and 2026 Discovery, the distillery dove even further into focusing on design by enlisting Louisville artist Margaret Archambault to create new packaging.
“These releases started from two different questions,” said Callaway in a statement. “Discovery asked how far we could take an already exceptional blend. Lochs of Jura asked what unique character these remarkable casks could contribute over time. Both led us somewhere unexpected, and that’s where the exciting whiskey discoveries happen.”
Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish is a blend of bourbon and rye, something that BBC and other distilleries and brands like High West and Knob Creek have done before. Specifically, the components are as follows: 49 percent 11-year-old Indiana bourbon (from MGP), 39 percent 10-year-old Indiana rye (also from MGP), and 21 percent 12-year-old Kentucky bourbon from an undisclosed distillery. The blend was then finished for 32 months in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks previously used to mature single malt scotch from Scotland’s Isle of Jura (presumably from the Jura distillery, given that it’s the only whisky producer on the island). According to BBC, the 59-gallon sherry casks were too large to be stored in the ricks and had to be placed in warehouse aisles instead, but it’s unclear if that had an effect upon maturation (there is likely some, given that these were stored at low levels). The whiskey, bottled at 104 proof, is delicious, with notes of oak, dried and fresh berries, a bit of salinity, apple cobbler, and the faintest whiff of smoke if you think about it really hard.
The second release is 2026 Discovery, a blend of the following components—55 percent 10-year-old Indiana bourbon, 25 percent 11-year-old Kentucky bourbon, and 20 percent 7-year-old Kentucky bourbon—bottled at 112.8 proof. The blend was finished for four months in custom-made garryana oak barrels made from trees in the Willamette Valley. This is actually the second time that BBC has used garry oak this year—the first being the release of Cascadia—but it’s more commonly associated with Seattle distillery Westland, which is about to release its annual Garryana Single Malt expression. This whiskey has strong toasted wood and cinnamon flavors picked up from the secondary maturation, as well as butterscotch, maple, flamed orange, and cherry syrup notes.
According to the distillery, these are limited-edition releases, but both 2026 Discovery 2026 and Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish will be available around the country at specialty retailers starting August 21 (SRP $140).
