ctbeck11
Barrell Armida
Bourbon — Tennessee (bottled in Kentucky), USA
Reviewed
March 3, 2022 (edited November 29, 2022)
Nose - black cherry, orange vitamin, lemon, allspice, grass, cardamom, banana, pear, yeast, chocolate, butterscotch, vanilla, dry oak, brown sugar, moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - butterscotch, dry herbal notes, cherry, orange vitamin, vanilla, spiced apple, brown sugar, pear, dry oak, allspice, allspice, chocolate, hazelnut, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with butterscotch, dry oak, and herbal flavors.
Next up on the Barrell train is the Armida release. This is one funky bourbon! The first thing notice is that Dickel orange vitamin note. I don’t hate the Dickel profile as much as some, but I don’t love it either.
I can’t make out all the finishes on the nose, but the rum influence is pretty obvious from the banana, allspice, and grassy qualities. The palate is surprisingly dry and earthy. The Dickel is right there again alongside some powdery nuttiness.
Overall this is good, but I wish it weren’t as dry and herbaceous. I’m thinking they went a bit overboard with the finishing. There’s some quality whiskey underneath, but it feels slightly rudderless. Regardless, this is very drinkable, and it’s certainly a unique take on bourbon that I’m happy to experience. A big thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing the generous sample!
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@ContemplativeFox @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington It’s amazing how prolific those two distilleries are. Guaranteed to find them on every American whiskey shelf of every liquor store.
@ContemplativeFox store shelves would be half empty if not for Dickel and MGP… would only be a little sad.
Was looking forward to your take on what's probably the most divisive Barrell whiskey :) I'm with you on Dickel: don't love it or hate it. That said, I'm getting a bit tired of finding it everywhere. Seems one can't find any craft american whiskey that isn't secretly MGP or Dickel these days.
@PBMichiganWolverine I do enjoy other highly finished whiskies. Maybe it was the Dickel quality that swayed me the most.
@ctbeck11 i was polar opposite on this one—-loved that finish. The only Barrell I think I didn’t like was Seagrass