Barrell Bourbon Batch 019

Honeysuckle, orange, confectioner’s sugar and a hint of rye on the nose. Rye bread, dried fruit, more honey on the tongue. A splash of caramel and toffee before a smooth, oaky clove finish. Not my fav Barrell but very enjoyable.

To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. Will I mistake a rye for bourbon or completely miss a finish, who knows, but I’m dying to find out so let’s continue this blind challenge with the vial that has a B6 on it. The nose is thick and rich that draws you in with sautéed caramel apples on a plate of fresh waffles followed by maraschino cherries and a cup of mandarin oranges that transitions to dark chocolate covered candied pecans before spices of ginger, cloves, nutmeg, vintage leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with sautéed caramel apples on a plate of fresh waffles with Hershey’s dark chocolate syrup on top followed by maraschino cherries and a cup of mandarin oranges that transitions to a high drying spice mid palate before fading to barrel spices of ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cracked vintage leather and medium tannic oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is drying and medium length with dark chocolate, apple chips, orange peel, ginger, cloves, cracked leather and tannic oak. The nose seemed so promising with a thick and rich caramel along with big and bold traditional bourbon notes which carries over to the palate that starts with those big bold notes before a high spice kicks in overwhelming and drying out my palate with spice and tannic oak with high ethanol burn before the dry spicy finish. So, this blind tasting challenge has taught me a lesson that sometimes a higher rye mash bill can be a bit too spicy for me. To correct that high spice mid-palate, adding a healthy dose of water can be extremely beneficial for me. So, there’s plenty of bourbon left to fire hose with my water dropper to find out if this calms down. Aha, 20 drops later and I’ve landed on my correct proof to really enjoy this one. The nose keeps the same notes but more butterscotch is revealed with medium ethanol burn. The taste becomes creamier with the same notes and brings down that harsh spice mid palate to a mild spice while changing the tannic oak to polished mahogany and a medium ethanol burn. The finish is no longer drying, but rather creamy while still medium length with dark chocolate, caramel apple, blood orange pudding, candied pecans, vintage leather and polished mahogany. Whew, Lex you sure are teaching me some things about bourbons and so glad you gave me two of those Old Ezra 7s to learn from. Another great one during this blind challenge that was a bit too spicy for me, but the water saved the day. So what is this flaming hot whiskey that needs some firefighter style watering to ease up on my palate………….. Barrell Bourbon Batch 019.

Smooth, oily, leather, oak, toffee, butter, spice

Flat out delicious. One of my faves in the cabinet.

Oak, smoke, honey

Nice amber color, slow tear drop legs. Right out of the bottle the nose is great with fruity, sweet aromas. Over the next few minutes it remains bright but puts off warm full-fat vanilla iced cinnamon rolls. There’s detectable oak as well. I don’t get any ethanol or astringency unless I really bury my nose in the glass and breathe deeply. Smooth on entry with a quick upstroke of barrel spice and then an oily, brown-butter and barrel char finish. The sharp fruit notes from the nose roll in as a subdued plum flavor. The spice isn’t clearly identifiable but reminds me a little of anise. The finish is buttery, long and somewhat tannic - highlighting the wood more than the juice itself. The complexity I was hoping for isn’t quite there but this is a freshly opened bottle. What gets me is the absence of more sweetness or brighter fruit notes that seemed to come across on the nose. Anyway, for now this is a mature, viscous and satisfying dram but for the price not what you can get from an ECBP or even an Russel’s store pick. That said, the profile is very different from either of those and bourbon “traditionalists” would likely enjoy this one. Will need to revisit...