Bardstown Bourbon Company has had a challenging few months, news that we covered here recently. But the distillery has also continued to release some truly interesting and excellent bourbons, often with a penchant for experimentation. The latest is the new Distillery Reserve Mars Single Malt Japanese Blend, a blend of bourbon and Japanese whisky that is unlike anything else you’ve likely tried before.

There have been spirits that were blended by Japanese master blenders before (Legent from Jim Beam, for example), or finished in barrels that were previously used to age Japanese whisky (El Tesoro’s last Mundial tequila). But this release is something different—a marriage of bourbon (the majority of the blend) and Japanese whisky that were actually blended together in barrels. Here’s how it went down: BBC received a shipment of Japanese single malt whisky from the Mars Komagatake and Tsunuki distilleries. Both were made from 100 percent malted barley, and the Komagatake whisky was initially matured in umeshu plum liqueur barrels while the Tsunuki whisky was aged in sakura cherrywood casks. Both components were then added to 10 and 16-year-old bourbon still in barrels to marry and further age for another 12 months in BBC’s warehouses in Bardstown. The final blend is as follows: 69 percent 10-year Kentucky bourbon; eight percent 16-year Kentucky bourbon; 20 percent Komagatake whisky; and three percent Tsunuki whisky.

“This project is about more than blending—it’s about true integration,” said BBC master blender Dan Callaway in a statement. “By aging Japanese single malt whiskies together with Kentucky bourbon in the same barrel, we’ve created something entirely new. The result is a seamless conversation between two traditions, where neither overpowers the other, and both are elevated.” “By fusing the techniques and philosophies each company has cultivated,” added Mr. Kazuto Hombo, president of Hombo Shuzo Co., “and by utilizing carefully selected base whisky, aging environments, and delicate blending techniques, we aim to create a new whiskey experience that combines depth and elegance.”

The resulting whisky is quite good. At first sip, you realize that this is definitely neither bourbon nor Japanese whisky, but something entirely different. There are notes of vanilla, malted chocolate, ripe fruit, pear, oak, and caramel on the palate, with some lingering baking spice, citrus, and dark roast espresso on the finish. It’s bottled at 109.8 proof, so there is some heft and heat on the palate as well. This isn’t the end of this story, however, because according to the distillery there’s another blending experiment currently taking place at the Mars Tsunuki distillery in Japan. Bardstown Bourbon Company bourbon was shipped there and blended with Japanese whisky aging in barrels, sort of a reverse experiment of the initial release, and one that we’re looking forward to trying.

Distillery Reserve Mars Single Malt Japanese Blend (SRP $100) is available now to purchase in 375-ml bottles at the distillery gift shop and tasting room in Louisville.