Tastes

Nose is a spice rack with dill and clove front and center. Black tea and sweet fruit—orange or is it peach or apricot? Can’t pin it down—make an appearance. The savory nature of the rye carries through on the tongue with added honey, vanilla bean, stewed fruit and mild smokiness. Very approachable. Tannic finish with a bit of leather, dried fruit and some added spiciness. The complexity i expect from a good blended rye.

I tasted this and said the words, “not bad.” Warm golden raisin, saline and a hint of citrus on the nose. Silky mouthfeel with graham cracker, dried fruit and honey. Finish dries things out with baking spices. I expected more complexity. Probably the Barrell vatted releases have spoiled me, but it’s instructive that early reviews comp this with Old Overholt. A value at $30 but def not at $60. The expert review is a bit much.

Nose is saltines, flowers and pear. Very light and abruptly different from the Balcones American single malts i’ve been trying lately. The palate brings smoke and oak and the tropical notes the bottle promises. Delicate, smoky, fruity—representing the light, honeyed end of the USA single malt spectrum.

Honey graham cracker, salted nut, caramel and menthol nose with a smoky, leathery peat presence that becomes more scotch-like the longer you smell it. Dried fruit, apple, cinnamon, clove, oak, nuts, caramel and smoky peaty scotch on the tongue. The peat note lingers on the finish with some baking spices and gives the campfire the last word.

Warm inviting nose - rye, hay and butterscotch. Butterscotch comes in heavy on the tongue with oak, vanilla, toffee, bread pudding and a little pepper. Finish dries things out with peanuts and cinnamon.

Grassy hay, honey, custard, vanilla, pepper nose with some pear, citrus and melon - is that what we call “summer fruit” these days? Mellow palate with more of the same. Crisp pepper, honey and citrus finish. Apparently I’m not drinking the same bottle the expert reviewer was.

Lovely toasted oak and dark stone fruit nose conjures a glass of tawny port in an armchair by a crackling fire. It happens to be a hundred degrees outside but what can you do? Palate is warming oak, brown sugar, graham cracker, cocoa, cherry, vanilla and plum. Creamy. Sharper rye and spice notes come in on the long finish. Not wildly complex but a delicious sipping rye.

Campfire, cocoa and salted almond nose with the candied orange from the pro review. Creamy palate delivers on the nose with an added hint of citrus and sagebrush. Medium dry, savory finish dusted with cocoa. I like it a little better than their Baller single malt. Not complex but good.

Nose is apple, cherry and pecan pies cooling in a charred sawmill overgrown by mint. Tongue delivers the promised flavors with a thick, oily mouthfeel and some bonus orange, cola and vanilla. Spicy sawdust, peanuts and a mildly medicinal spearmint linger on the finish. Not the most complex batch but its a tribute to Barrell there’s still plenty going on.