Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by Barrell Craft Spirits. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.
Every batch of Barrell Bourbon is different, depending on the barrels they have selected for the blend. It also changes with the ages of the whiskies that are incorporated. The youngest barrel is always the one listed on the age statement on the bottle, this particular one being 10 years. As with their other batches this one contains no added flavoring or coloring.
Barrell Bourbon is carefully blended every year with different age whiskies and different barrels most commonly from Kentucky and Tennessee, sometimes Indiana, New York, Texas, and Illinois. That makes each batch of Barrell Bourbon unique just like the bottle shape. The blends are carefully matured with the whiskies being added at different times during the aging process to get the right complexity in each batch.
Batch 23 of Barrell Bourbon comes in at a lower proof than past batches. They have gone as high as 132. So, if you think this one is on the hotter side, it’s not as hot as it could be. Cask strength isn’t for everyone but if it is, you’ll like this line of whiskey with each batch blending in different flavors and always no water added. What blends in the barrell is what you get in the bottle, hence, cask (or barrel) strength.
Tasting Notes: Barrell Bourbon Batch 23
Vital Stats: 107.78 proof; a blend of 10, 12 and 15-year-old barrels; mash bill is corn, rye, and malted barley; aged in American white oak; crafted and bottled in Kentucky; distilled and aged in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.
Color: Mahogany with henna notes
Nose: There’s a fragrance of vanilla and fresh fruits. There’s warming spices of mostly cinnamon among other baking spices.
Palate: This whiskey is very peppery and sweet like a hot honey. If you mixed this one there would be no need for extra sugar. It’s not only sweet but tastes of oak and earthy undertones. It tends to grow on you after a few sips.
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