Disclaimer, I haven’t been drinking much whiskey lately so my palette is a little off. I’m a big fan of the standard BB, the extra char really hides the grain in the blend, the extra punch of vanilla and wood tannins are a very welcome addition compared to the base Jameson and it has a decent length. At times I’ve even recommended it over RB12 to people wanting to branch out in Irish whiskey. I was really excited to try the Black Barrel Proof, paying £50 at a local shop for it on first sighting. However, now I feel like I’ve been ripped off. All the things I loved in the standard BB aren’t present. It’s aggressively spicy and grain forward, the vanilla note is barely a whisper. I would liken it to a poorly blended budget bourbon. On top of that it’s very short, disappears in an instant leaving only a bitter dry note. Really disappointed by this one. I was pleased to see it added to the lineup. It’s higher proof and non chill filtering suggested Jameson may be taking held of what whiskey drinkers want but I highly suspect they have tweaked the blend to incorporate more younger grain whiskey. Worth a try alongside the regular in a bar but I wouldn’t recommend splurging on a bottle.