Whiskey Review: Barrell Whiskey 002

Wowza – that’s hot! Without water, this is too strong to get much of a read on – just a tantalizing flavor of sweet butterscotch before a vaporous wave of alcohol obscures the rest, gradually fading into a very tingly, sherry-inflected finish. The addition of a few drops of water help enormously, amplifying that sweetness while revealing notes of marcona almond, oxidized sherry, and light cornbread. Conclusion: I’ve loved everything I’ve tasted from Barrell so far, and I love Scotch (even the young stuff), so I was excited to taste this release. While I certainly enjoyed it, it fell a little short of my admittedly high expectations. It was just a little…mild. I’m not sure where the disconnect happened, but that’s never stopped me from speculating. Perhaps the classic corn-based bourbon distillate just needs that extra flavor from the charred barrel. Maybe distillate made on a column still (standard practice for bourbon) doesn’t have those same heavy flavor molecules that pot-still distillate does to enrich the flavor of whiskey aged in used barrels. Whatever the case, Barrell Whiskey 002 is a solid product, but when my friends ask me for whiskey recommendations over brunch, I’d point them to Barrell Bourbon 005 over this one. FINAL SCORE: 86/100