Olde Hickory Bardstown Brand Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewed by Olde Hickory Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Hickory, North Carolina USA

22oz bottle, sampled at the 1st Annual Shenandoah Beer Throwdown, courtesy of wilkie. Thanks, Chris! Nice brown sugary, oak, vanilla, and caramel in the nose. Flavor is more of the same with the bourbon nicely balanced with the base beer. Some alcohol is present, but it doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the beer. Overall, very well done.

22oz bottle, sampled at the 1st Annual Shenandoah Beer Throwdown, courtesy of wilkie. Thanks, Chris! Pours an orange-amber color; thin off-white head with patchy lacing. Toasty oak, vanilla, light bourbon, and brown sugar in the aroma; lots of toasty oakiness and sweet sugar. High levels of carbonation; chewy brown sugar, toasty oak (plenty of vanilla): slightly harsh edges; generous, with a touch of warmth coming through. Medium finish: toasty malts, candy sugar, and oaky vanilla from the barrel; smooth end.

22oz 07 bottle. Pours a dark amber color with fizzy off white head. The aroma was massive with strong bourbon and sweet malt mixing together. The taste was sweet malt and lots of bourbon with earthy hop finish.

22oz bottle @Noogfest4.0-thanks kp–pours no head and copper color. Aroma is bourbon, medium malt-sweet. Taste is biting bourbon, medium malt-sweet, some hops. Fizzy.

Got a bottle of this and headed around for a second try. Pours a reddish copper with a crackling yellow 2 finger head. The nose is very very oaky, bourbon comes through, warming, malty, sweet, some raisin. The flavor is very spicy oak, sweet, vanilla, bourbon, a tad hot, malty. The palate is warm and spicy oak. Could be a better BW as a base but I think the oak and bourbon comes through very nicely.

Noogfest ’08. The body was deep amber and copper with an off white head. The aroma has some sweet bourbon notes. There was also some caramel and vanilla. The taste was massive bourbon with some vanilla. Not much else going on as the barrel aging dominates.

Bottle at Noogfest 08 courtesy of KP. Pours copper amber with an off white head. Aroma is boozy with hints of vanilla. Medium bodied but somewhat thin for a barleywine. Whiskey dominates this beer and makes this too hot. There needs more rich maltiness and hops to counter barrel aging. I may be a black sheep, but this did not wow me. I felt like I was drinking a shot of bourbon.

A copper color with a white head. The aroma is oak, whiskey, cherries, and alcohol. The flavor contains some vanilla, whiskey, dark fruit, caramel, and a some citrus as well. Overall a nice and complex barleywine. Long name too!!