1792 Bottled in Bond Single Barrel Select

1792 Series (3 of 10): Bottled in Bond Store Pick Did you know: Although the Bottled in Bond Act is typically branded as an “everyone wins” moment in the history of consumer protection, there was serious opposition. The biggest name I’ve found was Isaac Bernheim, founder of IW Harper, but given that only a fraction of American distilleries were producing what modern drinkers would call bourbon, a huge part of this early bourbon market must have been controlled by rectifiers, blenders, and scam artists. This opposition attempted to brand this act as monopolizing the whiskey market for distillers and as an attack on blenders and rectifiers, and ultimately, they failed. Although prohibition disturbed the chain of events to follow, I’d have to side with Colonel Taylor on this one. 125 years later, we still have blenders, we still have a version of the rectifiers, and when I buy a bottle of bourbon, I’ve never once had to wonder if I’m about to consume tobacco spit mixed with sulfuric acid. Winning. Nose is a bit fainter than the standard BiB. There is still sugar, banana, and yeast. Still alarmingly reminiscent of Jack or Woodford. What’s unique to this is the dominance of sugar. I don’t like this nose, but I’d call it an improvement. Body is very true to the nose. It’s sweet sugar, bananas, vanilla. It’s a banana float with whipped cream on top. Huge departure from the standard issue BiB here. Finish is cinnamon and pit fruits. Cherry, sangria. Fruit punch. Great finish. Almost tastes like a port finish. Compared to the standard BiB, this pick somehow shifts the flavor experience toward the finish. It’s different, and if you are really into the banana & yeast side of bourbon (Jack Daniels, Woodford, etc.) you would like this pick a lot. It’s a refined version of those “bottom shelfers.” For me, this one is much more generic and less interesting, and given the fact that it was more expensive due to its store-pick sticker, it’s a poor purchase in my opinion. Store picks will vary, just be wary. You might come home with something pricier and less special. However, I will give 1792 and my local store some credit for creating a noticeably different experience from the standard BiB. Looking forward to the next on-deck: 1792 Single Barrel, aka beige neck.

1792 BIB Single Barrel Select (North Carolina 2021) NOSE: Dry Tobacco, Cinnamon, Dry Oak, Brown Sugar, Candy Apple, Grassy Barnyard Funk, and a slight Alcohol Burn. NEAT: Decent Coating/Clingy Mouthfeel, Vanilla, Oak Tannins, Big Hit of Cinnamon Heat, Black Pepper Spice, Dark Heavy Fall Spices, and Orange Peel. There is an underlying taste of Young Dry Corn that throws it off just a bit. Spicy Slightly Drying Finish with a Big KYHug blooming in the chest leaving a coating of Cinnamon on the palate. SPLASH: Improves it a bit. Gains a Tartness and becomes more Fruit Forward. Orange & Lemon Peel, Granny Smith Apple, The coating finish gains a bit of Sweetness. VERDICT: Time open has helped this bottle. One of the better Bartons I've had (and the best 1792). The issue here is that Young Corn Note that I feel would've been blended out had it been a part of the Regular BIB Batching. That lead to a quarter point reduction. A little water did disguise it a bit and gave it an overall Fruity character that I really enjoyed. I think I'll definitely give the standard BIB a shot if I see it. The Barton profile may be growing on me a bit.

My specific store pick is from a local store in Houston. It starts out with a really nice nose - solid vanilla with burnt sugar with rye bites of spice and cooked fruit type flavors. Palate is classic bourbon with caramel and vanilla swirling together, small bit of nuts? Then rye takes over - spice and cooked fruit take over with plenty of pepper and a hint of mint with some more hearty oak. Really well done. The $30-$40 price range is an awkward window in bourbon. A few bucks more get you greats like Rare Breed and 4R SiB, and Knob Creek store picks. A few bucks less gets you Buffalo Trace, Knob Creek and Elijah Craig. But in the 30-40 range there’s not a lot of respectable stuff, besides Makers 46 and 4R SmB, and definitely some over priced juice like High West Prairie and Basil Hayden’s and Heaven Hill 7 year BiB. This store pick definitely falls on the “respectable” side of that list. This is great stuff. I’ll need to try another store pick in case I just got a super honey barrel, but I can easily recommend this.

Neat. Neck pour. Gallenstein #11. Caramelized apples, chocolate and graham crackers. Baking spices. Hint of over roped banana. Berries and cream. A very fragrant, complex, delightful nose. Syrupy texture with brown sugar, maple, and a hint of bitter oak on the tongue. Transforms into those caramelized apples. That caramel apple is such a strong, complete note. Legs are short with a little linger of that chocolate and oak. It is not as complex as I was expecting but the caramelized Apple note is strong and delicious. I can’t think of a bourbon with such a pronounced, complete note like that. 1792 (non-store pick) products typically underwhelm me. I bought this as a last chance for the brand and it survived the experience. If I find a full proof store pick, I will be more open to give it a shot now.

PICK: Oak Liqour Cabinet//Mystery Batch No. 8 NEAT NOSE - The nose is full and sweet with notes of peaches and caramel. PALATE - The palate is not as smooth, as the nose would suggest due to a kick of rye spice. That’s not to say it isn’t a good pour. The main notes that come across are caramel and cinnamon. The peach doesn’t come across on the palate as the nose would suggest, but I do get a fruity note on the palate nonetheless. FINISH - Medium - Long BUY? - Yes. BUY AGAIN?? - This is my first BiB store pick from 1792 and I have two more in the collection to try. After trying this, It will likely be on my “no pass list”. Especially at the price point around $35, it’s hard to pass this up. I’ll try to pick up every pick I find and you should too.

At first the nose was a bit indistinguishable. Started picking up burnt oak, banana, burnt marshmellow and some lemon peel. A good amount of spice here, and i was correct in assuming its high rye bill from what Ive read. It goes on throughout including the finish. Other than that im noticing that banana again as well as the burnt oak. Theres vanilla wafer. It runs hot, not necessarily in a bad way, but it does have some bite. Theres a unique combination of flavors that actually work well. A bit more balanced flavor and it would have had a higher rating.