Barrel House Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Another small (micro) batch bourbon distilled in Lexington on the site of a major player during prohibition (James Pepper). I have yet to take the tour so shame on me especially since one of the owners lives in my neighborhood. Ultra small batch operators usually have an interesting story to tell but there's nothing on their web site. They have a beautiful copper pot still and talk about their water. Seems odd they haul water from 70 miles away when they sit on a spring fed stream that Pepper used to use. Guess that is something of a story. So what about the bourbon. Label says "Kentucky bourbon whiskey" the rich color would lead you to believe that it's four years old and the faint ethanol on the nose says the same thing. Only three barrels are used in a batch so this will be widely variable. The nose is faint in all respects even after ten minutes to air. You can coax out the standard array of high rye aromas but it's work. Nutmeg, caramel, sweet corn and some wet hay are there. This is a neck pour so it may open after a month or two. The first taste proudly says 'I am bourbon' It leads with caramel and corn sweetness in the background. It's not particularly complex but it satisfies. There is a medium length dry oak finish. This was tried at a friends house so I had to look up the price $41. This is an example of why I have mostly given up on micro craft products. It's not bad but it's no where near worth $41. I followed it with Evan Williams 1783 ($15) and it was heads better. I do want small local guys to make it but I'm not so sure about the micro players.

A great daily driver if you will. I’ve enjoyed it neat and it worked beautifully in a few cocktails thanks to the higher rye content. The low reviews are a bummer. I get the value thing, but micro-anything costs more. This will be my decanter bourbon for the rest of fall into winter, happily.

An interesting pour. The first taste felt a bit hot right on the front end. The second seemed to savor a bot more and the flavors came thru. One to enjoy for a slow sipping pour.

Only available in Kentucky to my knowledge. Barrel House’s entire product line impressed me tremendously.

Really good. Definitely worth a trip to Lexington if you want to try some good spirits

I only had a tasting at the distillery but it seemed like a good bourbon.