Barrell Craft Spirits Debuts An Interesting Blended Whiskey

Barrell Craft Spirits, alongside its flagship Barrell Bourbon bottlings, late last year debuted a higher end line of sourced spirits. Those behind this brand also brought forth a rather interesting blended whiskey named Dovetail they say took almost a year to get right.

The new Barrell Dovetail whiskey, according to those behind it, was blended as a way to highlight some of the favorite flavors of the Barrell team. To this end they blended 10 year old whiskey distilled in Indiana and finished in ex-Dunn Vineyards Cabernet barrels with 11 year old bourbon distilled in Tennessee and finished in ex-black strap rum casks and ex-Late Bottled Vintage Port pipes. It was then bottled at a cask strength of 122.9 proof.

You’ll find some official tasting notes on Dovetail below for your consideration. There was no immediate mention of price.

• Appearance: Rose gold with highlights of worn copper.
• Nose: Opens with mature aromas both sweet (canelé, panna cotta, crème de noyaux) and savory (walnut oil, leather). This is followed quickly by a vast array of fruit derived both from the spirit (smoked apricot, grapefruit peel) as well as the cask treatment (sloe gin, damson jam). The aroma is high toned, pungently floral and herbaceous, with subtle, balancing pops of minerality.
• ​Palate: Darker (cocoa, molasses, burnt marshmallow) and spicier (cola, nutmeg, Tellicherry peppercorn) than the nose, an effect well-complemented by the cask treatment and rendered more complex by the savory and herbaceous themes running throughout.
• ​Finish: A sweet and elegant signature of rose jelly, chestnut honey, and Pineau des Charantes that also features hazelnut, eucalyptus, and Corsican mint.