Bottle N30: Bardstown Origin Series Bourbon

advent
whisky
Published

November 30, 2025

Bardstown Origin Series Bourbon

Distillery: Bardstown Bourbon Company
Region/Country: Kentucky, USA
Age: 6 years
ABV: 48%
Cask type(s): New charred oak
Grain Bill: 60% corn / 36% rye / 4% malted barley

Tasting Notes

  • Nose: apricot, orange blossom, and mint, layered over caramel, nutmeg, and rich oak.
  • Palate: “Waves of cinnamon and vanilla.”
  • Finish: Bold and lasting signature finish.
  • Other notes:

What’s a Bourbon?

U.S. federal regulations state that for a spirit to be called bourbon, it must be

  • produced in the U.S.
  • made from a grain mixture of at least 51% corn,
  • aged in new, charred oak containers,
  • distilled to no more than 80% ABV (!!!)
  • bottled at 40% ABV or more.

Unlike other spirits, there is no minimum aging required for bourbon. A straight bourbon is one that has been aged for at least two years. Typically, the grain mixture is made up of corn, malted barley, and rye or wheat. The corn in the grainbill gives bourbon its characteristic sweetness.

Our pick today, the Bardstown Origin Series Bourbon, is an example of a high-rye bourbon. Bourbon made with higher amounts of rye tends to take on more peppery or spicier notes, while bourbon made with wheat tends to be softer, and more mellow.

The First Sunday in Advent

Isaiah 64:1-9 (NIV)

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
    that the mountains would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake before you!
For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.
    How then can we be saved?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
No one calls on your name
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
    and have given us over to our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.

Prayer

God of justice and peace,
from the heavens you rain down mercy and kindness,
that all on earth may stand in awe and wonder
before your marvelous deeds.
Raise our heads in expectation,
that we may yearn for the coming day of the Lord
and stand without blame before your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.