Bardstown Distillery Reserve Cascadia Garryana Oak Barrel Finish Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 375ml

The Bardstown Distillery Reserve Cascadia Garryana Oak Barrel Finish Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 375ml brings the rugged, unyielding character of the Pacific Northwest wilderness straight into the heart of Bluegrass country. Serving as a highly innovative chapter in Bardstown Bourbon Company's allocated Distillery Reserve series, this expression shifts its focus to the profound properties of Oregon white oak. Because this protected wood species cannot be commercially farmed and is gathered solely from fallen trees or sanctioned cuts, the liquid represents a fleeting, non-repeatable sensory document built for collectors who want to see how scarce regional timber can entirely rewrite a traditional bourbon profile.

The spirit serving as the canvas for this wilderness-inspired finish is an expertly engineered small-batch marriage of three distinct straight bourbons aged between 9 and 10 years. Composed of 80% 10-year Kentucky bourbon, 12% 10-year Indiana bourbon, and 8% 9-year Kentucky bourbon, this blended base provides a dense, oily foundation rich in traditional grain sugars. Bardstown partnered directly with Oregon Barrel Works—a micro-cooperage producing only 1,000 barrels a year—to construct 10 custom finishing casks. These specialized vessels received a painstaking, three-hour hand-toast designed to penetrate deep into the stave's red layer. The married whiskey then matured for 10 months on the punishing 6th floor of the rickhouse during the peak of summer, pushing evaporation and timber extraction to their absolute limits before being proofed down slowly to a precise 107.5 proof.

Pouring this coppery liquid treats the glass to a vibrant, dessert-meets-forest aromatic display. The bouquet opens immediately with decadent maple syrup layered over toasted oak, dark toffee, and vanilla crème, giving way to a localized ecosystem of ground clove, fresh nutmeg, and earthy pipe tobacco. On the intake, the texture feels remarkably silky, thick, and lively, coating the tongue in deep waves of baked cherry, old cigar box, and rich butterscotch. The mid-palate introduces a sudden and delightful spike of dry spice, where Hot Tamales cinnamon candy, allspice, and cracked black pepper challenge the underlying wood sugars. The journey concludes with an extended, warming finish that balances deep, drying wood tannins with a lingering trail of chocolate graham cracker and candied walnut.

This distillery-exclusive keepsake acts as a premier example of how tightly controlled micro-cooperage partnerships can inject entirely new flavor compounds into mature whiskeys without relying on wine or fruit finishes. The dense grain of the Garryana oak slows down oxidation while imparting robust French-oak-like baking spices, giving the final product an incredibly sophisticated, structured mouthfeel. The 107.5-proof presentation allows the bold spice kick and heavy wood sugars to maintain absolute clarity when sipped neat, though adding a single droplet of water amplifies the baked cherry notes beautifully. For allocated spirit hunters navigating the cutting edge of modern American whiskey making, Cascadia remains an unmissable and deeply memorable milestone.

• Size: 375ml (Distillery Reserve Signature Small Format)
• Proof: 107.5 Proof (53.75% ABV)
• Age: Blend of mature bourbons aged 9 to 10 years old (Finished for an additional 10 months)
• Origin: Distilled in Kentucky and Indiana; Finished, Blended, and Hand-Bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky, USA
• Producer: Bardstown Bourbon Company (Distillery Reserve Series — 2026 Release No. 1)
• Style/Class: Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Garryana Oak Barrels
• Blend Composition: 80% 10-Year Kentucky Bourbon, 12% 10-Year Indiana Bourbon, and 8% 9-Year Kentucky Bourbon
• Cask Finishing: Primary maturation in charred new American white oak; secondary finishing for 10 months on the 6th floor in 10 custom Oregon Barrel Works Garryana (Oregon White Oak) casks
• Barrel Toast Profile: Specialized three-hour hand-toast to draw out maximum spice complexity
• Tasting Notes: Decadent maple, vanilla crème, baked cherry, ground clove, nutmeg spice, old cigar box, Hot Tamales candy, black pepper, chocolate graham cracker, dry wood tannins, candied walnut; long finish with a powerful spice-forward warmth and drying oak