Barrell Bourbon uses their large stock of procured barrels, and blends the best complimentary set of straight bourbons. Each batch is different, and each batch is uniquely created toward a specific flavour profile.
Will Schragis did, when he was on the podcast, release one little gem about this whisky. They were balancing out the sweetness and the tannins from the oak. Because Barrell Bourbon doesn’t water down any of their bourbons, they’re all cask strength, they used some particularly old barrels of whisky to bring the proof point down to where they found a better balance. Using aged stock to proof down a high-strength cask strength is an expensive replacement to water, but it’s a wonderful addition to the flavour profile.
At the time of this review, batch 23 is slipping into limited supplies as batch 25 is about to come into the marketplace.
Barrel Bourbon Batch 23
Category: NDP, Blend of Straight Bourbons
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Nose: Fun yeasty, barnyard funkiness, with a lot of dry wheat-like aspects to the nose. Herbal, dark chocolate, some boozy cherry elements. When left in the glass, lots of liquorice and brown sugar notes come through.
Palate:The boozy cherry note is spicy, toffee sweet, and vanilla extract bitter. The syrupy note is pleasant, because the high alcohol content really brings through the peppery spice. Citrus.
Conclusion: Out of all the Barrell Bourbons I’ve had, this one fits the profile of a high-proof bourbon the closest (I haven’t had a lot, so this isn’t saying much). The cherry syrupy sweetness combined with the complex nose is a terrific combination. It really flows well, and this hits the mark of being a standout high proof bourbon.
Disclaimer: I received a sample of this whisky. It had no influence on my review.