Here is a Founder's Press release that says different.
http://***********.com/beer-news/founders-backwoods-bastard-returns-local-collaboration
Weird it won't let me put the link to "the full pint" So here is what it says
Founders Brewing Announces Return of Backwoods Bastard + Collaboration with local snowboard maker.
November may mean a lot of things to a lot of people. It’s No Shave November, NaNoWriMo, and American Diabetes Month, among others. But to us here at the brewery, November marks the time during which we all take a moment to venture into the Backwoods with our dear friend, the Backwoods Bastard.
This beer uses a recipe similar to our Dirty Bastard as its base, then ages in bourbon barrels in caves beneath Grand Rapids before being bottled for you!
“Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit of earthy spice, and a scintilla of dark fruit. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate.”
I was also told by someone who works there that its similar but not identical.
Here is what I ended up using.
14lb 2row
.5lb Cara Pils
.5lb Caramunich
.5lb Caravienne
.5lb Special B
.25lb Chocolate
.125lb Peated malt
1oz Chinnook at 60 min
1oz Goldings at 30
1oz Goldings at 10
1 cup bourbon
4oz oak chips
Mashed at 152
60min boil
Used Nottingham Yeast.
Did this twice. The first time had terrible efficiency due to a poor crush from the LHS, in fact led me to buy a barley crusher. It was still good but not even close to the original.
Rebrewed with better crushed grains, plus added a pound of 2row and used Safale 04 yeast and it is much closer. Not quite there yet, we aged it in the secondary with chips for 3 weeks. Lacking a bit in the oak flavor and not quite Thick enough
Next time I'm going to use actual bourbon barrel pieces and age it much longer. The bourbon seems about right, and the recipe doesn't seem to far off, but just a little lacking in the thickness and some of the crystal notes. I'm thinking of Upping the Special B or Caramunich the next time I do it. I will probably also go to a 90min boil and up the mash temp to 156.
Love to hear back from anyone else trying to get this done.