The Bardstown Bourbon Company (“BBCo”) and Copper & Kings American Brandy Company (“C&K”) announced today the release of “Collabor&tion,” two distinct products made with 10-year-old straight bourbon whiskey – one finished in Copper & Kings’ American Brandy barrels and the other in Muscat Mistelle barrels, for more than 18 months in the Copper & Kings basement maturation cellar. The project is intended to embody the spirit of friendship and partnership and celebrates great craftsmen working together to produce exceptional products as kindred spirits.

“Exceptional bourbon will always carry beautiful dark fruit notes (figs, raisins, dates) as well as apple and pear to complement the classic honey, spice, and butterscotch. Aging in brandy barrels not only accentuates these notes – it layers more on top of that foundation to create an incredibly rich, smooth and complex whiskey,” says Bardstown Bourbon Company Master Distiller Steve Nally. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and this is an amazing spirit – something I will share with my good friends with real pride.”

“A Mistelle barrel is a unique vessel. Mistelle is unfermented grape juice (in this case Muscat) fortified with un-aged brandy (Muscat eau-de-vie) and then aged in bourbon barrels for 18 months. The empty barrels are deeply and highly caramelized with the grape sugars and fruit essences. The whiskey exiting these barrels is pure joy. A completely novel sensory experience; deep, deep rich whiskey – very soft and supple, mellow, and the taste goes on forever. The whiskey notes are amplified by a softness and smoothness that is singular – to say the least. I could literally sip this for the rest of my life,” said Brandon O’Daniel, Head Distiller of Copper & Kings.

The bourbon used to produce Collabor&tion was distilled in Indiana in 2006 by Lawrenceburg Distillers, now MGP, and is made from 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. The Collabor&tion expression aged in Copper & Kings American brandy barrels is bottled at cask strength of 113 proof. The Mistelle barrel finish is bottled at cask strength of 94 proof.

Collabor&tion is a very limited release that’s only available in select Kentucky retail stores, at the BBCo and C&K gift shops and a small selection of fine retailers across the USA.

ABOUT THE BARDSTOWN BOURBON COMPANY

The Bardstown Bourbon Company is a celebration of the art of making whiskey. No secrets, mythical stories, or fabricated legends, the Bardstown Bourbon Company celebrates the craft of making great whiskey and the Bardstown community that brings bourbon to the world.

BBCo is also developing a destination experience with a unique “Napa Valley” style campus featuring a state-of-the-art whiskey distillery, transparent educational experience, integrated visitors center, event space, vintage spirits and whiskey library, bar, and restaurant. The company also plans to develop a boutique hotel and convention center on the property. The Company anticipates announcing an opening date for its visitors’ center in the near future.

ABOUT COPPER & KINGS AMERICAN BRANDY COMPANY

Copper & Kings uses small batch copper pot-distillation to forge untraditional, non-derivative, pure pot-distilled American apple and grape brandies, absinthe, gin and Destillaré liqueurs, that are non-chill filtered with no added sugar, colors or synthetic chemicals. The state-of-the-art distillery exclusively focuses on the distillation of brandy-based spirits. Copper & Kings, located at 1121 E. Washington St. in Butchertown, is owned by beverage entrepreneurs Joe and Lesley Heron.

Read more at Source: BusinessWire