Tastes

Reviewing a Kroger pick at 8 years, 7 months. Nose is maple syrup and cinnamon. I poured this into a grappa glass, drank half, got distracted by life, and came back an hour later. It has opened up incredibly. Flavor is spicy, peppery, and winey, almost like this has a Pinot noir finish with long-lasting notes of honey and red berries in the finish that just lingers and lingers. With my very last sip of the last few drops in the glass, I was left with a delicious impression of butterscotch pudding. Fantastic

I completely agree with the official Distiller.com description on this one. It's really spot-on. Mint is the most prevalent taste for me here, with a pleasant hug and burn. Leather, brown sugar, and dry biscuity cookies all play a fair part, too. White sugar immediately hits the tongue but quickly dissipates followed by black tea. Pleasant, long, lingering finish. Dry, slightly chalky tannins round this out. I will note, this isn't worth what they're asking on secondary but few things are

I rather liked this bourbon and was pleasantly surprised by how smooth and honey like it was. It's not complex at all. If anything, it's smooth throughout, with classic honey-like bourbon notes, with little revealed on the nose or finish. In many ways, it's maybe as good as Blanton's. I doubt I would buy a bottle myself, but I wasn't disappointed when this was the best option I had at a recent bar. I'm curious what this would be like at a higher proof.

I could smell this forever. Unfortunately, I don't really like the way it tastes. The nose is candied orange and poached pear with cinnamon and cream. I swear this smells like a dessert I've been served before at the end of a tasting menu. Unfortunately, the taste is not as pleasant as the smell. There is something too sweet about this that reminds me of a poorly-made flavored vodka cocktail. I don't get bourbon or whiskey at all from this. What I get is alcohol and mixer, with an artificial quality to the sweetness... Or maybe even like quality peach wine or fruit wine with too much residual sugar While I normally like everything from Barrell, I can't recommend this... I'll need to come back to this tomorrow to see if my palate was off or if it improves after the neck pour.

There is a softness to the nose on this that I directly associate with Cognac. There's a light spice underlying the nose that gives this a cola-like quality. I do get a slight unpleasant chemical like quality in the nose on the back end that reminds me of adhesive spray used for putting down new floors. Wow that's delicious. Notes of chocolate, milk chocolate, tobacco, dark chocolate, and table sugar. Kind of like frozen hot chocolate, already sweetened. If I think mint chocolate chip ice cream while I drink this, the flavors also conform to that image. There is a chalkiness to the mouthfeel that is very on message with the flavor. Yes, this is bourbon, but I don't get a lot of the flavors I traditionally associate with bourbon. Nonetheless, I'm not really complaining. it does drink a slight bit lighter than its proof, although 100 proof is certainly not high Surprisingly, I don't get a lot of fruit from this. The flavor is light-hearted, but I wouldn't describe it as bright

Reviewing this directly after trying the smoke wagon straight bourbon whiskey for the first time allows for a useful point of reference. Many of the same aromas can be found in the nose, but spicier and richer. This is more Dr pepper than Coca-Cola with Belgian sugar, spiced cocktail cherries, licorice, and angostura bitters. The more I smell this, the more I'm reminded of medicinal cherry cola Flavor wise, this is excellent. Better than I remember it being. I don't remember liking this when I first opened it, but I'm about a quarter into the bottle now and it's really opened up. Lighter, with deep complexity, sweetness, confectionery richness, with just a touch too much bitterness and barrel oak on the finish. My biggest complaint is that the finish is a touch on the short side. I do think it is important to point out that, with the temperature dropping, I am drinking this on the colder side of room temperature

Nose of cola and Dr. pepper, marshmallow, tobacco, and something herbal or medicinal, but in a very pleasant way, like leather after it has been treated and conditioned. Sweet, smooth, light. It almost evokes an image of fresh spring water being used to proof this down. Light barrel char ger notes. Easy to drink and on the brighter side with more of a light brown sugar sweetness than caramel or anything else deeper and rich.

A very pleasant, easy sipping pour full of soft chocolate notes with cherry, candied orange, a kiss of cinnamon and toasted barrel. The best thing about this is the soft, round mouthfeel. The finish is short-medium, and the sweetness is almost like sugared rum and raisin. Tried from a sample, but I'd be happy to buy a bottle

Canal's Family Pick A bit of a strange creature I'm drinking here. Nose and taste are very similar. The first thing I notice is apple followed by peanut butter, which melds itself a bit into a peanut butter and apple butter sandwich in a glass. There is some lingering char on the finish with an oaky astringency that remains on the tongue long after any more pleasant aspects of the finish have dissipated. I also get cinnamon and twizzlers. It initially enters the mouth round and enjoyable, but takes a harsh turn rather quickly, and I find I could do without anything in the middle finish onward.

2017 barrel bottling. Surprisingly little nose on this. Faint notes of Sherry, ginger snaps, caramel, and nilla wafers. Grassy rye notes hide underneath Medium to full-bodied viscosity, with a lot of rye coming through. Grassy spiciness with caramel, brown sugar, and something fruity and floral rounding out the finish. Medium long finish. I'm surprised by how much I like this.