15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon Review

Please enjoy our 15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon Review!

The Artisan Collection from 15 STARS

The 15 STARS Artisan Collection Bourbon is the latest limited-edition release from the father-and-son blending team of Rick and Ricky Johnson. With only 1,290 bottles produced, this small-batch expression blends 12- and 15-year-old straight bourbons from Kentucky and Indiana. Released in September 2025, just in time for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, the Artisan Collection has already earned top honors, including “Best Bourbon” at the Spring 2025 John Barleycorn Awards. 15 STARS continues to distill and blend in Bardstown, Kentucky, with some of their distillates made from proprietary heirloom corn varieties that the family grows for their specialty popcorn business, Black Jewell Popcorn.

The Details – 15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon Review

• Type: Blend of Straight Bourbons
• Age: Blend of bourbons aged 12 and 15 years
• Origin: Kentucky and Indiana
• Proof / ABV: 109 Proof (54.5% ABV)
• Blend & Bottling Location: Bardstown, Kentucky
• Production: Limited to 1,290 bottles
• Awards: Best Bourbon – Spring 2025 John Barleycorn Awards
• MSRP: $179 / 750mL
• Release Date: September 2025

So how does this carefully blended and well-aged bourbon come together in the glass? Let’s taste it and find out.

Tasting Notes – 15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon Review

Let’s taste it:

🛏 Rested: 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉🏻 Nose: Mildly sweet, with dark cherries, caramel, toffee, vanilla, and a hint of tart orange peel. Mild cedar and dry oak are in the background. Alcohol vapor is noticeable, but appropriate for the 109 proof.
👉🏻 Taste: Mildly sweet with caramel and toffee; cherries and raspberry jam are present, as well. Tart orange peel, tannins and oak become increasingly noticeable with each sip.
👉🏻 Finish: Mild lingering jam with moderate black pepper spice; dryness, tannins, and oak continue to increase, with mild char, appearing, too. The flavors and mouthfeel linger for quite a long time, with a pleasant, deep warmth.

Summary

15 STARS Artisan Collection is a complex, mature bourbon with an excellent balance between sweet fruit and confectionary notes and older barrel flavors. The maturity becomes more noticeable with each sip, from the nose to the finish. In fact, after a few sips, the confectionary notes give way to spice, dryness, oak, and tannins, creating a very pleasant, mature balance of flavors.

Conclusion – 15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon Review

This is once again a delicious and complex bourbon from 15 STARS. It should be enjoyed by those who appreciate mature flavors, but prefer them to not be overbearing. Its balance and depth gives it both complexity and versatility, making it enjoyable for a wide range of enthusiasts—particularly those who enjoy the oak and tannins that come with age. It’s quite interesting how the mature flavors develop progressively throughout the pour, and I really enjoy the well-aged character that dominates later on. Having said that, I might have guessed this bourbon was even older than its stated 12 years, and indeed it is; there is the 15 year old in the blend, as well.

Have you had the 15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon? What did you think? Cheers!🥃

We hope you have enjoyed our 15 STARS Artisan Collection 12 Year Bourbon Review! Next, why not read these related articles: Kentucke County 12 Year Old American Whiskey Review, 15 STARS Three Ports Bourbon Review, 15 STARS Founder’s Reserve Rye Review, 15 STARS First West Toasted Oak Finish Bourbon Review and Kentucke County Bourbon Aged 6 Years Review.

Note: This bottle was graciously provided by the Brand for my review. I appreciate it!

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