Brown rice and toasted barrels? Yes, siree, please!

Back in the days when George Washington was the first U.S. President and Kentucky State only but 4 years old, Basil Hayden was hard at work experimenting with the inner workings of Bourbon.

“You can take the boy out of Maryland, but not Maryland out of the boy?”….Mr. Hayden’s early exposure to Rye in Maryland gave rise to a certain playful curiosity. Later in Kentucky, he started making corn based Bourbon but with a higher percentage of Rye, with the result being a different, smooth Bourbon that to this day remains truly distinctive.

Their new core offering, Basil Hayden Toast Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is an innovation that replaces the traditional rye grain with brown rice. It’s also finished in toasted barrels. How does it translate to tasting notes, you ask? Less spice and deeper flavors of sweet caramel on the bright and light palate would be the answer. In 2020, this intriguing won Silver at the World Spirits Competition and it was awarded a whooping 95 points from New York International Spirits Competition where it won gold. Okay, we’re impressed.