Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Whiskey 24 Year (2021 Release)

Bouquet of grapefruit pith, fresh grated ginger, lemon pulp, maple sugar, cream on the stove steeped with vanilla pods, new 2x4s soaked with rain. On the palate lemon cream puff dusted with powdered sugar, zippy ginger and clove pie spice with a stiff alcohol burn, orange-tinted caramel taste as breathe out afterwards

Caramel, berry, vanilla, huge flavor and pretty hot/intense

Birthday pour, last night. Couldn't find anything 44 years-old, so I settled on a 24 year-old. Between this and the Seagrass 16 year, I was expecting to like the Seagrass better (review upcoming), but this one surprised me. On the nose, I think the closest thing in my cabinet is Redbreast 12 Cask Strength. Fruit, tropical even. On the palate, it's butterscotch, followed by tropical fruit basket, followed by rye-like spices, peppery. Really pleasurable complexity and development that moves between different and distinct notes. It's really good. Really really good. It's better than RB CS, which is among some of my favorites in the cabinet right now. The RB tastes hotter and doesn't have the complexity that this has. I've gone back and forth between a 4.75 and a 5, but I'm going with a 5. And surprisingly, I liked this better than the Seagrass 16. Once again, huge thank you to @pkingmartin for what was a delicious birthday treat.

Nose - butterscotch, vanilla, sawdust, orange zest, milk chocolate, sweet floral notes, cornbread, powdered sugar, spearmint, pineapple, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, lemon meringue, ginger, vanilla, tangerine, walnut, chocolate, apple, white pepper, mint, rye bread, anise, pineapple, light oak, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium length with butterscotch, citrus, and minty rye flavors. The last of my Barrell reviews is this 24 Year Gray Label Canadian whisky finished in sherry and armagnac casks. These releases are priced extremely high at $250, so it’s a treat just to try this one. The nose is very light and effervescent. Butterscotch, powdered sugar, tropical fruits, and sweet floral notes are detectable. The palate is similarly light and fruity, but hotter than expected from the nose. There are more tropical fruits and citrus with some chocolate covered walnuts and a nice rye quality. I’ll start by saying that these lighter whiskies generally aren’t my thing. The nuance and complexity are lost on me. And that’s probably happening with me here. It’s great whisky, but I can easily see it being much better to others who appreciate the style more than I do. After nine Barrell reviews, I can report that the 16 Year Seagrass was my favorite by far. A huge thank you to @pkingmartin for providing this generous sample along with the majority of the others I reviewed during this series.

Decided to blow a little bit of bonus money on something that sounded appealing due to its cask finishes, but which I was almost certain would not live up to expectations. The nose was a little unexpected, but great, reminding me of vanilla ice cream with some light tropical fruit and wintergreen in the background. On the first taste, it's a mouthful of sherry, reminiscent of a Glendronach 15 Revival but with a distinct grain presence. The finish is where the armagnac dominates. Oak permeates but isn't in control. I'd describe this as a well-aged Canadian whiskey that manages to capture some of what I like about Scotch and Armagnac. This is the best North American whiskey I've tried yet. I picked this bottle over the Grey Label Seagrass, and I'm really glad I did.

As a spirit’s enthusiast, I’m always on the hunt for a good deal or some new bottle that sounds interesting. During my daily browsing, I stumbled on news that Barrell had released a 24-year-old Canadian whiskey that was finished in Armagnac and oloroso casks which immediately kicked in my inner whiskey lion instincts to hunt my new prey. I immediately started hunting for a bottle, but alas, it was elusive as none of my usual online stores had it and seemed likely to be gobbled up by savvy, bottle flipping hyenas that would taunt me with their infuriating secondary prices. Thankfully, I was given a tip to go to Barrell’s website which had a variety of bottles at retail price that you can simply add to cart, double tap that Apple pay button and they will show up to your house a few days later. Now that the hunt is over, it’s time to sit down with my new catch and dive in. The nose is soft and light that starts with powdered sugar before floral and grassy notes of a spring meadow with a morning dew followed by persimmons, mangoes and honey dew then roasted nuts and chocolate covered raisins that fades to spices of ginger, wintergreen, spearmint and forest floors covered in pine needles with light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium-full mouthfeel starting with chamomile tea with lavender petals followed by fruits of persimmons, Bosc pear, and salted mango followed by banana leaves then a stream washing over forest rocks along with chocolate covered almonds that fades to spices of ginger, wintergreen, spearmint, and pine needles with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with chamomile tea, blooming lavender flowers, orange blossom, apple peel, dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts, roasted fennel, wintergreen, spearmint, and forest floors. So, this is a very complex one that brings in a soft and balanced nose of sweets, florals, tropical fruits, light nutty notes and earthy spices that carries over to the palate starting with tea and floral notes then tropical fruits that fades to leafy notes, rocky minerality and chocolate nutty flavors before earthy spices emerge that finishes long with tea, floral, citrus, nutty notes and earthy spices that linger for minutes. Barrell always seems to be releasing high quality products, but this is a complete masterpiece that the finishes are barely recognizable and simply enhances the complexity with additional flavors without overpowering the underlying spirit. There are some similarities here with my Lock Stock and Barrel 18, so a comparison seems warranted. Side by side with Lock Stock and Barrel 18, the Lock Stock seems more youthful and abrasive whereas the Barrell seems lighter with a better balance that brings those unique floral, forests, tropical fruits and chocolate nutty flavors that keeps pulling me back to pour another glass. At $250, this is an expensive treat, but with a 24-year-old age statement with some unique finishes this one seems worthy of a splurge.