Undisclosed (Tennessee)
Balthazar Rex
55.5%
12 Years, 10 Months
Released in April 2025, BHAKTA 2011 Bourbon is an Armagnac cask-finished bourbon released by BHAKTA Spirits, the brand founded by WhistlePig Whiskey founder Raj Bhakta. With only 11 barrels released, BHAKTA 2011 was distilled from a mashbill of 84% corn, 8% rye and 8% malted barley, aged 12 years and 10 months, bottled at 111 proof and has a suggested retail price of $149 per bottle. Distilled in by an undisclosed producer in Tennessee (almost certainly one that rhymes with "nickel"), BHAKTA 2011 Bourbon was finished in a variety of armagnac casks from the BHAKTA-GRISWOLD Spirits Library of the brand’s college campus headquarters in Vermont — which it claims is home to the oldest collection of spirits in the world. Barrels used for finishing include BHAKTA 1973, BHAKTA 1975 and BHAKTA 1984.
Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.
Sweet, approachable and well-balanced on the nose. A bit of heat and plenty of musky armagnac influence. Cherry, plum, cinnamon, browned butter and caramel.
Nice mouthfeel with a little heat and plenty of armagnac character once again. Fruit notes from the nose continue: more cherry and plum, plus some raisin and orange peel here. The sweetness comes through with a really enjoyable cookie dough note, while balancing spices hang around with cinnamon and clove. There's also a sweet tobacco note and some of that infamous minerality associated with the Tennessee distillery this was likely distilled at. That minerality is held in check, though; it's not at all overpowering or out of place.
You start to feel those nearly 13 years of age here with some barrel char and tannin. The minerality hangs around for a little while, joined by cherry, brown sugar, tobacco, cinnamon and clove.
This is a very good, sweet bourbon loaded with dry, dark fruit notes. The armagnac influence works very nicely with the distillate. This is an impressive release from BHAKTA.
90
Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.
