Old Carter 13 Year Kentucky Bourbon Single Barrel #55 (2020 Release)

Slight orange tint to this amber liquid. The Carter’s (Mark and Sherri) are renowned for their winemaking and palates. Their work alongside Dixon Dedman resulted in the Kentucky Owl brand (now Stoli, but still batch 10 was outstanding) and they have since ventured into sourcing and bottling single barrels, bourbon, rye and American whiskey (MGP light whiskey) blends. This is actually my first sample of an Old Carter single barrel, courtesy of @pkingmartinmartin. I found a similar bottle, and overpaid egregiously for it, so this will lessen my regretful financial hit or reinforce that I should just buy WT 101 from now on and call it a day. The nose is rich and sweet. There is a big note of almost-scorched caramel alongside earthy corn husk, medium dark cigar, anise and strong (but balanced) oak. Right, and ethanol. Silky mouthfeel and a burst of sweet fruity, candy corn and caramel notes and then another burst of spice like two fireworks in succession. The finish is excellent with caramel, banana, a bit of cinnamon roll, tobacco and maybe even dried pineapple. The spice really blossoms and has a variety of anise, dill, cardamom and clove elements that seem to land in that order. The heavy sweet notes are like book ends. Despite the silky feel on entry there is a bit of sting mid- to hind-palate to remind you of the proof. There might be a faint bitterness but it is so overpowered with delicious spices and baked goods that it is an after thought. I’ll have to go read @ContemplativeFox and @pkingmartin ‘s notes in those but I have been won over. It’s a hot dram but flavorful. It makes me imagine Eagle Rare at 125 proof. It is a bit less fruity and more spice forward than Elijah Craig of McKenna and not as nutty as Beam. I don’t know where it hails from other than Kentucky but it is quintessential. Hats off to Mark and Sherri on this barrel! I would say that 13 years on this wan was the exact right time to pull the trigger. I’m looking forward to plowing through a few more of their offerings thanks to a generous friend! Soon will have to see if the one I brought home can rival the others…

Rating: 16/23 N: Sweet and floral - so different from barrel #81! It's like there are orange blossoms floating in this. There's a hint of mineral and a real candy sweetness here. I absolutely didn't expect this. I get some richer orange with a hint of undercooked caramel coming through. As I dig, I start to get some of the wood with a little savoriness and earthy spice. Jalapeños, perhaps. P: Spicy! There's tons of cinnamon and pepper up front that really hits me hard. It reminds me of my first impressions of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel, but side by side the Russell's Reserve is less spicy with more of a rich, full flavor and some extra sweetness. This burns more than its proof suggests it should. The second sip brings out more of a sour mash flavor that has a bit of funk, but not a huge amount going on. It's initially difficult for me to pick out individual flavors, but then I start to get them. I do get some floral fruity (cherry and orange) notes and a bit of vanilla though. It's light, much light a higher proof Russell's Reserve 10 with more full and punchy flavors but less complexity. The barrel does leave a solid impression, but it isn't overwhelmingly woody. Adding a substantial amount of water brings out some bitterness from the wood and a bit of light caramel sweetness (but this is still a really dry dram overall). This has a bit of that Russell's Reserve 10 lightness and dryness with a possibly old woody layer, but this has more tartness and a bigger spicy punch. There's some substantial char going on here that gives the wood a vibe of young wood masquerading as old through charring. When I really dig, I a bit of orange peel, but it's hard to get there. F: Spicy with lots of charred wood and a bit of orange peel and faint cherry at times. Not all that complex. - Conclusion - This started as a big let-down, but it grew on me. Initially, blind, I would have guessed this was a 3-6 year old bourbon bottled at closer to 65% ABV. When I cam back the next night, it seemed like it could be a fair bit older, but I would probably have still leaned young with substantial barrel influence. I could go up to 10 years since it has a decent amount of similarity to Russell's Reserve 10. Tragically, in initial side by side comparisons, I found that this underperformed shelf staples like Wild Turkey 101. It seemed to have about the complexity and balance of Buffalo Trace after being watered down. I would have rated the two much closer than I expected and was contemplating a 12 or 13. Coming back to the second half of this sample the second night changed things. I got substantially more complexity and maturity. It still came across as hot and kind of light, but I appreciated the profile more. I think it beat Russell's Reserve 10 (15) side by side, but it wasn't quite at the level of Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 (18). I'm torn: based just on my second tasting, I'd lean toward a strong 17; however, I can't fully write off what I experienced the first time, which was far worse. I think I need to go with the 16, but I would be fully prepared to up this to a 17 if I tried it again. Thank you, @pkingmartin , for the sample.

This is my third single barrel from Old Carter; the past two have been very good bourbons but nothing incredible to justify the 200 dollar retail premium or astronomical secondary prices for them. So time to find out if this is going to be much of the same as the others or if there is going to be something different about this barrel pick. On the first nose of this one, it’s definitely got that Old Carter richness like the last two, but thicker and sweeter. Coming back for a second smell and the sweetness reminds me of opening a fresh bag of marshmallows then rich caramel followed with chocolate covered candied nuts (leaning towards peanut brittle) then fruits of caramelized banana, cherries jubilee, apple pie filling and orange zest before old leather and polished mahogany finishing with spearmint, light barrel spices of cloves, ginger, cinnamon and a medium ethanol burn. The taste starts with a full mouthfeel leading with a big Kentucky hug of rich caramel then comes candied nuts leading to fruits of caramelized banana, hard cherry candy, apple, candied orange that follows with graham cracker pie crust, spearmint then barrel spices of ginger, cloves, old leather and polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with salted roasted peanut shells, spearmint, polished mahogany, old leather, caramelized bananas, orange zest, apple pie filling, and chocolate covered toasted marshmallow that lingers for minutes. This is just an amazing balance of flavors and just shows how different each barrel can be than others. I was sipping this with a glass of Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon next to it, and this is a better balance showing its age that makes the Cowboy seem a bit unbalanced and youthful. This is definitely worth the 200 premium and makes me kind of feel like Goldilocks and the Three Carters at this point, because this single barrel is just right.