Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass (2022 Release)

The nose starts with a rich earthy rye forward mix of pine needles, spearmint and light fruits of pineapple, apricot and pomegranate seeds in the background then a butterscotch creme brûlée topped with candied fennel seeds followed by fruits of bananas foster, Morello cherry jam and tangerine orange that transitions to a trickling stream washing over stones, cracked black pepper, candied ginger and fresh cut hickory burning in an open fire with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting with a moderate bitter rye spice that fades to a mix of rich butterscotch pudding along with earthy rye forward flavors of charred pine cones, spearmint, wintergreen and medium fruits of canned pineapple chunks, apricot jam and diced sugared strawberries before a trickling stream washing over river stones followed by fruits of caramelized bananas, stewed cherries and candied orange peel that transitions to cracked black pepper, juniper berries, candied ginger and fresh cut hickory burning in an open fire with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with charred pine cones, tangerine orange, grilled pineapple rings, raspberries, rich butterscotch pudding, spearmint, leather and polished oak. This is a big, bold and creamy rye that the flavors are dialed up to an 11 and you really need to buckle in for. The nose is so rich with the rye front and center with the finishes of Martinique rum, Madeira and apricot brandy adding light fruity notes to enhance the complexity but not overpower that old rye base which carries over to the taste with a mouth coating olive oil viscosity but stumbles slightly out of the gate with a moderate bitter spice before finding its way with an incredible balance of old rye with those fruity finishes coming out more but still in the background of those rye notes and finishes long and creamy with those high rye notes, citrus and old polished oak. Comparing the normal Seagrass to the 16 isn’t really a fair comparison as the normal Seagrass seems to focus more on the fruit flavors while the rye plays a supporting role, but with the Seagrass 16 it’s the opposite with the rye flavors front and center and fruits playing a supporting role. The choice would depend on if you prefer a sweet or savory rye as both are expertly composed and delicious. A better comparison is another savory rye of Lock Stock and Barrel 18 in which the Seagrass 16 makes the Lock Stock seem thin, youthful and lacks the complexity that those finishes have provided to the Seagrass 16. At $250+, this is an expensive treat but can easily beat any Whistlepig Boss Hog at twice the cost and is one of the biggest, boldest and complex ryes on the market, if not the best.

Neat. Sample. Intrigued by this release and blessed with whiskey friends who provide samples of unique and limited bottles like this. I am a big fan of the original Seagrass (I have batch 1 when it first came out). That rye was a blend though. It was a blend of KY, Indiana, Tennessee, and Canadian whiskey. This is 100% Canadian which is how it gets the 16 year age statement. So it’s not simply aged up Seagrass, it’s kind of it’s own thing with the same finishing. On the nose, the fact that this is 100% Canadian is apparent. Reminds me a lot of Alberta Premium. Very peppery. The oak is very nice, has more presence than I expected based on the color. It’s this very refreshing wood, like going on a walk in the woods on a nice spring morning. Peaches and cream come to mind, specifically the skin of the peach. The whip cream smell is delightful. Not as much depth from the finishing as the original Seagrass, but what is here is delightful. Probably my favorite Canadian Rye nose, over any Whistle Pig or Alberta Premium. On the taste, mouthfeel is pretty perfect. Oily, creamy, coats, fluffy on the tongue. Delightful texture. On the first sip I like this WAY more than I was expecting honestly. I was skeptical (and still am on the price) but it’s really delicious. The flavor hits the tongue immediately. I am getting so much from it just letting it sit and move on tongue. It’s sweet, it’s peppery. There is an effervescence to it like Sprite. I can feel the wine influence. The oak makes its presence known as well. On the swallow, it escalates and really brings an awesome flavor bomb. Really ramps up the vanilla whip cream and the peaches come roaring through on a wave of sweetness. Doesn’t even present itself as a Rye until the finish. The finish is all oak and rye and pepper. The sweet lingers but takes a back seat for the finale. I could see the finish being considered dry. This is where the 16 year comes at you and it feels like an Oaked Chardonnay. I enjoyed that immensely. I may try to get a bottle of it. I get why they called it Seagrass with the finishing but it really is it’s own thing. Comparing it to the Seagrass does it a disservice because Seagrass on its own is amazing value for what it provides at $80. This isn’t three times better than regular Seagrass and it doesn’t blow Seagrass away. But I think it’s one of the best high aged Ryes I have had. The finishing adds sweetness and flavor that balanced out that delicious oak (that would probably dominate and dry you out completely if not finished). I recommend not dismissing this release but approach it as its own thing and not in the shadow of the regular Seagrass.

