Café Ole is made with heavily toasted barley to add rich chocolate notes then aged at a minimum of 46 months before being released as a single barrel product and my barrel is number 14 that was bottled at 53.8% ABV. The nose is rich and bold starting with a mix of chocolate covered caramel clusters, dehydrated apricots and suede then circus peanuts and espresso followed by caramelized peaches, lemon zest and sour cherries that transitions to light baking spices and mild oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a rich syrupy mouthfeel starting mildly sour with a bitter spice that slowly fades to chocolate brownie batter, dehydrated apricots and suede then toasted marshmallows, peanut brittle and espresso followed by caramelized peaches, lemon candy and maraschino cherries that transitions to light baking spices and mildly ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate covered espresso beans, sour cherries, caramelized peaches, ginger, cloves, leather and mild oak spice. This is a rich and decadent chocolatey treat that those toasted barley notes are dominant underscored by sour citrus and mild baking spices that has a mild youthful astringency on the taste that finishes with earthy dark chocolate and coffee along with light sour fruits and light oak spices. For a bourbon that is younger than 4 years, this is a real treat that any chocolate lover would likely find quite enjoyable, but suffers from a youthful sourness that could use more time aging in the barrel to help polish those flavors better. It’s another tasty dram from Glenn’s Creek which is creating some unique spirits and are on my must visit list whenever I go to Kentucky to pick up a bottle or two. I’d highly recommend a visit for anyone that is able to make it to Kentucky as it’s a tiny little operation, but the people clearly have a lot of passion and knowledge in the products they are creating.