The Centuries-Old Distillery That Makes Costco's Kirkland Signature Bourbon

Kirkland Signature, as you may know, is Costco's private label brand. That means whatever's being sold under that label is received directly from the source. These store-brand products are often made by well-known brands just under a different brand name.  For Costco's vanilla ice cream, it's a creamery in California. For Costco's maple syrup, it's several different companies from Quebec, Canada. But for its bourbon, Costco went with a particularly distinguished source: Barton 1792 Distillery, a distillery that's been around for hundreds of years.

For the record, 1792 doesn't refer to the date of the distillery's founding (Barton was founded in 1879). So, while it's still a venerable institution (the seventh-largest bourbon distillery in the world, in fact) it isn't quite as old as you might think from the name. 1792 instead refers to the year Kentucky, the bourbon capital of America, became a state. Unsurprisingly, the distillery is located in the Bluegrass State; specifically calling Bardstown its home. It makes three kinds of bourbon for Costco to sell through its Kirkland Signature brand – bottled-in-bond, small batch, and single barrel.

While not every Kirkland Signature product is a home run, these three bourbons are all well-liked, as you might expect from the pedigree behind them. The bottled-in-bond variety (so named for its compliance with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, which was instituted to establish a baseline level of quality) is a great daily sipper with notes of honey, caramel, and vanilla. The small batch variety doesn't get quite as much love, but its alcohol-forward flavor would be good in something like a mint julep.

The single barrel variety, too, has enjoyed a warm reception. "This could be one of the best values in bourbon," read one review on Reddit. Being a single barrel whiskey, the quality will differ slightly from barrel to barrel, but the price is more than reasonable; allowing you to taste and explore as much as your heart desires.