Bardstown Bourbon Co. Concludes 2025 Distillery Reserve Series With Calvados Finish

(Photo: Bardstown Bourbon Company)

On Tuesday, Bardstown Bourbon Company announced the release of a new distillery-only whiskey, capping its 2025 Distillery Reserve series with a Calvados-finished bourbon called Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish. The 104.2-proof expression will debut in what the company describes as  “extremely limited quantities” at Bardstown Bourbon’s distillery gift shop and Louisville Tasting Room beginning Black Friday, Nov. 28. It will retail for $99.99. per 375-milliliter bottle.

The release uses Calvados casks sourced from Normandy, the French region known for apple brandy. These casks held a custom bourbon blend aged 12 to 13 years before undergoing a 28-month finish. The whiskey was then moved into new, medium-toast American white oak. According to Bardstown Bourbon Co., the process produced notes of caramel, spice, roasted almond, orchard fruit and light vanilla.

Master Blender Dan Callaway said the project relied on barrels from Christian Drouin House in Normandy.

“Three generations of meticulous craftsmanship and nearly 300 gold medals have made Christian Drouin House an icon of Calvados,” Callaway said in a news release. “Over the course of the past two years, these five barrels have become the apple of my eye – the most attention per barrel project aging in Bardstown. The result: a cross-continental conversation in a glass that bridges centuries of tradition on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish is the final installment in the three-part Distillery Reserve series launched in February. It follows Cathedral French Oak and Hokkaido Mizunara Oak, the latter of which has earned a Critics’ Score of 95 on The Daily Pour, cementing it as one of the best whiskeys of 2025. Bardstown Bourbon Co. describes the Distillery Reserve line as an outlet for small-batch experiments in finishing and blending.

To mark the completion of the 2025 series, the company will hold a digital raffle that gives selected entrants the option to purchase all three Distillery Reserve bottlings and take part in tasting sessions with Callaway. Details will be shared through the brand’s email list.