Golden with a hue of orange. The nose is somewhat closed off initially. Cinnamon, caraway, apple and leather give way to stone fruit and light maple syrup. Hay, eucalyptus, wet stone - almost a Gewürztraminer vibe. Interesting. Dusty bubble gum and some jammy notes even. We’re certainly not in bourbon country anymore… After awhile this declares itself as unequivocally rye (pumpernickel, tea, herbs) but with hearty fruit and borderline-astringent oak. Definitely more tannic and earthy notes than green label Seagrass - which hits some of the same notes and on the palate doesn’t hide the rhum, Madeira and apricot brandy finishing - and in fact seems to twist and turn 3-4 times, in the above order, before having to go back for more. Will this take me down such a twisted road? Holy spice Batman. This is a bit more viscous up front and drying on the back end. Tons of spices - clove, caraway, anise, pepper, tobacco (ok, not technically a spice but bear with me). Then a swell of maple and brandy notes (jam, chocolate, blood orange) and then some weathered oak and possibly even a furniture polish note. The more sips I take the more of the leather and oak come through, but not overwhelmingly so. There is always a balance with that deep bowl of spices, dark cigar wrapper, and funky fruit. The fruit is funky indeed. Not the clean, crisp apricot or red berries of its green label sibling. This is more of a stewed, almost hogo-esque fruit. This, frankly, is challenging. Rewarding, but challenging and requires both patience and a significant financial investment. I like it a good deal more than green label Seagrass but don’t know that it justifies the cost. I would gladly give $100-125 for this but the $250 is a stretch. The well aged notes are fantastic, but honestly it’s a bit too hedonistically sweet for me - largely due to the unfamiliar light-maple and fruit character. It’s not cloying but it’s not subtle either. The way the sweet notes outcompete the earthy and oak notes on the finish is the opposite of how I’d like things to wind down. Verdict - would try before I buy, except I didn’t and am left with a resemblance of buyers remorse. Not because it’s bad, because it’s fantastic. It’s just damn expensive, so much that I’m subtracting a quarter of a point.

Nose: first impression is this is similar but softer than the gold. Honey off the bat. Really a lot of honey and then caramel. Nosing sweeter than the gold. Instead of rose petals I’m getting more fresh cut grass and then lots of sugar cane, the rum component really stands out to me more than the gold. With time more caramel and grass. Definitely more caramel than fruit compared to gold. In total a very nice nose perhaps sweeter and more earthy than the gold, a little less going on but still very unique and delicious. After a couple sips I got wafts of oak and faint fruit. Body: very strange. Despite the higher abv and despite my anticipation that this was going to be huge it went the other way. It was light and soft and muted. It’s a light to medium bodied dram. Curious that it’s less full bodied than the gold but has a higher abv. Maybe my taster is off today or maybe it’s just not as full bodied. Definitely brought the Kentucky hug. Palate: caramel, vanilla, red fruits raspberry. Some of that fresh cut grass or hay came through on the palate. It’s missing the brandy part I liked so much in the gold. Finish: medium to short. Doesn’t have the same length as the gold which brought out a very drawn out lingering sweetness. This is more woody and short. Not bad just different. Note: ok so now I have seagrass, seagrass silver and gold. Somehow I’ve started with the gold and am working backwards which just seems backwards but what can I say. Let’s see how this 16 year old seagrass compares to its older brother. Well I like this version but I like the gold better. This is an interesting take on whiskey with the rye base and rum and brandy barrels. I definitely will enjoy this bottle along side the gold. But. But the gold has more going on, they rye sneaks out more there is the red hot cinnamon amounts the plums and honey rum. This is more honey rum and earthy. This is very good, no one should every turn down a dram of this BUT the gold is just more interesting.

Batch 1 / 65.41% Nose - Quite hot initially, hint of dill/mint, cinnamon, cloves, caramel, faint hint of dried apricot/peach (w/ water) Much more vibrant, quick apricot followed by dill/mint up front followed by a wave of caramel & sweet drying leather Taste - Very drying, dark dried apricots, habanero heat/tingle, cinnamon, drying sweet leather, caramel (w/ water) Dried apricots, sweet drying leather, caramel, "generic rum vibe", cinnamon, dill/mint stem bitter Finish - Lingering sweet caramel, sweet leather dryness, dill/mint stem bitter/dryness, apricot, drying sweet leather (w/ water) Same Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - So not sure if they used less active apricot brandy casks or if older rye just doesn't take on fruity casks as much, but this definitely had less cask influence than the NAS Seagrass. It also felt a bit hot and water really helped this one out. This was still very much a rye even if tasted blind, but like the NAS version, the apricot brandy dominated followed by the Martinique rum and frankly I wouldn't even know there was any Madeira influence in this. This did have a nice sweet leather dryness that was a bit nice, but due to the proof it got a bit distracting at times. This one is best with a bit of water and is good, but I don't think it justifies the 4x price premium over the standard Seagrass. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - apricot, peach, butterscotch, coffee, vanilla cream, dark chocolate, pear, baked apple, sawdust, honey, earthy mint, clove, anise, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - salted caramel, vanilla, spiced apple, pear, apricot, peach, orange oil, dark chocolate, cherry jam, honey, anise, clove, spearmint, ginger, black pepper, rich oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long with apricot, stone fruit, and citrus oil flavors. For my 500th review, I wanted something special and likely to receive a high rating from me. And with t8ke giving this a rare perfect score, the 16 Year Gray Label Seagrass is as good as any to mark the occasion. However, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the standard Seagrass release, so let’s see how this stacks up. The nose is rich and darkly fruity with apricot, peach, dark chocolate, and a host of earthy rye spices. It’s unquestionably superior to the standard release’s. The palate is similarly darker, richer, and oilier. Those stone fruits are right up front with deep orange oil and sour cherry jam flavors. The mouthfeel is thick and the finish lingers pleasantly. I was asked to compare this with the standard Seagrass release. Well the results are in, and this is way better. It shares the same DNA, but fixes all the issues I had with the younger counterpart. The $250 price tag is questionable, but the quality isn’t. This isn’t perfect, but it’s outstanding and probably the best rye I’ve ever tried. A huge thank you to @pkingmartin for providing the generous sample!