Bardstown Bourbon Company's 2026 Discovery: a blend of 7, 10 and 11 year straight bourbons finished four months in rare Oregon Garryana oak and bottled at 112.8 proof.

The Discovery program is Bardstown's annual showcase of mature sourced bourbon, and the 2026 release pushes it somewhere new. Three straight bourbons, 55% ten-year Indiana, 25% eleven-year Kentucky and 20% seven-year Kentucky, were blended for balance between ripe fruit and oak, then moved into custom Garryana oak barrels from Oregon Barrel Works, hand-toasted for three hours, for a summer of secondary maturation. Garryana, or Oregon white oak, is a scarce Pacific Northwest species prized for the spice and structure it lends whiskey. It shows here as toasted oak, burnt sugar and baked apple cobbler on the nose, dried cherry and cinnamon bark on the palate, and a long, warming finish where the oak stays prominent without burying the mature bourbon underneath. Bottled at 56.4% ABV. 2026 limited release, 750ml.