By Richard Thomas
Rating: B+
Stellum Bourbon
(Credit: Stellum Spirits)
What complaining I have ever heard about the overall handiwork of Barrell Craft Spirits has come in a particularly wistful form. Sure, some of their Barrell Bourbon/Whiskey/Rye releases have been a little disappointing (who hits their mark every single time with almost 40 at bats?), but usually folks just wish their releases weren’t always one-shot limited editions, here today and never to return.
Now Joe Beatrice, founder of Barrell Craft Spirits, has addressed that by starting a new brand that takes his outfit’s blending skills and applies it to a regular release, Stellum Spirits. The story behind the Stellum Bourbon release will be familiar to anyone already knowledgeable of Barrell Bourbon: the sourced whiskey from Tennessee (presumably Tullahoma), Kentucky (anyone’s guess) and Indiana (presumably MGP, and in this case a few different mash bill stocks) and blended them together, bottling the result at cask strength, 114.98 proof (57.49% ABV). The Kentucky and Tennessee stocks were said to be older and used to round and smooth out the profile, but no age statement was made for Stellum Bourbon.
The Bourbon
This pour has a dull amber look in the glass, and a nose of toasty, musty oak seasoned with some clove and allspice. The whiskey has a light texture on the tongue, with a sweetness based on marshmallow and caramel, accented by that musty, toasty wood and a dash of black pepper. The finish rolls out of that spicy end, winding down as a sprinkle of cinnamon and pepper.
Keeping in mind this is a less expensive (see below) and regular release version of the Barrell Bourbon handiwork, with very familiar sourcing, it is in no way a cheaper version of Barrell Bourbon. My take is that it measures up to the solid B+ standard set by most of the more than two dozen Barrell Bourbon batches released to date. If your go-to bottle sits in the $50 range and you love cask strength bourbon, this might very well replace whatever high octane brand you’ve got on your shelf.
The Price
A bottle of Stellum Bourbon can be had for $55.