Redemption 7 Year Old Barrel Proof Rye

At more than 61% ABV, this man’s Whiskey will jump out of the bottle and teach your next Manhattan a thing or two about great flavor.

It is likely that you have never heard of Bardstown Barrel Selections. Why would you have? They are a small company based in Bardstown, Kentucky — in the spiritual and geographic heart of Bourbon country. But you will never have tasted anything called Bardstown. These guys are great at picking barrels. They know what kinds of flavors they want to get out of a Whiskey, and they go looking for the barrels produced by dozens of large and small distillery shops all across the mid-west.

They blend these to get the flavor profiles for their signature brands and continue to impress the crowd by managing to produce a high-quality and consistent experience across their product lines. Bardstown currently produces the Redemption product range in addition to Temptation Bourbon and Riverboat Rye Whiskey.

First, Redemption 7 YO Rye is barrel-proof stuff. A lot of folks think that "cask strength" product like this is great just as it is for drinking straight … a bottle, a glass, and a testosterone shot is all they want. At more than 61% ABV, this man’s Whiskey will jump out of the bottle and slap you around for a while. But also remember that this is a Rye, so it is spicy from the get-go. If you like to swallow jalapeños right out of the jar — and some do — then let’s go hombre… pour it neat.

Make no mistake, this is really good stuff. And at 7 years old, it is jam-packed with flavor. But Whiskey like this is perfect for rocks, or a splash of water. And, truth be told, this is the kind of Whiskey that all the great cocktails were built around. So try this rough-boy as the base of your next Manhattan Cocktail and you will be singing its praises with the rest of us. Or pour two fingers on the rocks and let it breath in the glass for a few minutes and you will understand that all that power can be a very, very good thing.