Blanton's Straight From the Barrel

Caramel apple on the nose and initial taste. Very good and very potent but thinner than expected for proof. Flavor lingers.

This bottle was dumped on 3-24-20 at 130.9 proof. On the nose honey, caramel, and cherries. Surprisingly light ethanol for the proof. However, you find that proof on the palate. It's spicy. So much so that I feel it overpowers the other flavors. Intense cinnamon and red hots with a hint of that typical Blanton's flavor trying to break through. For a barrel proof it feels oddly thin, not what I expected. The finish is a very long lasting burn. In fact, as I'm writing this I can still feel it in my stomach. Not as impressed with this as I was hoping to be.

Had my good friend @ataylor156 over for some good bourbon. From left to right I. The pic, ranked top to bottom (we both have exactly the same ranking): Rabbit Hole Cavehill (#6) George T. Stagg (2019) (#1) William Larue Weller (2019) (#2) Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel (#4) Larceny Barrel Proof (#5) E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof (#3) Not a bad night. 😎

(Dump date 11/2/2017, Barrel #57, Warehouse H, Rick #15, 130.3 proof). I was able to trade for a couple of these a few years ago, but that's another story. If Blanton's is the Mercedes E-Class of bourbon (see tasting note 5/12/2022), this is the AMG version stripped of any extraneous weight and tuned for the track. Sheer, unadulterated power. Clear mahoghany color. Nose that demands--and receives--attention: honey, caramel, ripe plums, sweet tea, waffles with maple syrup, Chinese five spice. Assertive and penetrating palate: cinnamon applesauce, pipe tobacco, char, walnuts, drying leather, and white pepper, finishing long, with vanilla extract. Back-end burn not for the faint of heart, and not surprising given the high proof, but well integrated on the full-throttle frond end. Powerful and complex: one of the best. N.B. All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.