Barrell Bourbon Batch 017

A big nose of caramel iced spice cake and rum nut raisins carry this with some ethanol fumes, not quite as refined as some of the well known older drams but rich and appealing reminding somewhat of a Bookers or EC BP. A bit lighter amber in color than I would have expected, leaves nice small droplets coating the glass. Front, delicious dark brown sugars lead the way, a rich currant-rum note comes in strong, the dried fruits are also apparent as it tapers down easy with some vanilla cola-nut action, this is a pretty good presentation of some seriously well aged bourbon trail barrels. Some classic barrel flavor reminiscent of Heaven Hill or Suntori-Beam, are just barely noticeable, but I get very little in the wood/tobacco range. Finishes light and smooth, only well aged hooch above 100 proof is capable of this kind of ending. This is indeed "the good stuff", a great rendition and reminder of the high proof classics. I managed to pick this bottle up at a store I frequent for a much better than msrp price, as these bottles tend to run at and above the 80 dollar mark in my neck of the woods. Yes, i would say it's easily worth it though I can accept alternate opinions about that point. Bookers, EHTaylor and so forth at that price point are one reason I can see different views on this, but if you see it for less than 70$ you should pull the trigger and by all means have a slug at your local watering hole. Kudos to the Barrell Bourbon Team on this batch.

112.5 proof - “A marriage of Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky Bourbon”. Aged 10 years, 14 years, and 15 years. The bottle carries an age statement of 10 years & 4 months. N: Pecan pie, a heap of vanilla beans, caramel apples, leather. P: Pecan pie with whipped cream, pralines, vanilla and buttered pancakes. F: Creamy mocha, pecans, and leather, baking spices and hints of pepper. This reminds me so much of pecan pie - through and through. This is fairly sweet with nice candied notes, and just a little bit of spice on the end. I would be very surprised to learn that the Kentucky portion of this is not from Heaven Hill. It has that “nutty” praline presence that is so prevalent in Heaven Hill’s lower core range (Dant, JTS Brown, etc), but can still be found in some of it’s “premium” offerings as well.

Yeasty, doughy, mildly spicy nose with some apricot—a reocurring theme with Barrell. Palate is robust raisin bread, oak, vanilla and cinnamon sugar, not at all experimental. The apricot comes across too. Reminds me of the hot cross buns my mom used to make. The finish is tannic, nutty and spicy—the low point of the sip, but i wouldn’t equate it with ash. Speaking of the expert review, this is far from an oaky monster of a bourbon. This app routinely undervalues Barrell…maybe they’re not paying up. 💸 Given that i tried multiple later Barrell offerings before i tracked this down, I’m surprised at how old school it is. But old school on high octane. Very good.

Wow....what a delicious Bourbon.....I could drink just this for the rest of my days with no regrets. Fantastic classic Bourbon flavors are presented with a richness and refinement that literally is Bourbon nirvana. Just a tremendous explosion and depth of flavor that you might expect from a premium Bourbon, and with no weaknesses IMO (I really don’t get the so-called ‘Expert’ review on this one....I know tannins and this is a very balanced older Bourbon, not the tannic beast with a 77 rating). The Barrell team knows what they’re doing, and this one delivers the goods. Looking forward to trying my Batch 011 and 018 bottles very soon.

Mild ethanol on nose (low for proof) gives way to apple, other fruit, wood, notable spice (don't know what, if any rye content here). More sweetness emerges with a few swirls. Flavor shows off the spice...and in a great way. Oak char, more fruit, and some brown sugar also come through. Finish remains spicy...some heat, but reasonable for the proof. Water doesn't open up that much, but also doesn't detract. Nice pour...maybe looking for a smidge more for the price, but this is a quality whiskey

Nose:A little Orange/lemon citrus on the nose before opening into vanilla and peanuts palette: little heat at first then cinnamon, little clove, apple pie and some citrus Finish: little bit of a Kentucky hug this is where the I would say the orange is most prominent Overall solid stuff