Tastes

I was excited to try this as the one I had was a Specs Barrel Pick. I tried this first neat in a glencairn glass (let it sit for 10min). The nose was oak, leather, tobacco and spice for me. It was really overpowering and I could get the proof from the nose also. The palate is the same with some lingering cinnamon. The finish was so strong in alcohol/proof that I wasn’t able to keep going. I’m a big fan of higher proof whiskeys but this was hot! I then decided to pour it into a glass with a cube of ice. Adding ice helped a ton to mellow it out. I then got way more cinnamon and caramel too. There’s still a long burn but it’s more tolerable. Overall, it was okay. Wasn’t what I hoped but still not bad. This one needed ice though for sure. Scale: 2.25

Poured this in a glencairn and let it sit for a bit. The nose, whoa, talk about fruit! Super sweet and barely any rye spice I can find. Mainly sweet with anything from orange to cinnamon. The palate, oh man, this was not what I was expecting by no means. Talk about sweetness, brown sugar, more orange, fruit, and then continued cinnamon. This is not a rye or even a rye whiskey. What am I drinking? The finish continued the orange and sweet flavors. I never got the rye spice I normally get in any rye. This was so odd. After talking with the some buddies drinking this, there is port in this. Like poured in completely. This makes wayyyy more sense now because the port has dominated any flavor the rye ever had. Overall, no, I don’t like this as a rye. Now as like a wine cocktail, eh, okay, but not a whiskey. Just strange. Scale: 1

Tried this neat and let it rest before enjoying the pour. The predominant flavor coming through was the “alcohol” with a hint of caramel. You could tell this was young due to the burn coming in. It wasn’t really hot but the alcohol was there. The palate was “okay”. Started with the caramel, some spice and then a pop of pepper at the end. The heat continued from the nose which is where I again lost a lot of any enjoyment. The finish continued with the heat and rye spice but it was short. It didn’t last too long at all. Overall, a cool story on how they blast music into the barrels but that’s where it ends for me. I wouldn’t buy a bottle but for Metallica fans, I’d get them this as a gift for the cool story. Scale: 1.75

I’m a huge rye fan and the other bottles from this brand weren’t great. So I figured I’d try this just in case. Had this neat and let it rest. The nose was spicy, wow, lots of spice. You could get some sweetness too but mainly spice was coming through. The palate wasn’t great though. The spice continued with vanilla and cinnamon but it wasn’t pleasant. It had too much of an alcohol taste and the heat was high. The finish continued with the heat and spice. Overall, this was a rye I actually didn’t finish. Just wasn’t good. Funny enough though, it was better than the other offerings from theirs brand but that isn’t saying much. I wouldn’t recommend this bottle. Scale: 1

Tried this neat without ice. Let it rest too. The nose was better than the straight bourbon bottle but not by much. This had vanilla and again that heat/ethanol smell come through. After the 97 proof being so harsh, I braced myself for what I was about to put myself through. The palate was again pure heat and alcohol. Shockingly though, this was lighter on the heat side with traces of caramel/vanilla. With the heat and alcohol being the major flavors, it was enjoyable. The finish continued the heat and the flavor turned sour. The caramel and vanilla was gone and replaced with ethanol flavors. I wouldn’t recommend this bottle or even trying it. Save your time/money and try something else. Scale 0.75

Tried this neat without ice. Let it rest too. The nose had a faint caramel smell and lots of heat/ethanol. The nose made me nervous as it wasn’t inviting. The palate was pure heat and alcohol. Maybe some caramel at best but other than that, I was shocked how hot it was on the palate for being only 97 proof. The finish continued the heat and almost like a chemical burn down your throat. This wasn’t enjoyable at all and still only 97 proof. I wouldn’t recommend this bottle or even trying it. Save your time/money and try something else.

Had this neat in a glencairn glass. This has a light caramel and vanilla nose. Nothing too great but nothing bad, just “blah” almost. The palate and finish is so fast for me. I get the alcohol burn and very little taste or complexity in it. Almost fleeting from the moment the palate starts. Really, this isn’t great to me or even enjoyable. I’d pass completely on this. Scale: 1

I had this neat in a glencairn glass. Nose is full of fruit like cherries, blueberries, some caramel and sugar. I love the fruit. I could smell this ALL day, it is fantastic. The palate is just as fruity with some vanilla coming through. The finish continues with fruit and some great spice, like a really good rye. Wow, this is delicious. This is my first Bardstown pour and I’m a fan. I’d highly recommend this bottle!

Had this neat in a glencairn glass. The nose is super faint and I can barely pick anything up. Maybe some hay, ethanol/alcohol, and some light caramel at best. The palate has a thin mouthfeel and something sweet with more burn than flavor to me. The finish comes with some spice/pepper but barely any other notes. What's also odd is that this gets smoother for me as I drink it. The first sip has more burn than the second, third, etc. This one is "okay". Not a favorite for me though. Rating for me is 2.25 and I doubt I’d buy another bottle.