Tastes

Aroma - massive dark fruits (raisins/dates?).. cinnamon/red hot candies. Picking up a green tea/herbal spice. Along with vanilla frosting, cloves, oak and caramel. Very intriguing nose. Taste - Caramel, oak, vanilla and slightly nutty. Finish is picking up some tobacco leaf and leather. Getting an alcohol-soaked dark fruits note as well. Overall. - Extremely long finish.. and it just keeps developing. The finish outstanding and quite possibly the best aspect for this bourbon. 4.7

Aroma - Red apple and cinnamon, cloves, and caramel jump out of the glass. Light bread note with touch of vanilla. Really nice balance on the nose. Taste - Lots of flighty notes here. Quick hits of red apples with cinnamon. Caramel and honey come up mid palate. There is light fruit note coming through.. maybe peach? The finish comes up with quite an earthy tone some baking spices. As it opens I get a light hint of cocoa powder. The balance and the pillow-like feel on the palate is exceptional. Overall - Personally, I find this offering to have insane balance… it is truly fantastic. For me, what is most impressive about this is the mouthfeel and especially the finish. I have typically found most BiB experiences a little underwhelming (I prefer higher proof offerings). But this is truly outstanding for the age and price point. Massive respect to Bardstown for putting out such an amazing first offering with their own distillate. They are really setting the bar extremely high for future releases because this is offering is simply outstanding. For the price point, not sure you find a better BiB offering. Id like to put this against EHT in a blind tasting .

Aroma - Really nice balance of sweet candy corn and honey up front followed by spicy rye notes towards the back. That rye note is very nice to be honest. As it opens up.. I’m getting massive amount of fruity cotton candy / fruity pebbles. Can’t recall any whiskey with this much candy notes. It smells incredible. Taste - Follows the nose but not quite as sweet. The rye balances that sweet honey and corn notes quite well. Overall - Great aroma, very good flavor profile. Not overly complex… A bit thin on the palate but more of a medium-long finish which is really nice. Definitely more sweet than spicy but the balance is very good. 4.3

Aroma - man.. maybe the most underwhelming rye aroma to date. Getting cinnamon, vanilla, dark berries, slight honey note That’s all. Taste - Follows the nose but it is definitely better. There’s a bit more rye profile here on the palate and the finish is more on the medium-long side. Lots of cocoa powder on the finish as well. The alcohol presence is nice. Lacks complexity but nice balance of flavors. Overall- Balance and flavor is nice, but the price point ($70-$80) leaves a lot to be desired to be honest. Recommendation - try before you buy

Barrel 3428 Aroma- very unique aroma profile here. Green apple mixed with mint tooth paste. As it opens I’m getting more cocoa powder coming through. Blend of floral notes and spices …. Potpourri-like. Again very unique. Taste - Chocolate up front with an nice burst of rye-spice profile. Mid palate hits with sweet notes of caramel and honey. Slight dill on the finish. Overall - At 104 proof the finish is longer than expected. This is quite an impressive rye for me to be honest (especially for a 95/5 which I find some to be a little abrasive). The way this rye ebbs and flows between spice and sweetness is awesome.

Barrel #15 Proof 119 59.5% ABV Aroma - massive dark fruits, toasted marshmallow, caramel and oak. Every time I come back to it, I’m blown away by just how much dark fruit and marshmallow presence there is. As it opens, I’m picking up chocolate covered oranges, fruity cereal, some baking spices towards the back bring balance. One of the best smelling whiskeys I’ve tried. Taste - Well isn’t that just fucking pleasant. Mirroring the nose. Alcohol-soaked berries, marshmallow, and getting slight hints of chocolate. Caramel syrup (like what you put on ice cream). The mouthfeel is excellent, coats the palate all around and the finish exactly what you want for such a decadent whiskey. Finish is long, starts off sweet then alcohol heat presence comes forward reminding you to savor this. Overall - 100% worth the price of admission. I should have pulled the trigger when I first had the chance. Very grateful to a friend who supplied me with this dram.

Batch B2201 106 proof 4 1/2 years Aroma - Toasted marshmallow, vanilla frosting… Caramel, apples and peaches, pie crust, baking spices. There is a slight cherry cola note towards the back on this one. Very good nose to be honest. Very inviting cannot wait to see if the taste follows the nose. Taste - Caramel with flat cherry cola. Brown sugar.. touch of apples, cinnamon, slight green/herbal tea note.. some rye spice coming through but…. Oh no… Mouthfeel is very thin, finish is underwhelming and quite drying. Damn this finish is insanely drying. Stop it! You son of a *****! Overall - Going to be brutally honest.. I cannot recommend. The aroma was great but the flavor profile is lacking and the finish is just not working for me. The drying aspect happens mid palate and just continues through the finish wiping out all flavors that popped. Save your money and if you want a double oaked product then go with Woodford Double Oaked or OF 1910 to this. Not sure if I will ever venture into the Starlight world again after this offering. This bottle is very disappointing.

Aroma - A bit perplexing to be honest. Very unique aroma, and not something that I have really experienced before. I pick up on cocoa powder and a very musty-funk. As it opens up.. I’m getting more of a “green” profile and tons of floral notes. Some type of herbal note (maybe green tea??). Strong artificial chemical aroma too. Taste - Better than the nose.. That is for sure. Lots of chocolate here. Old oak is pushing through here as well. There is a fruit loops/ fruity pebbels note as well. I’m getting quite a bit of rye on the finish.. lots of spices. Overall - (for the record. BCS is one of my all time favorite brews.. it’s not what it used to be ever since InBev bought GI out.. but I still look forward to it every year) Try before you buy. This one, although decadent at times, is massively overpriced. Very grateful to try to this whisky but I have to be brutally honest.. I’d have a hard time pulling the trigger at $100 for this one let alone +$160 (#moneygrab)

Aroma - light and bright. apple, peaches, melted butter and brown sugar, vanilla. At 2 years… oak is absent (as expected). Taste - caramel and apples. Slight baking spice.. butterscotch also noticeable and getting a slight herbal note (bay leaf comes to mind). Overall - At the price point of $30-$35 I find this to be fantastic. Makes a fantastic cocktail as well due to its fruity and sweet profile. Chat 91 and 111 are unique in their flavor profiles and I always try to have them on hand.. problem is these bottles are extremely crushable.