Hardin’s Creek Warehouse Series – The Mushroom – Warehouse R
“Warehouse Series”
The Beam Suntory (Jim Beam) Hardin’s Creek label was first released in 2022 and consisted of a 2 year old bourbon named Hardin’s Creek: Colonel James B. Beam, and a 15 year old bourbon and Hardin’s Creek: Jacob’s Well. They followed that with the Kentucky series and now in 2025 they are releasing the Warehouse Series. This review is of the Hardin’s Creek The Mushroom Warehouse Series release #1.
The Hardin’s Creek Kentucky Series included a three part release which highlighted the Kentucky terroir. The company states in their press release that “each expression within The Kentucky Series is a 17-year-old Bourbon, aged at one of three James B. Beam Distilling Company [Kentucky] campuses: Clermont, Frankfort, and Boston. All three liquids were laid down with the same mash bill at the same time seventeen years ago but aged at different campus locations.” These were released as Hardin’s Creek Clermont, Hardin’s Creek Frankfort, and Hardin’s Creek Boston.
Now, in 2025, they have released the Hardin’s Creek Warehouse Series, which highlights three bourbons with the same mashbill, an 11-year age statement, all bottled at 110 proof, all aged in their Clermont, Kentucky location but aged in different style warehouses. The concept is an interesting one…to demonstrate how different warehouse’s height, construction, and microclimate affect the final flavor, even with the same age statement, location and mashbill.
Warehouse Series Specifics:
- Release #1: Warehouse R “The Mushroom”: Aged in a single-story, windowless warehouse that created a whiskey that “leads with oak and char, with notes of toasted sweetness too”.
- Release #2: Warehouse W “The Beaver”: Aged in a five-story rickhouse located next to a creek (hence the name “beaver”), producing a balanced bourbon with lighter oak and smoke notes.
- Release #3: Warehouse G “The Owl”: Matured in a towering nine-story warehouse, producing a whiskey with “unmatched complexity, balancing notes of oak, char, and sweet aromatics.”
Series: Hardin’s Creek – “Warehouse Series”
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age: 11 years
Proof: 110
Proof Designation: na
Filtered Status: Non-Chill Filtered
Mash bill: Undisclosed
Barrel Char Level: Undisclosed
Barrel Entry Proof: Undisclosed
Still Type: Undisclosed, but most likely Copper Stills
Distillate Source: James Beam
Distillery: James Beam
Company: Beam Suntory
Bottled By: James Beam
Distilled/Aging Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Master Distiller: Freddie Noe
Release Date: October 2025
MSRP: $150
Secondary Market: $175 – $250
Availability: Available with Some Hunting
Hardin’s Creek The Mushroom Review
November 25, 2025
My tasting reviews are unique in that I include the notes of several well-known whiskey critics. The hope is that this format will help me and others to explore and expand their tasting experience. After you have taken your own tasting notes, read the reviews and see if there is a flavor note that others discerned that now you can detect as well.
For this tasting: Opened Bottle (about 1 week), Glencairn Glass, Neat, Room Temp, Breathe: 5 minutes
Legs
Beads formed on the crown at about 5 seconds, they bled together until the first legs began to fall at about 23 seconds, and the first legs reached the bowl at about 44 seconds.
Nose
The nose is light but it is the best part of this pour. Caramel, a hint of marshmallow, layers of vanilla (vanilla bean, creme caramel), a chocolate-covered orange note (I wanted this soooo badly on the palate!), old oak, some dark fruits, baking spices.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Breaking Bourbon: Brown sugar | Vanilla | Aged oak | Fresh dough | Light caramel | Honey | Slightly earthy | Dab of ethanol.
Drink Hacker: Some charry, turned earth elements that might well evoke the thought of shrooms and dried black tea leaves.
Whiskey Consensus: Caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, honey, and oak.
Palate
Light sweetness with caramel, creme caramel, baking spices, mild barrel char, some “earthy” notes that are cool, a hint of almonds or some other nut, and some bitterness as well as a wet-sour note on the mid-palate.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Breaking Bourbon: Caramel candy | Brown sugar crumble | Sweet vanilla | Light rye spice | New oak | Concentration of sweet notes.
Drink Hacker: Quite sweet, those tea leaves backed up by notes of light brown sugar, spearmint, and a candied licorice quality. After a half hour or so in glass those earthy, mushroomy notes come back into view.
Whiskey Consensus: Sweet caramel, rye spice, new oak, toasted nuts, toasted nuts, and cinnamon.
Finish
The finish hits with flavors of light vanilla, creme caramel, rye spice, barrel char, and a bitter note. It is medium-long, which in this case is not a good thing because there is an unpleasant bitterness on the mid-palate and back of the throat that makes me want to get it out of my mouth by chasing it with something better.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Breaking Bourbon: Rye spice | Dry aged oak | Leather | Light tobacco leaf | Cinnamon stick | Faint mixed nuts | Lingering spice.
Drink Hacker: A quite savory and anise-laden finish. The nickname is apt! The ride from earth to sugar and back is interesting and unique, making this one of the most unusual bourbons I’ve tasted all year. If you taste one whiskey from this collection, this should be it.
Whiskey Consensus: Cinnamon, leather, tobacco, rye spice, toasted nuts, white pepper, and dry oak.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel is somewhere in-between Thin and Silken.
Mouthfeel Rating Guide: Thin = Watery | Silken = smooth & slippery, but not mouth coating | Creamy = coats the tongue like heavy cream does. | Rich or Unctuous = coats the entire palate like quality olive oil
The Burn
Average. This means that the burn from the alcohol is about what I would expect it to be. I would guess this to be around 105 to 110 proof.
The Burn Rating Guide:
Very Low = it drinks like it is a much lower proof
Low = it drinks like it is a little lower proof
Average = the heat is about what I would expect
Hot = it is hotter than what I would expect
Scorching! = it drinks much hotter than what I would expect
Tasting Summary
Hardin’s Creek The Mushroom has a nice nose with soft caramel and layers of vanilla. On the palate, sweet caramel hits first which is quickly followed by mild baking spices (rye spice influence?), some oak, mild barrel char and creme caramel vanillas. There is also a little bitterness and an mild unpleasant sour note on the mid and back palate.
Overall, it is a bit one-dimensional and boring…vanilla, light caramel, baking spice. At $150 I’m very disappointed in the flavor experience. An ECBP, Knob Creek 12, or a host of other bottles at half the price are equal and probably better.
Pass, Bar, Buy, or Bunker?
Rating: BAR– I’d try a sample of this before deciding to purchase.
I would love to try a flight of all three in this series because the idea/concept is pretty cool/interesting. But on it’s own, if you are not a bourbon/whiskey geek, this is disappointing for me personally. Try it in a bar…you might love it!
Rating Scale:
PASS – I wish that I had never put this in my mouth!
BAR – I don’t love it or hate it…I suggest trying this in a bar before purchasing it.
BUY – I would buy it once…maybe more.
BUNKER – Love this! I want a back-up bottle…or 3.
My Rating – 7.3
The higher the score the better the whiskey is in my opinion. For reference, my best rated bottle so far is the George T. Stagg 2022 (138.7p) with a score of 9.7.
| Score Type | Score | Examples |
| Likability Score | 7.3 | 1.0 – 10.0 |
My Tasting Notes
A blank version of this tasting notes wheel is available in both a color and a black & white version in the member’s area.
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