Bedtime Bourbon Review

Updated April 13, 2020

By Randall H. Borkus

Average Rating: B

The Louisville Bourbon Transit Company, Inc. is one of the newest and smallest bottlers, or non-distilling producers (NDP), of bourbon in Kentucky, and was founded by three passionate bourbon loving Kentuckians, Scott Richer, Carla Jacob and Joel Jake. Carla, Joel and Scott have been friends for over 15 years, and Scott shared with me that they have enjoyed many years of bourbon trail adventures. About 3 years ago while at Willett Distillery they began the conversation around creating their own bourbon whiskey brand. Scott explained that the Willett visit inspired them because it made them recall that throughout history distilleries have always had a family element to them.  “Families do this!” he exclaimed!

Coming up with the right match required much research to determine what represented their ideal flavor profile.  Once they found the match they applied for and received a Federal Spirits Wholesaler license and from there the baby was born. Next then they needed a label, and they didn’t want a stodgy label. Instead, they were inspired by a 100 year old photo of Gabrielle Ray sitting on the moon.

I must confess that I was a bit skeptical at first and thought it was just another one of many lower shelf options being sent to me. But to my surprise, this is good Bourbon whiskey, and I love the packaging which reflects the three founder’s creativity.

The Bourbon
The juice is an eight year old with a mash bill consisting of 84% Corn, 8% Rye and Barley 8%. Bedtime Bourbon is distilled and aged in Tennessee (the same no-Lincoln County Process whiskey from George Dickel that frequently appears in Barrell Bourbon releases is a good guess), and the first batch consists of only 840 bottles from 4 barrels.  The whiskey was bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky and cut down to 90 proof (45% ABV) using Kentucky limestone-filtered water.

The appearance in my glass is rich dark amber with a gold hue about it. The juice sports medium legs on the side of my glass.

The nose holds hints of butterscotch, fresh cut leather, and vanilla. I enjoyed nosing just the nosing of the glass for a couple of minutes to let it air a bit. The mouthfeel mildly coats my tongue with a nice flavor hit of nutmeg wrapped in vanilla with a touch of oak spice. There is more butterscotch, vanilla and oak spice leading to a pleasant dryness in the back of my throat you only find in a medium mature whiskey. The finish is warm, long and rich and continues with more nutmeg, butterscotch and vanilla playing on my palate.

This is not just some drinkable whiskey from an upstart company, instead a very thoughtful flavor expression that that very well may be sought after because of its uniqueness and rarity. This first batch of straight bourbon whiskey was available October 31, 2017. Rumor is there is more to come in late 2017 or early 2018.

Addendum by Richard Thomas

I had the opportunity during the covid-19 lockdown to become acquainted with Bedtime Bourbon Batch No. 3 (Randall reviewed Batch No. 1). This batch was released during the summer of 2019, but it’s reportedly still the same stock as the original.

I agree with Randall in most every respect. Bedtime is a pleasant sipping bourbon, with some quite modest fruity and spicy notes that give the bedrock of sweet caramel and soft leather some character. It’s a solid, middle of the road bourbon and fair at its price point.

The Price
Bedtime Bourbon is only available in Kentucky and exclusively through Dauntless Distributing. Suggested retail is $59.00 a bottle but move quickly as the limited number of bottles will disappear quickly.