Rating: 20/23 I'd been curious to try Bardstown for a while, then I tried a couple that I thought were interesting and quite good, so I wanted to try more. I just finished a series of Château De Laubade tastings, so when I was looking through my samples for one to try, this spoke to me. N: Bold, leathery, kind of spicy, and slightly meaty. There are of course some rich fruits in the cherry and blackberry range. There's definitely some substantial barrel tannins coming out with the spice and leather. It's overall not the most complex and decadent nose, but it is quite a good one. Really, quite enjoyable. P: That tartness and bold woody bitterness that I expect of Armagnac tannins hit me straight up, but the flavor isn't overpowering. There's some bold leatheriness here as well that reminds me of Joseph Magnus, then that fades into barrel spices (ginger, cinnamon, clove) with some limestone adding a mineral lightness to the profile. Dried cherries come in at opportune moments throughout, as do notes of chocolate and vanilla. Really, this is a very decadent dram. There's just a touch of young meatiness here, but not too bad. I'm very impressed. This has great complexity with decadent flavor. It isn't the most subtle, but it honestly does succeed pretty well at subtlety. F: There's a delightful mustiness like some really delightful cabernets have. It's intertwined with slightly floral vanilla and makes for a lovely finish. - Conclusion - This isn't making my top 5, but it is an excellent dram. My main complaint is that I could have done with a somewhat fuller body with a more viscous palate. Side by side, Joseph Magnus (21/23) is bolder, more leathery, oilier, less sweet, more integrated, and less complex. Honestly, I think that oloroso finishing is really coming through for the Joseph Magnus. Overall, I think that the two are quite close in quality. This has a more youthful bite to it, but the old tannins from the Laubade casks really give this some great maturity. Between the two, I'm inclined to favor the Joseph Magnus, but I can really see going either way. They're both just such great drams. A fresh bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed (18/23) just can't compete with this. The quality difference is stark. The Wild Turkey is less complex with just as much burn and more funky flavor from the alcohol that comes across as a bit off (at least side by side). There's no way that this can be as low as a 19 and I'm kind of thinking that a 20 is a bit low. I've sometimes thought that the Joseph Magnus could be a 22, but I think that still leaves this solidly in the 21 range. Which is an excellent score! I'm thrilled to find that this is a 21 and excited to try more Bardstown! On my final sip of this tasting, I am more seriously considering a 20 again, but this is definitely on the high end of that if it lands there. Coming back to this, it's definitely at least a 19, but I'm not so sure about that 21. I think I'm dropping this to a 20, but I don't think it's as low as a 19. It's a 20 or 21. Coming back for the last few sips, I almost gave this a 21, but after the last one, I landed on a 20. Thank you @Milliardo for sharing this sample of such a delightful dram!