Barterhouse 20 Year Bourbon

Rating: 15/23 Blind bourbon tasting. N: Woody and very toasty. A big dry wood character with plenty of tannins, but not particularly any creosote. This doesn't seem like a particularly herbal dram. Some orange peel, a hair on the floral side. The sweetness comes out of the toastiness. I'm not particularly getting brown sugar, caramel, or vanilla. Eventually a touch of floral vanilla comes out with the orange peel, but it takes a while, and then from that I get a little caramel, but not much. There's a bit of a woody spiciness, but not much in the way of any particular spices beyond that. The overall profile makes me think of George Dickel Bottled In Bond. And it makes me think that this is quite an old bourbon - probably in the 12 to 15 year range. This has very nice balance and hedonism, but the complexity is only so-so. After a really long time (more than 30 minutes), I get a little brown sugar on the nose. P: Toasty with tannins that lead into the wood before the orange sweetness comes back around to tie it together. Some vanilla trails behind the orange. There's less richness than I'd expected and it seems like a substantial amount of the toastiness has manifested as wood instead. I think I'm getting some of that Dickel vitamin flavor too. There's really quite a lot of tannic wood here. Unfortunately, I think it's a little over-oaked. It's still quite enjoyable, but it probably should have been removed from the barrel sooner, or possibly moved to a second barrel to enhance the vanilla and other youthful flavors. F: The finish gets more woody and tannic. I didn't really get it on the palate, but cinnamon lingers with the dry, tannic wood long into the finish. - Conclusion - Side by side, George Dickel Bottled In Bond (16/23) is fuller and less tannic, but there is a substantial similarity between the two of them. This is more bitter, sort of like a somewhat watered down version of the Dickel. Considering how similar this is to Dickel Bottled In Bond, I have to assume that this is some sort of Dickel product. I wasn't planning to open it yet, but I have a 15 year single barrel Dickel that I think I should compare with this. OK, the Dickel 15 is a bit richer and its flavors stand out a bit more. This has more of a mineral character, with a touch more sweetness, but it's also kind of flatter. The differences are quite minuscule though; considering that the Dickel 15 was a neck pour and this sample presumably was not, I could well believe that they came from the same barrel. Just to check my palate, I took a sip of Resilient 15 (18/23), which is also a single barrel of Dickel, to compare with these. The Resilient shows more sweetness and complexity because it is less inundated with wood. It seems to me that Resilient knows how to pick the really good barrels and what Dickel bottles itself is more so-so (well, it's still good, but a bit over-oaked). Doing a quick side-by-sdie with Elijah Craig Small Batch (15/23), which I normally think of as decently mature and a little too tannic, the Elijah Craig is sweet and young. Side by side, the Elijah Craig has some of that eye-popping, messy sweetness that I find in many of the worst bourbons - you know, the ones that are made from bland grains and only aged 6 months. It's frankly startling. However, it isn't that my bottle of Elijah Craig has gotten younger: this is just a very old spirit. I think that where I have to land with this is a 15. It's quite enjoyable, but also definitely flawed. I could imagine a low 16 and I can even see going down to maybe a 12 or so, but at the end of the day, I do enjoy this a fair amount, so I think it can have that 15. A big thanks to @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for sharing this one with me! It's the oldest bourbon I've tried to-date, which provides some great perspective for future tastings.

Nose - rich caramel, brown sugar, anise, clove, dill, cedar, cardamom, cherry, herbal notes, dark chocolate, raisin toast, tangerine, tobacco, leather, polished oak, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - tannic oak, black tea, black pepper, rich caramel, brown sugar, burnt toast, clove, spearmint, anise, cherry, bitter chocolate, herbal notes, toasted walnut, leather, tobacco, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with burnt burnt sugar, tannic oak, and bitter baking spice flavors. The fifth of nine blind tastings opens with a deep, rich nose of dark caramel, rye spice, and raisin toast aromas. Its subtle sweetness is balanced beautifully by strong herbal, oaky, leathery aromas. Unfortunately, things take a turn on the palate. Overwhelming tannic oak, burnt toast, and black tea flavors dominate the more nuanced complexity that’s probably hiding in the background. I should have learned my lesson yesterday about guessing the relative age of a whiskey, but I’m going out on a limb and declaring that this is very old bourbon. This tastes like it’s spent far too long in a barrel. With such a magnificent nose, it’s disappointing that the palate doesn’t uphold the same level of quality. Well what are we drinking tonight? Barterhouse 20 Year. I was right! This is very old whiskey. Actually I think this is the oldest bourbon I’ve ever tasted. Major kudos to @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for providing this experience! It may be a long time before I taste another American whiskey this old.

Oak on the nose, but not overwhelming. Admittedly this is the first crack at this bottle. With a little time to breath it transitions to dusty peanut shells with some floral and vanilla notes coming through. First sip is smooth and oak forward but perhaps even less so than some 12 year bourbons (notably Knob Creek 12, which is $30-40 less and should be widely available). It’s a medium body on the tongue with flavors of mild oak and cedar, tobacco, floral notes and still a bit of peanut butter on the medium finish. As someone who really enjoys big, high proof bourbons and especially Knob Creek store picks I would say this left me scratching my head wondering if the proof were higher if I’d like it more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s solid. For the age statement I would say you can get bigger oak flavor out of younger juice. I found this to be balanced and maybe with time it will show its age a bit more, hopefully becoming better rather than worse. Time will tell.

Nose (3.75): Very soft not alot going on here. Maybe some carmel and maple syrup. Not a bad nose but kind of just sits there. Palate (4.25): Maple syrup, pancakes, and butter. I liked it. Definately a sweeter bourbon but it tastes like a hearty breakfast. It is not complex but it is inviting. Much better than the nose. Finish (4.0): Leaves with a puff of smoke but not a natural smokiness. Almost like that liquid smoke. It is oaky and lingers but the "liquid smoke" kind of turned me off. It isn't bad, not my favorite but I could see you liking it if you are in the mood to have your hotcakes and syrup in a glass. 20 years may have been too long in the barrel because this is a bit timid for me. This would benefit greatly in a higher proof. The flavors just are not there for me.

This is actually the first time i have ever heard of the Orphan Barrels. It seems Diageo has some special, unique, "orphan" Barrels, that contain diferent whiskies from undisclosed distilleries. Actually a pretty good story, because they say that this are all very limited bottles and once they are gone, well... they aren't coming back. Bottled at 45.1%abv, Ok. The story is something. The tasting and nosing notes are another. Caramel in the nose. Metallic coins, creme brulee. A little toffee. Vanilla. A little refined aroma notes. On the palate, very herbal and butterscotch. Apricots. Aftertaste is medium, long, very pleasant. It is a fine bourbon. But it is not a Pappy. Not a John E. Fitzgerald 20yo. Compared to those two, this one is fair. 85 over 100.

For the price tag I was expecting more but this is easy drinking and extremely well balanced. A lot of the usual bourbon notes...some wood, vanilla, a little caramel but not a ton. I like it but can’t believe the price tag. I should remove so points for that but since it’s my friend’s bottle I didn’t do the buying 🤷‍♂️