Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Ice Wine

N. A rich nose on this one. Smells like a finished high rye Bourbon (which makes sense seeing that's it's 24% rye). You get some of the jamminess that you would expect from an Ice Wine influence. I've tagged it with most of the fruit notes in getting so I won't repeat them here. P. Some heat showing up now as well that wasn't on the nose. This is really nice. A easy desert sipper. Much of the nose shots up on the palate as well. F. Desert notes hang around for a medium finish. Take my review of this whiskey with a grain of salt. I think I may be penalizing it a quarter point because it is not the Ice Wine Finish Private Select Whiskey from Barrel, which isn't fair. The Private Select has more of the finish shining through which is what put me onto Ice Wine finished whiskey in the first place. If you like more subtle finishes, you may find this to hit your palate just right. Of the 3 Ice Wine finishes I've had from Barrell, this has the least Cask influence.

Nose offers stone fruits, nougat, freshly sharpened pencil, brown sugar, nutmeg, fresh cut grass, and Werther’s candy. Ethanol nicely low. Palate brings caramel, vanilla, macadamia nut, cola, and the stone fruits from the nose in the form of peach, plum, and raspberry. Flavors punch nicely above their weight. Medium length finish offers black pepper, toasted oak, cinnamon, black pepper, almond butter, and barrel char. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, but does have a hint of graininess. Overall a solid and kind of “fun” offering from Barrell primary because it offers a relatively unique experience with no major flaws. At $89.99 it is a little pricy which is why I generally don’t buy a lot of this brand, but a rebuy wouldn’t be completely off the table, earning this a 4.0.

Nose - A light, sweet, almost dirty burn. Taste - sweet instantly but goes away too quick. Just has that “dirty” aftertaste. Burn lasts pretty long but it’s the most defining quality about it. Just nothing to make me wanna go back.