Bardstown Bourbon Cascadia Garryana Oak Barrel Finish Bourbon Review: A Whiskey Carved in Wild Oak
- Jes Smyth
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
In Bardstown Bourbon Company's latest distillery reserve release, its commitment to innovation is showcased in a Garryana Oak barrel finished bourbon, offered in 375ml bottles exclusively at its gift shop and tasting room in Louisville. This particular expression features a blend of 3 bourbons, aged 9 and 10 years, each with a different mashbill of corn, rye, and malted barley. The blend was finished (also known as double barrled, for those paying attention) for 10 months in 10 custom barrels, homemade by Oregon Barrel Works, a micro-cooperage producing just 1,000 barrels a year.
For those who nerd out on cooperage, here's where it gets neat. Garryana oak, the wood used for the finishing barrels, is a native oak to the Pacific Northwest. Garryana is a white oak with more irregular, knottier grain, making it more difficult to work with than American oak, which is why it's typically used as a finishing barrel. Additionally, garryana oak tends to impart a more earthy, forest-like quality and spice-forward tones due to the chemistry of different oak compounds. Specifically, Garryana carries a higher quantity of nuanced tannins than traditional American oak. For those wanting more information on why and how oak matters in whiskey, check out this article from Whisky Advocate
I'll be honest, the thought of cutting down these trees to make double oak whiskey clenched my heart when I first opened the box and absorbed the details on the label. Until a disclaimer (of sorts) was presented inside the box. The trees cannot be farmed or cut at will. They can only be gathered from fallen trees and sanctioned harvests, then sent to the artisans at Oregon Barrel Works to mill, season, build, and toast, all on site.
It seems Bardstown Bourbon Company is on a mission of flavor, with the finishing barrel front and center in crafting this limited release. The barrels used to age this blend also feature a three-hour toast to unlock deeper flavor and complexity in the red layer, and were aged on the 6th floor of the Bardstown warehouse during the summer as well. I think it's great that a brand like Bardstown can partner with a micro-cooperage like Oregon Barrel Works to create a rare and unique expression.
Thank you to the team at Bardstown Bourbon for providing a bottle to taste through for a no-strings-attached review. I would not have had the opportunity to try this without the generosity of brands like Bardstown.
It is our mission here at AmongstTheWhiskey.com, to review on sober palates at least three times so we can offer candid and well explored takes on the experience. I personally do not get paid for these reviews, nor do I err on the side of dishonesty to maintain brand loyalty. My mission is to review the whiskey in my glass and provide honest assessments for those seeking to be more informed and intentional in their whiskey choices. And since you're here, that means you. Thank you! Onward to the tasting notes, shall we?
Company on Label: Bardstown Bourbon Company
Whiskey Type: A blend of straight bourbon whiskey finished in garryana oak barrels
Mash Bill Percentages: 80% Kentucky Bourbon (70 corn, 18 rye, 12 malted barley), 12% Indiana bourbon (75 corn, 25 rye, 4 malted barley), and 8% Kentucky bourbon (74 corn, 18 rye, 8 malted barley)
Proof: 107.5°
Age: 9 years (9 to 10 years)
MSRP: $99.99
Further Identification: The blend aged in 10 garryana oak barrels for 10 months
Nose: The aromas open with rich allspice and whole roasted coffee beans, with a sweet kick of brown sugar, butterscotch, and musty oak. My eyebrows are raised. I'm intrigued. Swirling releases notes of crème brûlée, in addition to diner coffee and a cream cheese danish. After a bit of rest in the glass, the aromas develop into more floral and potpourri tones. The oak is quite pronounced but in a nostalgic way for me, like walking through an old wood barn with light shining through the cracks, reflecting specks of dust that take on the appearance of glitter. There’s a bit of a meatiness to this, too, like steak dredges found at the bottom of a cast-iron skillet. Slowly, I work my way through, as a nice melody of vanilla, butterscotch, and allspice ebb and flow in my nostrils. After twenty minutes, the nose turns to buttercream frosting, quite the surprise, and one that has me eager to finally take a sip. After several sips, the oak is much more pronounced on the nose, with more citrus notes that align with the experience I had on the palate. There's also more ethanol wafting out of my glass. But that blows off quickly. Digging my nose deep in the glass, I tease out some leather and tobacco, but it’s faint and fighting against the oak spice. That alone has me curious about the unfinished blend. The empty glass smells like tissue paper and an empty vanilla ice cream carton.
Palate: It's a lively first sip that leads with a silky mouthfeel. Classic bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla are present and accounted for—never tardy, those two, with a blend like this. Not long after, oak spice rushes in like it's got something really important to say, then kind of stalls out until mid palate, which presents as a symphony of allspice, cinnamon, and clove—well-balanced in composition. It's the finish that holds the spiciest experience, but, being the first sip in several days, I know better than to trust this as the truth. A second sip reinforces and amplifies what was found in the first: vanilla and caramel, with the tiniest hint of plum and, ah, yes, butterscotch. The cinnamon spice, hot tamales candies to be specific, comes in fast and hot again before rushing into a bit of a drying citrus note. The linger reminds me of grocery store key lime pie, kind of strange, kind of okay. Additional sips and swishes balance and marry the flavors on my tongue, which I consider a lovely way to layer a tasting experience. My final sip is one I’m not sad to see arrive, but all the same, I’m glad to have tasted something familiar yet different.
TL;DR: A unique taste on double oaked whiskey well worth sipping
Rating: 4/5
Rebarreling whiskey can truly be hit or miss, with many check marks in the "miss" category for me. This particular offering is undoubtedly unique; that's true just by reading about it. The barrels used to finish relatively older whiskey worked out in Bardstown's favor. Was this because of the rare garryana oak? The toasting process of the barrels? The 10-month aging limit? The older-aged whiskey that was used in the blend? I don't have the answers, but when whiskey makes me curious, that's a check mark in the "hit" category.
