Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Lochs Of Jura Fuses American Whiskey With Scotch

One of the worst kept secrets in whiskey is finally being revealed. That's a good thing for bourbon and Scotch fans alike, because the latest release from Bardstown Bourbon Company fuses both traditions into a unique, delicious, and already award-winning whiskey.

Bardstown Bourbon Company's Lochs of Jura is a blend of 10, 11, and 12 year American whiskeys, finished in casks from Scotland's Jura distillery. And while it doesn't officially hit shelves until this week, the whiskey has been making waves for months. That's largely due to its performance at the 2026 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC), which awarded the bottle 99 points—the highest score for any whiskey. Because the result was announced well ahead of the bottle's official unveiling, that made Lochs of Jura something of a fun mystery in whiskey circles.

Now, Lochs of Jura is finally making its debut, and I had a chance to review an early sample. While I didn't judge this year's IWSC, it's tough to disagree with their conclusion. This is some very good whiskey.

My full tasting notes are below, but let's get some important details out of the way first. Lochs of Jura is a mix of bourbon and rye in the following proportions:

• 49% of the blend is an 11 year Indiana bourbon, distilled from a mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley

• 30% of the blend is a 10 year Indiana rye, distilled from a mash of 75% rye and 5% malted barley

• 21% is a Kentucky bourbon, distilled from a mash of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley

Those three components were blended before being recasked across both ex-bourbon (53 gallon) and ex-sherry (59 gallon) casks previously used to age Jura single malt Scotch. After 32 months of aging—the longest ever finish for a Bardstown Bourbon Company national release—the whiskey was married and bottled at 104 proof.

The expression was overseen by Dan Callaway, who served as Master Blender for Bardstown Bourbon Company and Green River Distilling, both of which sit within the Lofted Spirits portfolio. Callaway says the final batching came from around 100 of the ex-bourbon and 30 of ex-sherry barrels. Dialing in that ratio was critical so the final product could maintain character from each of four flavor components: bourbon, rye, malt whisky, and sherry. Callaway tells Forbes he was especially careful when thinking about rye's influence. Though it's only 30% of the liquid, the 95/5 mashbill can be famously punchy, and he took special care to "make sure nothing is being a bully" in the final blend.

In many ways, Lochs of Jura is the third in an unofficial trio of Bardstown Bourbon Company products to pair American whiskey and international malts. Its predecessors include 2024's (almost criminally slept on) Collaborative Series: Amrut and the more recent Distillery Reserve Mars Single Malt Japanese Blend .

I had a chance to try Lochs of Jura firsthand while interviewing Callaway. The nose kicks off with an immediate interplay between malt and rye. At first, it's big on nutty, slightly oxidized sherry and dried fruits, including raisins, dates, figs, cherries, and sweetened cranberries. (I'm looking at you, Craisins.) Those fruity elements meet some green herbs and rye spice, though the more herbal notes recede before they have the chance to overpower other aromas. After a couple minutes come spiced confectionary scents, including toasted almond cookies, alongside increasingly luscious fruit.

Continuing in that vein, the early palate brings immediate red fruits and loads of spiced fruitcake and biscotti. After a couple sips come bold gingersnaps and clove cookies, accented by green mint. Those early flavors walk right up to the edge of becoming too intense—before traditional bourbon vanilla and caramel sweetness reign things in at the last moment. The midpalate transitions slightly to rustic ginger beer, which sits well via a thick and coating mouthfeel. There's also a lot of action on the upper palate, including more clove, ginger, cinnamon, and a touch of cooling menthol.

On the finish, we've got dried espresso beans, more gingersnaps, and lingering figgy pudding. Bourbon is definitely there. But this is far (far) from a classic profile, and there were points where I almost forgot I was sipping a bourye, or even a finished American whiskey. Lochs of Jura is a truly fascinating—and almost undeniably delicious—fusion of flavors across two whisk(e)y traditions. While not every bottling will earn 99 points in competition, Callaway and his team remain on one of the industry's blending and finishing hot streaks.

In addition to Lochs of Jura, Bardstown Bourbon Company has also announced its 2026 Discovery bottling. (That line was formerly known as the Discovery Series.) This year's version comes from the following parts:

• 55% of the blend is 10 year Indiana bourbon, distilled from a mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley

• 25% of the blend is 11 year Kentucky bourbon, distilled from a mash of 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley

• 20% of the blend is 7 year Kentucky bourbon, distilled from a mash of 70% corn, 16% rye, and 10% malted barley

All three components were blended and then "rested" for four months in garryana oak barrels. The rare casks are crafted by Oregon Barrel Works from oak native to the Pacific Northwest. Garryana aging is often associated with special releases from Westward, a Seattle-based producer of American single malts. It's also the star of Cascadia, another Bardstown Bourbon Distillery Reserve from earlier this year.

I also tasted Discovery. While I didn't spend quite as much time with it compared to Lochs of Jura, I thought it to be another—albeit fundamentally different—quality release from Bardstown. There's a semi-smoky, slightly savory thread from nose to finish. The palate leans into cooked herbs (think fried sage or thyme), blackberry & peach, toasted marshmallow, and some bold cinnamon spice. All of that wraps up in a full-bodied and tannic finish, which Callaway compares to a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Both Bardstown Bourbon Company's Lochs of Jura and Discovery 2026 are limited edition releases with a suggested retail price of $139.99. Each features custom label artwork from Louisville's Margaret Archambault. Bottles for both expressions will be released nationwide starting on August 21.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com