Barrell Dovetail (122.9 Proof)

Taste: 2 oz., neat in glen cairn, then 3 drops water. Sample provided by Steve Bricker (thanks, Steve) Nose (4.75) Wonderful fruit punch on the nose. I get fruit cocktail flavors of cherry, peach, and pear. The pear is more dominant. It is not a sickly sweet canned smell, but more of a fruit cocktail that you might prepare in the summer after carving out a watermelon. It does though leave me asking if this is going to taste more like a cordial and less like a whiskey. Palate: (5.0) Those fruit flavors develop nicely with a good even warming. Even at 122.9 proof this does not have the slightest of burn. My fears of too sweet are gone. There is a good strawberry jam-like taste here, and a beautiful richness similar to what I enjoy about Master's Keep Revival. I am not a big fan of some of the wine finishes because sometimes neither can stay in its lane properly. Both the Masters Keep and this marry them exquisitely. Finish: (4.75) Decadent is the word that comes to mind. It is like the finish you get from a world class chocolate assortment buttery strawberry nougat. Might have given it 5 if it held on a bit longer. Might be even worth that in taste alone. Overall: I liked Barrell 19. I heard great things about Dovetail and none of those things are wrong! It has a delicious fruit and jam flavor to it without becoming a bourbon soaked in rum and wine. The name embodies this, as like in woodworking, the finished casked whiskeys "dovetailed" and joined beautifully to form one exquisite piece from a few. This will be my next bottle, even at the 99.99 sticker price. If there was a knock it might be the expense here. A hefty price to pay for a blended whiskey of different ages, but the juice speaks for itself.

Nose: Rum, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, tobacco, baking spice Palate: Rum, buttery, anise, fruit stripe gum, Apple juice, medium burn Finish: Medium, green oak Knock my rating down below 4 because of value, can get a quality jwalker or compass box for 20-40 bucks less

So, it’s National Bourbon Day, so a bourbon it shall be. Barrel has not been a whiskey I have experienced but thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine that will no longer hold true. This one holds is bottled at cask strength, packing some weight behind it at 123 proof. A rusted amber colored spirit fills the glass. Once the alcohol fumes begin to dissipate, there is a bright, cereal, sugary, fruity sweetness. Buttered whole wheat toast, cornbread with maple syrup provide the foundation of the aromas. Rum, vanilla, toasted marshmallows and dark brown sugar provides the aromatic sweetness. Mashed bananas, apples, red grape skins, black cherries join in and provide the fruity notes. There is an initial punch on the palate by the high proof which begins to desensitize. Once the palate falls back into balance, a sweetness takes hold, but not overtly so. A velvety, creamy texture delivers vanilla, dark honey and caramel. The rum is detectable and adds to the sweetness. Chocolate covered strawberries, raspberries and raisins fruitiness comes through in mid palate. At the fade towards the finish, a good balance of baking spices take root: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. The final swirl of sweetness and spice deliver the finish. The grape fruitiness makes its presence in the finish. Grape jam with added sugar, like grape Kool Aid. Cola, charcoal and a woody dryness takes root and rides out to a long and dry palate. A subtle warming takes hold and all is right with the world. An impressive dram. It reminds me somewhat of Jefferson Groth Reserve. The velvety nature I found as the binder of all the flavors and is the quiet player-principal; the fruit, sweetness and spice interplay, balanced within the velvety texture. The high proof is masked, again, in the soft texture. A well crafted spirit with a well balanced aromas and flavors. A wonderful bourbon that is worth the efforts to seek and taste. [92/100][Tasted: 6/14/19]

Yep ! - full review later

Good bourbon for a last pour of the night but too sweet for me. Wouldn’t buy again.

Overpowering notes from barrel finish that makes this more of a unbalanced drink. Too much from all finishes