Brown sugar | Caramel | Honey | Maple sugar candy | Hint of cinnamon | Sweet & inviting

Honey | Brown sugar | Toasted marshmallow | Graham cracker | Milky Way bar | Mouthcoating | Rich flavors | Full-bodied | Smooth

Caramel | Vanilla custard | Maple sugar candy | Graham cracker | Tapering baking spices | Lingering sweetness

Hokkaido Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish is the second release in Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Distillery Reserve Series, following the release of Cathedral French Oak in February of this year. According to the company, “After blending a thoughtful collection of 9- to 18-year-old aged whiskeys for balance and depth, the custom whiskey blend spent an extraordinary 28 months finishing in six, 66-gallon barrels made of rare Japanese Mizunara oak - a bold maturation that reveals the full character of this elusive wood. The finishing journey began on Bardstown’s distillery grounds in Warehouse H, in a custom room specifically built to accommodate large barrels. This area sees wide temperature swings and rapid extraction, resulting in an increase in proof and strong imprint from the rich Mizunara Oak. Barrels were then transferred to the center of the first floor of the Warehouse E, one of Bardstown’s largest rickhouses, slowly concentrating the flavors and easing into the correct balance.”

Mizunara oak is one of the rarest woods in the world, and is typically a staggering 200-500 years old before it’s harvested, which is a result of strict Japanese laws that regulate the amount of this slow-growing tree that can be harvested each year. To put that into perspective, the oak used for these barrels predates the invention of the light bulb by at least 50 years, and Mizunara oak trees used for barrels could have planted roots around the time Christopher Columbus reached America for the first time. Trees grow naturally in the Japanese mountains, reaching approximately 115 feet in height, and grow in a beautiful visual structure, which is windy and intricate. Mizunara oak is best known for its use in Japanese and scotch whiskey barrels and has been used in some American whiskeys such as Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Mizunara and Frank August Case Study: 01 Mizunara Japanese Oak Bourbon. The structure of the oak is different from that of typical white oak, which is required to age bourbon (most are American white oak, but being “American” is not a requirement), with Mizunara oak being more porous and containing fewer tannins.

Aside from the 28 month Mizunara finishing, the base blend brings together a wide range of distilleries that bourbon enthusiasts can likely identify based on the mashbills provided. Interestingly, the Indiana component is the sole rye among three bourbons, which indicates a good degree of intent went into creating the base blend. Moving into the next phase, finishing for over 2 years in Mizunara oak barrels is not a short stint, and Mizunara oak finishing remains relatively rare in the American whiskey space. Doing some quick math, the total possible bottle count for this release tops off at about 4,000 bottles, though that carries some assumptions, and it is likely a fraction of that. I appreciate the decisions the company made for this series: It’s bottled exclusively in 375mL bottles, they kept the price within manageable territory (for a high quality limited release), and it’s available exclusively at their distillery and downtown Louisville locations, which makes it reasonably accessible if you are willing to venture out on July 11.

When it comes to the whiskey itself, Bardstown Bourbon Company’s second release in their Distillery Reserve Series is yet another exceptional pour. The whiskey is filled with dense, sweet flavors from start to finish, with prominent brown sugar, caramel, and honey throughout. Maple sugar candy, graham cracker, and vanilla custard mingle in, and there is even a nougat note that’s reminiscent of a Milky Way bar at the midpoint. There is very little spice influence to this whiskey, with just a hint of cinnamon on the nose and tapering baking spices in the finish, which is surprising given its proof and the fact that it contains a rye in the blend, as it instead leans heavily into a heavy, rich, mouthcoating, and dense delivery of velvety flavors that’s on point. It is hands down a fantastic pour.