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.