There's a whole lot of special barrels made with special wood out there, but Bardstown has made a bourbon that might rank as among the most impressive.

This has to do with the oak barrels it's aged in: The barrels are made from 300-year-old French oak, sourced from the Bercé Forest in the Loire Valley. These trees, planted around 1715 during Louis XIV's reign, were harvested for the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral after the 2019 fire.

The blend of Kentucky Bourbons within each bottle range in age from nine to 18 years, which are then married and finished for 14 months in barrels made of the special wood. 

The blend is made up of:

• 45% 14-year-old whisky
• 37.5% 18-year-old whisky
• 10% 11-year-old whisky
• 5% 9-year-old whisky
• 2.5% 17-year-old whisky
  

The whiskey is said to boast notes of maple, baked cherry, cinnamon, vanilla cream, rose petal, and toasted oak.

Each 375ml expression is bottled at 55.05% ABV and priced at US$100. 

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team