Barrell Bourbon Batch 021

Mildly vanilla, fruity- raisin, fig, dates. Brown sugar and slight caramel, rich spice - over hyped- prefer Dovetail

Nose: Oak, vanilla, light brown sugar. Figs, citrus oil, rosemary, camphor - I have a camphor tree in my back yard next to a navel orange tree and I'm getting reminded of what they smell like in spring and summer. Berries and cream. Black pepper and barrel char - the oak is showing up here, which is expected given the ages involved. Also getting cigar tobacco and leather. Nutmeg and maybe a little star anise, though not much. Nose presents a lot of midrange and a bit of bottom end, but there's not much in the way of brightness, save for that bit of citrus oil. Palate: Vanilla, bananas, berries. Sweet oranges, whipped cream. Solid tannin presence with a good amount of texture as the sip progresses. Dusty corn. Getting more of that nutmeg and star anise, along with some clove. Not much cinnamon here. Cooked apples. Graham crackers. Nutty and slightly bready - getting some almonds here. Also getting pure cocoa, along with maduro cigar tobacco and well-worn baseball mitt leather. Medium-heavy mouthfeel. Finish begins with a fantastic citrus oil pop, slight barrel bitter and tannin coming to the fore. Things ramp up with blueberries, bananas, ripe strawberries, and apricots, along with unsalted cashews and peanuts. Things trail off into this wonderful mixture of nutmeg, thyme, basil, apple, and star anise. Finish is medium-long. Other notes: There's been a solid amount of hype around this company, and with good reason. This is my first bottle from them, but certainly won't be the last. There's plenty going on here, and this leans into some territory I don't often see with a bourbon. Toward the tail end of this, I realized I was getting some Dickel BiB vibes here in the best way possible, though with more overall complexity. I find it pretty impressive that they balanced the oak against everything else going on here as well as they did. Solid recommendation, high potential rebuy material, though I'm more interested in taking a look at their other releases after I finish this bottle.

This is by far the best offering I’ve ever had from Barrel Bourbon. Just an absolute fruit bomb on the palate, no wonder this thing won the SF spirits award. Honestly I wouldn’t have tasted it had it not won due to previous experiences with some of the batches. But wow.... can’t ask for more from a 10-12 year bourbon.

N: cinnamon raisin bread P: Creamy berries into a great buttery baking spice. Complex. F: Quick flash of pepper with lasting oak. Dickel Flintstone vitamin funk.

Just all around wonderful bourbon. Nose and pallet are treated to a carmelly goodness. It’s smooth from start to finish.