Charles and I took a trip in January 2025 during the relatively “slow” season for the alcohol industry and made our way through the up-and-coming Indiana Whiskey Trail, which has taken shape over the past few years. I’m sure all you bourbon fans know by now—Indiana bourbon isn’t just from MGP anymore! On our way back northeast to Saratoga, we dipped into Kentucky for a very special visit.
Augusta Distillery has been getting a lot of buzz lately for its commitment to releasing only age-stated, older whiskeys. While age isn’t everything to us, it still matters to many, and their approach is both intriguing and time-intensive. They had just opened their production facility to the public, literally about a week before our visit. Located two hours east of Louisville, right on the banks of the Ohio River, the brand was founded in 2017 by three friends: Lance Bates, Robert Burns, and Jeff Johnson. Over the next few years, they focused on sourcing older, high-quality Kentucky bourbon, and in 2020, they released their first bottle—a 13-year-old expression.
From the start, they planned to produce their own whiskey in Augusta, and the distillery is now up and running under the guidance of head distiller and blender Alex Castle, formerly of Old Dominick Distillery in Tennessee and Wild Turkey.
During our visit, we toured the brand-new distillery—absolutely gorgeous and seriously impressive. It’s well worth the detour from the main bourbon trail, especially with Old Pogue Distillery just down the road. We tasted through multiple barrels of 8- to 9-year-old bourbon, and honestly, they were all excellent—which is rare during single barrel picks. In the end, it was the very first barrel we sampled that we kept coming back to, and it was ultimately declared the winner. We’re beyond excited to be one of the first shops in the Northeast to offer a store pick from Augusta!
We pushed a bit and we believe we know where this single barrel of whiskey came from in Kentucky, so if you want to know, maybe come visit us at the shop. You may be able to tell from the mashbill — wink wink!
AUGUSTA 8YR SINGLE BARREL BOURBON FIRST FILL STORE PICK
Bottle Count – 198 bottles
ABV – 60.6% ABV
Mashbill – 78% Corn, 13% Rye, 9% Malted Barley
Age – 8 years, 6 months
The name “Old Route 8” comes from the original route that you would take to get into Augusta.
Holly’s Tasting Notes: Chewy nougat and caramel. Doughy pastries, mocha, cappucino and Nutter Butter peanut butter cookies. Sounds sweet and it is sweet, but the nose is very rich and silky. The palate has more bright sweetness, with sea salt caramels and milk chocolate. There is a candied oak sweetness on the palate that’s lovely.
Charles’ Tasting Notes: Coming soon, he keeps traveling!
