Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label 15 Year Bourbon (2021 Release)

For a brother’s reunion, I came packed with a plethora of bottles to keep our palates engaged and satisfied; however, I did not grasp that since we hadn’t seen each other in several years that we would all be quite parched. The cornucopia of bottles I brought was quickly consumed and an expedition to a variety of liquor stores ensued to find a necessary resupply. After several disappointing stops, we finally located a liquor store with a decent selection of options, the clerk then noticed me browsing their selection and tried to upsell me on a bottle of Horse Soldier Commander 13 year at $700 or Very Olde St. Nick “Ancient Estate '' 13 year at $500 stating that 13 years makes “smooth” bourbon and then I saw this lowly Barrell 15 year for a bargain basement price compared to those two at $220. I quickly replied “if 13 years is smooth than surely 15 years is incredibly smooth” and thanked the gentleman for his advice while noticing a slightly saddened brow as I made my way to the checkout with the obviously smoother discount bourbon. So how does this one taste, let’s find out. The nose is rich and syrupy starting with Hershey’s dark chocolate syrup poured on vanilla ice cream inside a waffle cone then candied pecans along with fruits of sautéed tender cinnamon caramel apples, sour cherry jelly and orange sherbet leading to espresso, spearmint, cloves, a dash of ginger, leather and old polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with chocolate covered pecan clusters followed by cinnamon apple fritters, sour cherry jelly on whole wheat toast and smarties candy that then transition to red hot candy that fades to espresso, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, spearmint, leather and slightly tannic oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with apple fritters, toasted coconut, bit-o-honey candy, orange push pop, high percentage dark chocolate, espresso, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, leather and slightly tannic oak. Barrell has put together a very delicious bourbon that starts with a syrupy rich nose with traditional bourbon notes of fruits, chocolate, nuts, espresso and well-aged oak that carries over to the taste with a lighter mouthfeel than I expected starting with chocolate, caramel and candied nuts before citrus that turns slightly chalky before a medium spice leading to espresso and barrel spices that turn mildly sour and dry with tannic oak that finishes long with some rich traditional bourbon flavors with a mild chalky tannic oak that throws off the finish but lingers for what seems like forever. For me, this seems like a step down from the 2020 that came in at 52.45% compared to the 2021 at 50.2% causing a thinner mouthfeel and the wood isn’t nearly as balanced as the 2020 causing a slightly tannic oak instead of the polished mahogany I got on the 2020. This is still a very good whiskey that we all enjoyed, but at $200+ there are better options out there and I wish there was a Cowboy, Kentucky Owl Bourbon Batch 10 or a Saint Cloud 7 year available at that liquor store that day.

Nose - black cherry, salted caramel, peanut, apple, vanilla, orange, black pepper, nutmeg, dark chocolate, dry oak, tobacco, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - cherry, apple, butterscotch, vanilla, sweet floral notes, leather, cinnamon butter, yeast, orange, chocolate, ginger, mint, raspberry, tannic oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with cherry, butterscotch, orange, and baking spice flavors. The last of my Barrell 15 Year releases is this 2021 expression. As expected, it’s a blend of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana bourbons. Safe to say that Dickel and MGP are in the mix, but the Kentucky component isn’t as clear to me. The nose is very different from the 2019 and 2020 versions. First, that overbearing Dickel vitamin aroma isn’t nearly as overwhelming. It’s present, but more in the background. The same is true for that dry roasted peanut quality found with its counterparts. It’s markedly fruitier with something akin to a Buffalo Trace floral cherry aroma. The palate hits more similarly to the previous versions than the nose. The strong nutty orange minerality is present and the fruit and citrus turn slightly sour. The mouthfeel is medium and the finish is above average. Rating this one is difficult. This has my favorite nose of the three, but I think it’s bringing up the rear from a palate perspective. It’s very good, but definitely veers into tannic, sour territory. On a different day, I could see scoring this higher, but I’m sticking here for now. Many thanks to @pkingmartin for providing the generous sample!

N: Sweet fruit candy, shaving cream, oak, lumber yard, hint of library dust, caramel corn, candy corn, sawdust, hint of barnyard, funky, even a bit yeasty, but big sweet notes balance against that. P: Chocolate orange, lightly charred oak, touch of smoke, caramel, pencil shavings, frothy soap, light roast coffee, some cinnamon, some baking spice. F: Medium hot with cinnamon, Christmas baking spice, oak, caramel, vanilla. This lovely. I enjoyed it. The funk is interesting, although I think more subdued than I imply above. It's well balanced. It's also grotesquely overpriced. But what isn't these days. (Don't answer that.) ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord (now one whole year old!): https://discord.gg/4nfePCdyKM. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired - it shouldn't be - please post a comment and I will gladly and usually quickly provide a new one.)

It’s was Sunday, I was tipsy shopping with my wife at Costco, know better way to shop with you wife then a couple pours in , I was excited to see this for $199.00 at Costco I’ve seen a ton of post on IG with great finds and deals but my Costco never has anything like this, anyway l grabbed it . Honestly it’s good but nothing spectacular and wouldn’t buy another one , it’s really nothing special to me if it was $80 bucks it would be a good deal but $200 and up , that’s a NOPE . I feel like this blend has been done over and over ya it might be different ages and different labels but how many times has a dickel , MGP and Barton been done ? Feels like a ton , just kinda bored with it . Once again I’m not saying it bad just overpriced and unoriginal.

Don’t care what the haters say, this is an amazing pour. Could it have a higher ABV? Sure. But it’s an amazing ride from the oaky nose to the candied Apple palate to that cinnamon spice finish. Delicious. And I’m not a huge fan of Dickel on its own, but Joe and Tripp use it so well.

Good wasn’t great dickel juice dominated