Bardstown Bourbon Company's Collaborative Series is where the distillery's most audacious ideas play out, pairing Kentucky bourbon with cask finishes from renowned world producers. The Chateau de Laubade release finishes aged Kentucky bourbon in casks sourced directly from Chateau de Laubade — one of the largest and most respected Bas-Armagnac producers in Gascony, France, with history stretching back to 1870.
Bas-Armagnac, the oldest French brandy, matures in dark local oak that soaks up generations of prune, fig and toffee character. When Bardstown lays bourbon into those casks for their finishing period, the result is a transatlantic conversation — the cornbread richness of Kentucky bourbon meeting the dried-fruit opulence of French brandy wood.
The nose telegraphs the influence immediately: prune and fig leap from the glass, underpinned by marzipan, dark caramel, and a drift of bourbon vanilla and warm oak. The palate is lush and fruited — candied plum, dried apricot, toffee sweetness, dark chocolate, with rye-bright spice flickering beneath to remind you this is still bourbon at its core. The integration is remarkably seamless; neither spirit bullies the other.
The finish is long and generously fruited — stewed fig, cocoa powder, nutmeg, and a lingering brandy warmth that would feel at home in a snifter beside a fireplace. At 100 proof, it's strong enough to carry the finish notes without losing definition.
Bardstown's Collaborative Series has worked with Phifer Pavitt wine, Plantation rum, Copper & Kings brandy and others, but the Chateau de Laubade release is often singled out as the most successful marriage — bourbon and Armagnac turning out to be unexpectedly fluent in each other's language.
