2020 Goose Island Bourbon County Release
Goose Island Bourbon Release at Cox's Louisville and Evergreen
Friday, November 27th is the biggest day of the Craft Beer year! Goose Island will hold its annual Black Friday Release of its famous Bourbon County Craft Beer at select Cox’s Locations.
Read up on the latest additions and old favorites, then check which bottles will be available at your favorite Cox’s Louisville Location.
Available Selections:
Original Bourbon County Stout
The Original Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout. Our primary focus every year is to make this beer the best that it’s ever been, with the best ingredients, which includes the finest of bourbon whiskey barrels. This year’s Bourbon County Stout is aged in a mix of bourbon barrels from whiskey distilleries like Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill Distillery and Wild Turkey. Barrel-aged for a year to develop the complexity that only time can provide, Bourbon County Stout boasts a unique blend of flavors such as fudge, vanilla and caramel — topped off with a rich, complex mouthfeel.
Tasting Notes: Cocoa, fudge, vanilla, caramel, almond, plus leather
Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
We’re excited to debut our first-ever tea-inspired variant. Brewer Paul Cade brought this idea to life, inspired by his girlfriend, Martha, who prefers tea over coffee. Our Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout is a take on the London Fog tea drink. With that flavor profile in mind, we added Earl Grey Tea and Black Tea from Kilogram Tea, as well as clover honey from The Honey House, to make a Bourbon County Stout variant with a complexity like none before.
Tasting Notes: Black licorice, white pepper, citrus, florals, graham cracker
Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
Bourbon County Special #4 Stout is an oatmeal stout variant of our original Bourbon County Stout recipe, also aged in bourbon barrels, that uses crystal oats to add a nutty character, as well as a smooth mouthfeel. After barrel aging, we add Intelligentsia Coffee, both their cold coffee and single origin coffee beans from Ethiopia, called “Metad Buku,” bringing out a pleasant fruity coffee character. Lastly bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup from Bissell Maple Farm in Ohio is added which provides complexity to the nutty oats and coffee to round out the flavors, ultimately reminiscent of your breakfast ‘special’ at the local diner.
Tasting Notes: Coffee, vanilla, toasted nuts, cocoa, maple
Bourbon County Carmella Ale
Caramella or ‘candy’ in Italian is a wheatwine aged in Larceny Wheated Bourbon barrels with apple, cinnamon, and natural caramel flavor added after aging. Just like last year, the sweet smoothness from the Larceny Wheated Bourbon barrels adds a lingering warmth that complements the added flavor nuance. It’s nostalgia-inducing flavors are reminiscent of a caramel apple. Our Lab Tech, Joey Tidei, created this variant as a tribute to his love of seasonal flavors. This luscious embodiment of caramel perfectly paired with a slightly-tart apple flavor will transport you to a crisp autumn day.
Tasting Notes: Creamy caramel, red apple, cinnamon, funnel cake
Birthday Bourbon County Stout
We partnered with the Old Forester Brand and paired Bourbon County Stout with barrels from one of the world’s most sought-after bourbons – Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. The limited-edition bourbon, released each year on the founder George Garvin Brown of Brown-Forman’s birthday, is made in hand-selected 11-year old barrels and chosen from one specific day of production – resulting in flavor profiles that vary every year and never replicated. Old Forester’s tasting notes for the 2019 Birthday Bourbon are: “Rich oak spice and blackcurrant coupled with light maple, caramel cake, and white floral notes.” This year’s Birthday Bourbon County Stout is a truly unique variation that is a must-have for bourbon and beer lovers alike.
Tasting Notes: Chocolate, vanilla, maple, berry, cinnamon
Anniversary Bourbon County Stout
Anniversary Bourbon County Stout is aged 2 years in Weller 12 Year barrels and is a special variant this year to celebrate Goose Island’s 10-year tradition of releasing Bourbon County Stout on Black Friday. The Weller brand is one of the most universally loved collections in all of bourbon, with Weller 12 Year being one of the hardest to get and most sought after. Our Original Bourbon County Stout is aged in 4-5 year old barrels for one year, so the added age of these Weller barrels, paired with an extra year of the beer in the barrel, adds stronger barrel flavors and notes of dried dark fruit.
Tasting Notes: Chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, burnt sugar, oak, dried dark fruit
Cox’s and Evergreen Liquors are the #1 Retailers in Louisville of Goose Island’s Bourbon County beverages and this year is no different! The following stores will have Bourbon County available with a 1 bottle limit of all bottles available at that location (with the exception of the Original Bourbon County Stout, which is unlimited):
Cox’s Cloverleaf:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
Cox’s Mt. Washington:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
Cox’s St. Matthews:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Birthday Bourbon County Stout
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
- 2019 Bourbon County Mon Cheri
- 2018 Bourbon County Wheatwine
- 2018 Bourbon County Reserve
Cox’s Fern Creek:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
Cox’s Okolona:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
Cox’s PRP
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
Cox’s J-Town (Patti Lane)
- Bourbon County Stout
Cox’s Hike’s Point
- Bourbon County Stout
Cox’s Middletown:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
Cox’s Goose Creek:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
Cox’s Taylorsville:
- Bourbon County Stout
Cox’s J-Town (Ruckriegel PKWY)
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Birthday Bourbon County Stout
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
- 2019 Bourbon County Mon Cheri
- 2018 Bourbon County Wheatwine
- 2019 Bourbon County Rittenhouse Rye
- 2018 Bourbon County Reserve
Evergreen Liquors Middletown
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Birthday Bourbon County Stout
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
- 2019 Bourbon County Mon Cheri
- 2018 Bourbon County Wheatwine
- 2019 Bourbon County Rittenhouse Rye
- 2018 Bourbon County Reserve
O’Driscoll’s Spirits
- Bourbon County Stout
Evergreen Liquors St. Matthews:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Birthday Bourbon County Stout
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
- 2019 Bourbon County Mon Cheri
- 2018 Bourbon County Wheatwine
- 2019 Bourbon County Rittenhouse Rye
- 2018 Bourbon County Reserve
Cox’s Shelbyville (Both Locations)
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
Cox’s Shepherdsville:
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Kentucky Fog Stout
- Bourbon County Special #4 Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
Cox’s Shelbyville (Both Locations)
- Bourbon County Stout
- Bourbon County Caramella Ale
- Anniversary Bourbon Country Stout
Please check our Locations page for when your local retailer will open! Also, you can read descriptions of the various bottles available below: