Whiskey Review: Bardstown Bourbon Co. Amrut Collaborative Series

June 28, 2024

Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whisky from the brand, but in accordance with our editorial guidelines, this did not influence the outcome of our review in any way.

The Bardstown Bourbon Company has been one of the rising stars of the newer distilleries in Kentucky for several years. The modern, technically advanced whiskey distillery has helped this whiskey producer gain notoriety with the whiskeys it produces. A more recent example is the award as Global Whisky Producer of the Year 2023 by the IWSC.

Among Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s various offerings is the award-winning Collaborative Series, in which the Kentucky distillery partners with producers of other spirits, wines and beers to release special editions that reflect the flavor aspects of the partners’ corresponding elements in each bottling.

What’s in the bottle

The Bardstown Bourbon Co. Amrut Collaborative Series reviewed here is one of the newest of these collaborative offerings. Bardstown’s partner, Amrut, is now considered “the” major player in Indian single malt whiskeys and is the largest and most well-known brand in a category that now represents more than half of the top 10 brands worldwide.

To go into detail in this release: Bardstown has blended two rye whiskeys from Indiana and three bourbons from Kentucky with different ages and mash compositions, with the two ryes each being aged for 18 months in Amrut Indian single malt barrels. In detail, this is what it looks like:

MIXTURE	ORIGIN	AGE	MASHING	FINISH
43%	Indiana	9 years	Corn 45% Rye 51% Barley malt 4%	18 months in Amrut Indian single malt casks
20%	Indiana	8 years	Rye 95% Barley malt 5%	18 months in Amrut Indian single malt casks
17%	Kentucky	14 years	Corn 75% Rye 13% Barley malt 12%	None
15%	Kentucky	ten years	Corn 78% Rye 10% Barley malt 12%	None
5%	Kentucky	11 years	Corn 78% Rye 13% Barley malt 9%	None

“Amrut is making some wonderful liquids right now. Their use of malted barley distilled and aged in a warm, humid climate is such an interesting bridge between Scotch whisky and bourbon,” said Dan Callaway, vice president of product development responsible for the final flavor profile of all Bardstown Bourbon Co. products, when this product was launched. “It’s fascinating to see how our rye blend has absorbed the characteristics of both the peated and unpeated Amrut barrels, resulting in a unique depth of flavor and strength of character.

“We then created a special bourbon blend to complement the finished rye and add red fruits and rich caramel. The result is an authentic collaboration full of new flavors.”

The final result was bottled at 110 proof and priced at $159.99.