jonwilkinson7309
Barrell Whiskey Single Barrel A110
Other Whiskey — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
June 2, 2020 (edited September 21, 2020)
How old is too old?
Although I've had just a few American whiskeys over fifteen years old, I know this much - left in the barrel too long, our domestic drams can become oaky, dry, tannic and even astringent. @ScotchingHard described this well in his review of Rhetoric 23 the other day.
The backstory here is that Barrell was able to procure a number of barrels of an 18-year old whiskey which was distilled and aged in Kentucky in used bourbon casks. This bottle was unfinished, but a significant number of finished versions will also be released, with finishing options ranging from ice wine to agricole rum.
The nose is nothing unexpected, although it's certainly less bright than younger whiskeys - some maple sweetness, leather, corn and vanilla. But the palate is a different story. It's dominated by an overpowering oak that begins in a relatively benign manner, but gets progressively more harsh, sharp and dry. Typical American whiskey flavors of caramel, vanilla and cherry are nowhere to be found, and any spiciness has been muted by time. The finish is somewhat astringent and fairly short.
The conclusion? For me, this whiskey would have benefitted from being pulled from the barrel well before 18 years elapsed. As I said, my frame of refenence is limited, so someone else might find it to be a fine example of an older whiskey. Interestingly, my experience with the few older bourbons I've tried has been much different and more enjoyable. Elijah Craig 18 comes to mind, as does Rhetoric 24, which trends in the oaky, tannic direction, but not so severely. It's led me to wonder if the use of a used barrel instead of new one accelerated the effects of time. Perhaps the finished bottles will be better, with the finishing notes providing a much needed offset. But I'm skeptical - finishing only does so much, and I'm not sure that anything is going to sufficently tame the oak.
This is the first time I've been disappointed with anything Barrell has produced, but my overall experience with the brand is still stellar. The upside is that I won't spend the remainder of the year debating whether to prioritize purchases of additional bottles of the 18-year-old whiskeys or Barrell's upcoming bourbon releases.
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@ContemplativeFox likewise, I love ice wine, so I got their Wash state ice wine finish as well.
@jonwilkinson7309 @PBMichiganWolverine Looking forward to hearing your takes on the finished versions. I've never seen Tokaji or amaro used as finishes before and with the wide range of amaro out there I'm having trouble even imagining what that finish might taste like! Also, I like a good icewine, so I'm hopeful that that one will be good :)
Wow, @dubz480, I didn't even know that barrels were used out beyond maybe 3rd fill. Thanks for doing the legwork to find this out.
@PBMichiganWolverine. Will do, and yes!
@jonwilkinson7309 @PBMichiganWolverine I have a small collection of amari and love trying new ones. It’s a wonderful rabbit hole to go down and the book Amaro is one of the best guides to any liquor.
@jonwilkinson7309 i’ll save you a pour of that amaro one. Save me one of the tokaji. Is that Hungarian sweet yellow wine ?
@PBMichiganWolverine @Richard-ModernDrinking. I had to look up Amaro as well. Sounds like it could be very interesting. I bought one of the Tojaki-finished bottles. I had to look that one up too!
@Richard-ModernDrinking i had no idea what amaro was before this, had to look it up. I’m curious as well. Their Irish one a dud, I’m hoping the unique finishes are better
@PBMichiganWolverine Really intrigued by the amaro finish one
@dubz480 always continues to impress me with his knowledge of American whiskey. Likewise, @jonwilkinson7309 i still would’ve bought it (although my bottle hasn’t shipped yet from Bounty Hunter, but yours did...maybe they’re doing in reversal alphabetical order). I bought their Sicilian Amaro finish one, and the Washington Ice wine one. For no other reason than I liked the few ice wines I’ve had, and Amaro, with more vowels than consonants, sounds delicious.
@dubz480 Your skills at acquiring hard to find information apparently match your ability to track down allocated bottles! How did you get that info? To my knowledge, Barrell hasn't said anything publicly about the provenance. Fourth or fifth fill...wow. It makes a lot more sense now. Admittedly, I might have jumped on it anyway, but that's a really important fact that calls for a bit more transparency.
We got the A110 in Arizona as well. This is an 18yr old Kentucky Bourbon distilled by Barton and aged in spent Bourbon Barrels (4th or 5th fill)... the color is incredibly light for the age and the palate lacks any real depth for the age... I fortunately paid $95 and even at that price it's a poor value. I have a Madeira and a Jamaican Rum finished version that I hope are big upgrades... this Whiskey was made to be finished IMO
@ScotchingHard @PBMichiganWolverine I was expecting more too. Maybe it's just me. The Barrell team is pretty brilliant, and they're putting a lot into these 18 year old releases. But wow...oak. On the other hand, I just picked up one of their 14 year single barrel boubons that's stupendous. So all is good!
@ScotchingHard $250 is highway robbery. I’m seeing these for $110-140
Damnit...I was having high hopes for this, just because it’s a Barrell. Unfortunately @jonwilkinson7309 , that Barrell Irish...I wasn’t too impressed with that as well
Oh no, I was contemplating buying this. It's like $250 at the cheapest here. I really like Barrell, but I don't want to spend that kind of money for something even woodier than Rhetoric.