The Story

The first time I heard of Bluegrass Distillers I was also introduced to their method of using blue corn for their bourbon. I’m not going to fib here; I had never heard of blue corn so that had always intrigued me about the whiskey they produce.

You’d be forgiven for not knowing much about Bluegrass Distillers because they are one of the newer distilleries on the scene. According to their website they were established in 2012 and then opened their doors in 2015 when they were able to share their first batches. They’re known for their Kentucky Blue Corn bourbon which is pretty interesting too so if we get our hands on a bottle we’ll review one of those for you as well.

With more brands coming out with their version of a toasted expression, we wonder if toasted is just a fad, or here to stay for good. Whatever the case may be, we like the fact that it gives us the opportunity to try bottles with a unique spin.

Enter Bluegrass Distillers’ Toasted Oak bottle. It says that the bottle was aged at least three years and sat in a toasted barrel for at least 21 days. It comes in at 100 proof and is non-chill filtered. So let’s pop this bad boy and see what it has to offer.

Nose

On the nose we detected some oak, a bit of grain notes, toffee and your standard caramel and vanilla.

Palate

The palate is mostly sweet, starting off with some caramel candy, a bit of maple syrup and then incorporating some of those baking spice notes and a touch of pepper. 

Finish

The finish is where that toasted profile really starts to kick in with marshmallow and a touch more of oak, vanilla, and finishing with toffee near the end.

Verdict

Okay so for price, we ended up getting this bottle at $75 which you might assume is steep for a 3-year-aged product, but overall we’re happy with the purchase. Maybe we’re just suckers for toasted expressions but this seems to deliver both on the bourbon side and on the toasted aspect, so we would recommend a buy for this one.

If you do see it in your neck of the woods, just make sure to grab it right around that $70-$75 range. We think that’s fair for the two-barrel effort here, and wouldn’t push it past that figure.

Overall, we’re gonna award Bluegrass Distillers Toasted Oak Limited Release a 7.5 out of 10.

Do you own this bottle? Then surely you’ll want to add it to your inventory using our web app! It’s free to use. Sign up here to get a handle on that unruly home bar.

Cheers friends!