Kentucky Par 12 Year Bourbon

Sitting in the Bourbon Bar @ the Old Talbott Inn, located in Bardstown, KY. Someone asked the bartender if they have Kentucky Par 12 year. Hmm, never heard of it... The heck with it, I'll order it. ($15 pour where I see bottle for sale for $144). Sure I'm in. Damn, it's good. Really nice. Some orange peel on nose with hints of the caramel to come. Mouth feel is down right oily and that's a compliment from me. Sugar Daddy, depth of caramel for those who remember. Deep brown sugar. ... I'm afraid to add water as you can't go back. But I will try soon.. Oh man, don't be afraid.. Brings it to life even more. Greater depth and a kick of warming winter spice... Man this is growing on me. A great find. Warming hug... Love it

Baking spice dominates for me. Nice finish

This is the third tasting of our Bourbon marathon. Kentucky Par has a bit of strange story to it. The namesake Kentucky Parfay Co was created in 1913 By Frank Stitzel to produce a soft drink. The company was sold to the Bradford family in 1917 and the Kentucky Par name got attached to bourbon at the end of prohibition. Seems that Beth Radford saw the end prohibition well before others and bought up receipts for some 300 confiscated barrels in government warehouses. At prohibitions end she was sitting on 300 barrels of 12 yo bourbon. After WWII the company was renamed the Radford Company and they became liquor distributors. A couple generations hence and now we see the Kentucky Par name again. So how's the bourbon. Pretty good. Likely sourced from Barton, 74c 18r 8mb. Non chill filtered and proofed at 100. Medium brown color and slight viscosity. First nosing gives brown sugar caramel. Very sticky toffee pudding like. A bit of apple and nuts, just a hint of cinnamon. No ethanol! Taste is true and it's chewier than expected judging from the swirl. This one has a great finish with sweet oak evolving to hot cinnamon. I find this superior to any Barton product I've tried but similar, lacking the banana on the nose. I really like this one but at 130 a botte it's one and done.

Awful

Smooth with a peppery, spice finish

Wonderful nose. The full mature oaky punch demonstrates the 12 years were well used. Good tasting, chewy and oily, pleasant. The nose is a birdie drive. Taste is a three putt to par. (Name pun….. sorry). To be fair, I’ve had three ounces to describe the taste and am struggling. Not the charged taste I hoped for, but pleasant. Maybe it’s me. (I bet the cask strength would be outstanding.) At the price point, $125, I’d recommend you try it. I’ll buy again.