Barrell Dovetail (122.9 Proof)

wow...from start to finish, red fruits, sweet caramel rum, luxurious nose, palate, mouthfeel and finish. this is it's own thing, and it's a great thing. definitely not a classic bourbon. the bother to Angel's envy rye...just much better imo.

Finishing whiskey with a strong red wine like Cabernet is risky business. And then taking that whiskey, and blending it with bourbon finished in rum and then port, is even riskier. This does just that, with a 10 and 11 yr old whiskey and bourbon, respectively, and does it damn freakin well. I’m a huge fan of Barrell, one of the few blenders (along with Compass Box and High West) that somehow make the sum greater than the parts. At $80, this isn’t a bargain. But when you think of it as a 10 and 11 yr old, twice finished, then it seems to make sense. So...on to the tasting. The nose is all rum. Sweet molasses, rock candy. Taste is where the Cabernet shines. You get dark cherries, marshmallows. Rich and sinful. I’m astonished how well balanced this turned out. Whiskey and bourbon finishing can be polarizing, but these guys nailed it. And the price of admission won’t have you taking a second mortgage (hey...BTAC, that’s for you).