Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #9 Straight Bourbon Whiskey
I’ll start this one the same way I started Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #8 Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review:
Just a few days ago, Bardstown Bourbon Company semi-shocked the bourbon world by announcing that Fusion Series #9 would be their last.
I say semi-shocked, because it was something everyone knew would come eventually but by which was nonetheless surprised. The Fusion Series was always meant as a blending experiment that married Bardstown’s own young-but-getting-older distillate with older bourbons from Kentucky (usually Jim Beam and Heaven Hill, among others, all whose names are undisclosed but whose mash bills are).
Now, it’s Fusion #9’s turn.
To continue the analogy from Fusion #8, I wondered if this would be a great finale (think Return of the King), a terrible one (Godfather Part III), or satisfying conclusion to one as a new chapter began (The Rise of Skywalker - don’t @ me, I liked that movie!).
To me, this is clearly a Rise of Skywalker. It’s not quite perfect, but it hits the right notes and accomplishes what it needs to do (and what Fusion #8, in my opinion, did not). Bardstown Bourbon Co. Fusion #9 shows a better balance between the in-house distillate and the older, 12-year-old Kentucky bourbon. More importantly, it gives the best preview so far of what Bardstown’s own bourbons will taste like on their own.
Despite being 70% of the blend since Fusion #5, the Bardstown distillates haven’t always been front-and-center in the Fusion Series. To complicate matters further, it wasn’t always the same distillate and also wasn’t always the same 12-year-old Kentucky bourbon with which it was being blended. I appreciate Bardstown’s experimentation, but it did also seriously complicate any effort to compare the blends side by side as the Fusion Series progressed.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #8 Straight Bourbon Whiskey Mash Bill. Credit: Bardstownbourbon.com.
Case-in-point: Fusion #8 and #9 came out at the same time, and have different mashbills alongside the different 12-year-old bourbons. To the right is the mashbill for Fusion #8.
Fusion #9 features the same 75/21/4 to start, but at 48%. The second component is a 4-grain bourbon with 60% corn, 26% rye, 10% wheat, and 4% malted barley comprising 22% of the overall blend - so 10% of the first has been transferred volume-wise to the second.
For Fusion #9, the Kentucky bourbon is a 75/13/12, meaning it could be Beam (and likely is) but doesn’t have to be. I don’t taste any Beam-like notes in this, but it’s wholly possible I can’t pick it up at the low volume.
The biggest difference for me is, oddly, the corn. I say odd because overall there’s a slightly lower volume of corn in the blend, but the taste is far more corn-forward and corn-oily, and with that oiliness comes so much more flavor. Fusion #8 stumbled with its flavors: Fusion #9 carries those flavors through beautifully.
Overall, this is stone fruit heavy, like a white sangria made with a fortified white wine. The 12-year-old bourbon gives some oak and body, but doesn’t distract from the Bardstown flavors. There’s bright, fruity acidity to balance out the oak, and the rye also imparts some oily character to amplify the mouthfeel.
In summary, it’s a promising way to close out this series and this chapter of Bardstown Bourbon Company’s history. Now let’s see what they can do next.
Thank you to Bardstown Bourbon Company for providing this bottle for review purposes without restriction.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #9 Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Origin: Bardstown Bourbon Company and an Undisclosed Kentucky Distillery (Heaven Hill)
Mashbill:
Proof: 96.8 (48.4% ABV)
Age: 4+ Years (Two 4-Year-Old Bourbons and one 12-Year-Old Kentucky Bourbon)
Location: Kentucky
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #9 Straight Bourbon Whiskey Price: $64.99
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #9 Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Sauternes. Thin rims and thin legs with small teardrops.
Nose: Roasted corn out of the husk, warm and buttery. Some light mint notes up the nostrils and a hint of proof. Stone fruit acidity like a white sangria. Mild oak. Orange zest, like an Old Fashioned’s glass after its contents have been drank.
Palate: Spiced apple cider and peach nectar. Lots of oak backbone without being tannic or woody. Orange peel on fire. Fatty rye and corn, the soft wheat also super clear despite being a small percentage of the overall blend. Mouthfeel is thin to medium, prickly, the older bourbon giving body and dark fruit. Coating and oily, the fruits drying out on the back palate and under my tongue.
Finish: Stone fruits again come to the fore, the sangria reasserting itself. Medium-to-short, sensation lingering long after the flavor is gone.
Overall: A satisfying if imperfect finish to the Fusion Series journey. The 12-year-old doesn’t taste like Beam at all, but does give great body in the background. The corn is more balanced and oily overall, carrying the flavors forward better as well. The 4-grain adds complexity that was missing in Fusion Series #8. Proof could be a bit higher, but doesn’t feel muted.
Final Rating: 6.5
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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