Barrell Bourbon Batch 028
54.43% ABV
$90
Website
We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Blender Says
Barrell Bourbon Batch 028 is a blend of 10 and 11-year-old barrels created from a marriage of three distinct sub-groups of barrels. The first was aroma forward with notes of tropical fruit, citrus zest and exotic spices, identified to drive the nose of the final blend. The second group had a richness in the middle palate and a sweet, almond-like body. The third group was peppery and tannic, adding backbone and a savory, woodsy and earthy component. The final blend of Batch 028 allows each of these groups to shine through. It presents a bouquet of ripe tropical and sweet flower aroma backed up by a robust punch of rustic wood in the cadence and finish.
- A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
- Distilled and aged in Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana
- Selection of 10 and 11-year-old barrels
- Aged in American white oak barrels
- Bottled in Kentucky
- 108.86 proof cask strength bottling
FLAVOR NOTES
The bourbon begins with bright citrus, heady florals, and lively minerals. Sweetness is kept in check by a preponderance of opposing forces. That balance vanishes on the finish when it explodes with tropical fruits then gently fades away leaving only smoked sea salt at the end.
Neat
Appearance: An earthy orange hue, much like antique yarn dyed with tradition and left to age.
Nose: Maraschino liqueur and dried apricot lay a gentle, fruity foundation that recalls a boisterous chardonnay. Some rather sappy woodsy notes of rosemary and bamboo shoots. A touch of richness from cocoa butter and tallow.
Palate: Fruity in nature, yet well-balanced, so that nothing overwhelms. Candied praline sweetness is balanced by a smoked sea salt minerality. Brown butter richness is cut by a radicchio bitterness. Champagne-like acidity is matched by chalky tannin.
Finish: Complex and tropical, it first explodes with lychee, grapefruit peel, dragonfruit, and strawberry. Some dusty tannin on the tongue gives it length, evolving through lightly oxidized oolong tea and peppery gin until only smoked sea salt lingers.
With a few drops of spring water
The fruitiness is juicier, with cascara, purple plum and rosehip tea. Spices abound, including sassafras and black walnut, salmiak and dill.
What Gary Says
Nose: Chocolate covered cherries, vanilla crème brûlée with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, oak, blood orange, floral notes with a subtle mineral undertone.
Palate: Caramel sauce over berries in vanilla pudding, pepper and oak with a nutty vitamin note, cinnamon, orange bitters, tad nutty with a hint of raisins.
Finish: Moderately long and drying with oak and orange zest.
Comments: Yet another really solid blend from the folks at Barrell Craft Spirits. The Dickel notes are a bit more prominent on this than the last few batches, but has a lot of depth and interesting characteristics, with a solid balance between the sweetness, spice and oak notes. A bit of water tamps down the mineral/vitamin notes and thickens the mouthfeel, and brought out more of a dark fruit sweetness.