pkingmartin
Old Carter 13 Year Kentucky Bourbon Single Barrel #81 (2020 Release)
Bourbon — Kentucky , USA
Reviewed
May 4, 2021 (edited February 10, 2023)
Old Carter seems to be one of those premium names now that bottles fly off the shelves and end up in the stratosphere pricing of 300 plus by the secondary market. I was able to secure a few of their single barrel bottles for 200 each, but it wasn’t more than a few days later that all of the bottles had sold out. I’m currently seeing this bottle selling for 325 online, but let’s make some flippers mad and crack it open and find out how it tastes.
On the nose, you get milk chocolate covered toasted pecans coated in a thick caramel then some candied orange peel, cherries, freshly baked cinnamon rolls, leather and rich oak, barrel spices with a medium ethanol burn. The taste follows the same notes as the nose with a medium mouthfeel that has a medium ethanol bite before a medium length finish with the same notes as the nose that goes towards almost an over bitter oak note but manages to not overpower the flavors.
This is solid bourbon, but not really worth the 200 that these cost. For that much money, I was really expecting some wow flavors like in a Garrison Brothers Cowboy which I drank this side by side to compare. I wish this was a thicker mouthfeel and that those flavors came out bigger and bolder, but overall a tasty drink that I’ll enjoy.
200.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@pkingmartin I’m almost embarrassed to say I snagged one of those as well - it’s the joy of the hunt and the excitement of cracking them with friends that makes them “worth it,” I can’t justify buying from flippers and letting that excitement go to waste!
@Whiskey_Hound Thanks! I feel the same way and buy now at retail cause I worry how insane secondary can go in the future. Just saw a bottle of Pappy 23 sell for 3200 in 2 days. I remember thinking 900 was too much.
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington that’s amazing! What an awesome couple! Their 13yr American batch 4 at 139.6 proof is one of my all time favorites.
I'm laughing at your line about upsetting the flippers because it hits home. My father asks why I never sit on bottles like this and then sell down the road. And my answer is always that I'd be the one buying it anyway. Might as well buy at retail and save myself the trouble. Great review
@pkingmartin I’m sitting on #73 and need to crack it before these roll out next year because it could be a mad dash or a middle finger, so go the NDPs but I do hear that the Carter’s themselves are awesome people and would invite you to dinner at their house in a heartbeat
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington A quick google search shows one shop that sold out of barrel #67 for 1k. Maybe the 60s barrels are the best.
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington great picks for VFM. I have two more Old Carter single barrels to rate and this was my least favorite, so they are all tasty.
@WhiskeyLonghorn that’s probably a good price to stick with. I went nuts with some Old Carter products after a Kentucky trip.
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington I’m sure it’s still tasty!
To contradict myself on VFM I bought barrel 60-something and am afraid to open it. Eventually I’ll have to decide if I was swindled or blessed.
@WhiskeyLonghorn that seems to be true. The RR, OF 1920, JDBP and ECBP of this world are hard to beat. With the exception of Cowboy and a few others any bourbon north of $150 is a gimmick.
After the $60ish Mark I’ve notice a sharp dip in diminishing returns on bourbon...