Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Bourbon
4th Release, 15 Yrs
50.2% ABV
$250
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
- Matured for 15 years
- Distilled and aged in IN, KY and TN
- Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
- 100.4 proof cask strength bottling
A bourbon characterized by evolution – where some whiskeys display their complexity all at once, here the flavors remain focused yet ephemeral. A gentle minerality yields to candied scents and then savory earthy ones, fruity aromas, and finally herbs and spices. The palate, meanwhile, is bright and sweet and tastes of cola.
Appearance: Bronze.
Nose: Starts with a puff of chalk dust and wood smoke. Underneath are notes of toasted marshmallow, warm honeycomb, and chocolate babka straight from the oven. Soon nubuck leather and sunflower seed jostle to the fore. Fruits emerge next, from Ginger Gold apples through roasted banana to strawberry jam, ending with chamomile and eucalyptus.
Palate: A syrupy and sweet arrival is kept in check by moderate heat and some light but gritty tannin. A vivid cola note dominates at first, then allspice, fennel seed, and peppermint lead the wave of oak spice. A little fruity spirit peeks through with pops of green grape, strawberry meringue, and jasmine.
Finish: The sugar washes away quickly, leaving a surprisingly dry, oily, palate with more noticeable tannin. The character correspondingly shifts to drier notes of pipe tobacco, walnut and iced coffee. As they fade a little more fruit emerges, around rhubarb jam and sumac.
With a splash of spring water: The nose becomes incredibly fruity, showing crabapple, lychee, and blackberry tart. The palate grows fruitier as well, here on watermelon and earl grey tea. But it also develops an earthy spiciness, along gingerbread, radish, and nasturtium.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich with fudge and salted caramel, cigar paper, graham cracker, mincemeat pie, oak, berries, faint mineral note and hints of black tea.
Palate: Toffee, cross between coffee cake and fruitcake, cocoa, cola, nutmeg, allspice, oak, sherry and a hint of anise.
Finish: Moderately long and drying with dark chocolate and allspice.
Comments: This has a really lovely and complex nose! The palate is a bit dry and tannic (not what I’d call overly oaky, just not squarely in my wheelhouse), but still well balanced. A bit of water brings out fruit notes of green apple and melon. For cask strength to be barely 100 proof is also pretty rare, and provides more intensity than I usually find in a bourbon at this proof. I continue to be impressed with their blending of bourbons (and spirits) from different distilleries. If that aspect is interesting, but this price point is out of reach – I’d recommend finding Stellum Bourbon. I think that was the only bourbon I bought more than 1 bottle of in 2021!