Preservation Estate Kentucky Wheated Pot Distilled Bourbon Review

By Randall H. Borkus

Rating: A

Bardstown’s Preservation Distillery has previously released fabulous-but-sourced whiskey sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee and Canadian. Recently, they departed onto the well-trod path of blending those sourced stocks their own distillate, produced in their pot still in Bardstown. Just months ago, Preservation was ready for the next step.

In late 2024, Preservation released their first-ever product consisting of whiskey distilled entirely at the distillery.  Their Wheated Pot Distilled Bourbon is produced in truly micro-batches (by big distiller standards), just one to three barrels per micro batch. The batches are bottled at cask strength. My bottle is from lot 1 bottled at 58.6% ABV is informally stated to be between six and seven years old. The bottle is a solid black wine style bottle with the top dipped in black wax.

The Bourbon
The whiskey is a glowing dark red, amber color. The nose is full of cherry candy, dried apricots with hints of fresh from the oven pastries, plus toasted oak.

The front and mid-palate is full bodied, the flavor is explosive and chewy, hosting toasted nuts with hints a warm juicy over baked berries. The mouthfeel is memorable in that it fills my mouth with a unique viscosity and a pleasant dryness settling in with a slap of Red Hots candy. The finish is a dry sweet with a fresh tobacco essence falling off with a spicy richness that holds court in my jowls That last part is very unusual for a wheated bourbon whiskey, so I think the pot still influence there is significant.

Preservation took their time to present us with a mature, complex whiskey, and what we got is a grand slam. I’m eager to see what the juice looks like in the years to come as they raised the bar right out of the gate.

The Price
This bourbon is available at the distillery, at Binny’s in Chicago and elsewhere for $129.99 for a 750ml bottle.