Barrell Dovetail (122.9 Proof)

Neat. That is funky right off the bat. Tons of raisins, molasses, cinnamon, sugar cookie. Get some berries and cream as it opens up. Cream turns into a deep vanilla as I concentrate on it. This nose is journey and a very interesting one. Thick and oily on the tongue. Just an overwhelming amount of flavors. I think this may have more flavors immediately on the tongue than anything else I have tried. Vanilla. Cinnamon. Berries and cream. Oak is coming around too. On the finish the secondary aging goes nuts and lingers for miles. The finish is relentless. It leaves you with tons of oak at the end. If you go in thinking this is a bourbon, you will be off guard. This is an experience and the best Barrel Bourbon experience I have ever had. I could pick this apart for an hour. With that said, I don’t see myself reaching for it often. The flavors aren’t delicious per se, just overwhelming and interesting. It’s a hard one to grade.

My favorite finished whiskey and probably my favorite whiskey. Similar in taste to blood oath pact 4

All I can say is wow! Buttery and sweet - certainly taste the corn. For over 120 proof this is incredibly smooth yet still packs a punch. Good start and great finish. Looking at the bottle you may not think much but they did a great job of blending!

Tasting this once again and I’m just as impressed as I was the first time. Intrinsically aromatic and smoother than the proof will lead you to believe.

OK - this is going to be a challenge to pull together. Unfortunately, while I had 2-3 pours of this already, they were about a week ago. So this hasn't had much time to open up and I wasn't "fresh" when I had it last time. Still, I wanted to write down some notes on this. Batch 3 - 62.17% and about 90 bucks. I go back and fourth on color discussion but with such an odd blend - copper with a touch of amber. Very nice color given the mix here. Legs are a touch thin given the high abv but nothing way off. Nose - this is really hard to explain. The first thing I'm imagining is a dark finished wood chest, dusty, antique being opened up. Then I get these dark fruits, plums raisins, but then black rum sugars. I then get cinnamon and a dark apple pie, but all of the intense darker spices and sweats, none of that lighter fruity notes or the light bready pie crust. It's so spiced it almost reminds me of some of the scented candles I've smelled. A very fall like nose. A touch of a waxy vanilla sweetness on the finish. Taste - Wine, funk, sour, soy sauce, port pipes. Seems reading the bottle (I'd not actually done this as I bought on a recommendation but knew it was well blended) I'm pretty dead on, though the soy sauce note (not getting really the salt notes) is odd, but i've gotten that in some sherry and port in the past. Oh the Cabernet is really doing a lot here, it's adding some of those dark alcoholic fruit notes only they're mingling with the even darker celler notes of a port. The end result reminds me of drinking red wine, eating a steak that was seasoned from my dad's steak seasoning. Almost a salad dressing with vinegar like element. This is unique. I'm getting savory elements without meat and without the salt. I've never noticed this in anything else. 90 bucks for a high proof and completely unbelievable unique whisky experience. Even if this isn't your thing, I'd look for one of these and give it a try. It's really special.

A sample from dthom as part of the "whiskey transfer program". This sounds super interesting on paper so I'm very curious to try. Nose: VERY complex. Right off the bat I get fortified wine notes with sweet dark sugars and a yeasty undertone like fresh baked bread. As I dig in more I get vanilla, poached pears, and a little bit of oak. This doesn't hit hard on the nose given the high proof. Flavor: Interesting. Up front I'm hit with a spicy grapey flavor (I assume from the red wine and port). Very sweet up front with some vanilla and dried fruit notes. Finish: This goes right from the wine notes in to the sweet rum notes with dark sugars and peppery spice that later fades in to a dryer red wine finish. Pretty spicy on the finish. Medium length that fades in to a slight peppermint aftertaste. This didn't hit as hard alcohol wise as the proof would suggest and it has some very interesting flavors. I like it but didn't love it. If this bottle cost $40 I'd probably pick it up but I usually see this for $90 so this would be a pass.