I just got done reviewing Benchmark Single Barrel Bourbon, which carries a community rating of 3.5 on Distiller. I made a point to say that community ratings are pretty decent at aggregating sentiment and offering a relatively accurate point of view, but they're using .25 to .50 off in any given direction, since people get hyperbolic both about the things they do like and the things they don't, which skews the rankings. Blanton's is one of those that people get overly excited about beyond measure. And for decent reason, it's a good pour. I had it first back in 2012 or so, and at that point, it was indeed the best bourbon I've ever tasted. I didn't realize at the time how difficult it was to come by because it was a birthday gift and also maybe because it wasn't quite as hard to get in 2012. I like the design, I kept the horse cork. Cut to 14 years later. Blanton's is allocated. Maybe I'm not being fair because I have a bias against allocated shit. That doesn't mean I don't buy it when I see it because, living in PA, state stores are not permitted to overcharge at secondary market prices, so I can get Eagle Rare for $35, Blanton's for $60, Weller for SRP. So I buy it because I know I'm getting good product at a decent price. At the same time, I can't help but wonder about $60 for Blanton's. I can get Larceny Barrel Proof for that price. I can get ECBP for a few dollars more (hey there, Clint Eastwood), and frankly, now that 14 years have passed, I've had better. But I was at the state store in April last year, saw they had Blanton's behind the counter, and since they let you buy two, I bought two. I love the copy on the box, "The finest bourbon in the world comes from a single barrel," and "And that is why Blanton's is to bourbon what the finest single malts are to scotch and the rarest cognacs are to brandy." Um, no, and no. I mean, maybe the finest bourbons do, in the end, come from single barrels, but I've had Knob Creek Single Barrels much better than Blanton's. And honestly, the scotch comparison, well, I do prefer me some Islay, any Islay (maybe not Laphroaig select, but anything else) to Blanton's. Yet, they get me with their allocation scheme. I still fall prey to them making it a rare bird. People love to think they're above marketing but they're not. You're not, I'm not. Even when we're aware of their tricks, there is something subconscious going on that's like a tractor beam. So, notes, right? It's fucking bourbon. I get tired of notes sometimes. There's lesser and greater levels of complexity, but bourbons are going to have vanilla, caramel and oak. That's all here. Having mentioned Benchmark, the notes here of the same flavors are better than they are with benchmark, stronger, more prominent. Blanton's has a creaminess on the nose akin to a root beer float. French vanilla ice cream, a bit of root beer tang. The plate is fruity with stone fruit notes, peach, nectarines, juciy summertime fruits, as well as those bourbon notes, vanilla and caramel. The finish is mellow with the fruit becoming more prominent than the vanilla and caramel, adding not a touch of spice, like so many finishes but of sweetness. I mean, I guess I'm getting cynical because so many companies know how to produce good interesting spirits that even if Blanton's was special once, it's not really so special now. Is it delicious? Certainly. It punches it's weight. Does it deserve a 4.25 community rating: I would say that's hyperbolic. People happy that when they get their hands on it, it is in fact really good. But there are better bourbons that are more widly available, and with the market expanding and expanding and expanding, you don't really have to pay that much to get stuff to equal this. Blanton's seems to persist on scarcity and a myth of its own making which you can read about on the back of the box. They've hypnotized us with their legacy to make us think they're something special. They may once have been, but now, not so much.