Nothing unfortunately (not mentioned on their website; and the only other thing on the label of note is that it is non-chill filtered).
What Gary Says
Nose: Salted caramel, cocoa, baking spices, oak, tobacco and worn leather. Palate: Chocolate and caramel with nutty spice, oak, bit of banana-nut bread. Finish: Moderately long, damp with dark chocolate, allspice and oak. Comments: A solid, spicy bourbon. Many folks (myself included) have thought these were simply Four Roses single barrels with another label, as it is widely known that Four Roses had contract distilled for Diageo. Per Diageo, this isn’t the case. Unfortunately they won’t confirm who did distill the product, which is a shame (at least for those who appreciate transparency). Regardless who distilled it, this is a tasty bourbon – although with a single barrel can be highly variable.
This truly small-batch bourbon starts with traditionally grown corn, rye and malted barley. All of our staple grains are cultivated exclusively for us on the Omlin Family farm in Quincy, Washington. The grains are mashed, distilled, and barreled in our Woodinville® distillery, then trucked back over the Cascade Mountains to our private barrel houses, where Central Washington’s extreme temperature cycles promote the extraction of natural flavors from the oak. Prior to being coopered, the barrel wood is seasoned in open air, rain, wind, sun, and snow for eighteen months, softening the wood’s harsh tannins. The barrels are then slowly toasted and heavily charred to further enrich the wood’s desirable flavors. This meticulous process yields a truly hand-crafted spirit with aromas of crème brûlée and spice cabinet, as well as notes of rich caramel, dark chocolate, and vanilla bean on the palate with a sweet, lingering finish.
*Also available in Cask-Strength at distillery only.
What Gary Says
Nose: Vanilla, light caramel, corn, musty oak, peaches with a hint of cherries and brown sugar. Palate: Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, light baking spices and black cherries. Finish: Moderate in length, slightly dry with a bit of oak, baking spices and cherries. Comments: A decent enough pour, although the corn on the nose and lack of depth on the palate would lead me to believe it is young (being non-age stated ‘straight’, this would be four years and a day). The nose is nice, with a bit more to offer than the palate, but appreciate that this doesn’t “taste like craft” to me.
Crafted in one of the few distilleries to remain dedicated to the art of rye whiskey, Rare Breed Rye is a blend of non-chill filtered rye. It is barrel-proof, meaning that it’s uncut, bottled directly from the barrels at the proof it is reached in those barrels. It is sister to award-winning Rare Breed bourbon and the first permanent super-premium rye in the Wild Turkey family.
What Gary Says
Nose: Fresh dill, vanilla, oak, mint, lime zest, herbal, pepper and cinnamon. Palate: Vanilla, clove, tangerines, oak, cinnamon, mint, nutmeg and a hint of white chocolate. Finish: Moderate in length, drying with pepper, mint and honey. Comments: Intense rye spice like you’d hope for/expect from Wild Turkey! The Wild Turkey 101 Rye is one of my favorites, and this turns that up a notch. The non-chill filtering is a plus, as it thickens up nicely with a bit of water. Maintains a nice balance of sweetness with rye spice. I did a couple blind tastings of this against Pikesville (which required the black Glencairns, as this is lighter in color enough that it stood out), and on three different days, I preferred the Pikesville over this – finding this to have less sweetness and more spice. But sometimes that’s what you’re in the mood for – is that hit of rye spice. And it was pretty close on 2 of the 3 tastings as well – highlighting how much WE have to do with it versus the whiskey.
Distillation Date: January 1997 Bottling Date: September 2016 Wood Type: Pedro Ximenez Finish Cask Number: 91822 Number of Bottles: 437 Unchill-Filtered Natural Colour
What Gary Says
Nose: Honey suckle, barley malt, heather, vanilla, hint of spent matches, coffee cake, ginger, dark fruits, bit of anise, smoked pork, figs, pipe tobacco and nutmeg. Palate: Rich and thick mouthfeel, warm with honey, stewed fruits over coffee cake, cinnamon, pepper, clove, nutmeg and molasses. Finish: Long and wet, honey dripping with raisins and a bit of sulfur. Comments: Wow – a really nice, robust, intense dram – balanced with sweetness and a bit of savory smoky notes. A bit of water brightens it up without thinning. I liked this quite a bit more than Glenrothes 18 yr I tried, and I’m pretty sure it is the Pedro Ximenez finish (which I do like). This is also one of those drams where I actually prefer the nose over the palate, which isn’t to short-change the palate. This is a winner on all fronts, but the nose is really enchanting!
57.94% 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
The base of Barrell Bourbon Batch 029 is an herbal and viscous blend of Indiana bourbons. The blend was expanded with 6 and 7-year-old rye-grain Kentucky bourbon, chosen for its exotic cinnamon spice note and floral 9 and 10-year-old wheated bourbon. Finally, a small amount of 6, 14, and 16-year-old Tennessee bourbon was added for a fruity nose and a long, oxidative finish.
A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
Distilled and aged in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana
Selection of 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, and 16-year-old barrels
Aged in American white oak barrels
Bottled in Kentucky
115.88 proof cask strength bottling
FLAVOR NOTES An initial burst of fruit: Williams pear and dried papaya on the nose, lime cordial on the palate; then a lengthy evolution through rye-driven mulling spices and rich oaky lactones. Ultimately, the profile settles comfortably into an array of dessert notes including treacle tart, milk chocolate, and Boal madeira.
Neat Appearance: Roasted pumpkin flecked with bright gold. Nose: A classical opening of brown sugar-laced oatmeal and freshly conditioned leather. As you swirl a Glencairn glass, Williams pear, cantaloupe, and mulled wine develop. Curiously, from a rocks glass the evolution is more tropical, leaning rather toward tangerine, dried papaya, and mint tea with honeycomb. In either case, herbs soon follow — basil, dill, and wasabi powder. The aroma finally stabilizes into something resembling Pedro Ximenez sherry, displaying rosewater, treacle tart, and boiled cider. Palate: Unmistakably cask strength. A bright, pithy lime cordial note is rounded out by Mirabelle plum and sugar snap pea. Once the palate has acclimatized, more traditional flavors of affogato, molasses, and roasted mixed nuts emerge. Finish: A bold salinity tugs at the taste buds, calling soft pretzel to mind. As it fades, soft flavors of milk chocolate and shredded coconut wash over the palate.
With a few drops of spring water Leafy aromas of tarragon, pandan and celery come to the fore. Nutritional yeast and roasted parsnip reveal a lightly savory dimension. Meanwhile the palate grows much darker in character, as espresso beans and ripe puerh tea dominate. Levity returns on the finish, with unexpected notes of guava and cherry blossom.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich vanilla, caramel, berries, cigar paper, leather, oak, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, a hint of minerality and tarragon. Palate: Rich and sweet toffee, chocolate, hazelnuts, light caramel, cinnamon, butterscotch, pepper spice and clove. Finish: Moderately long, damp with cocoa, honey and baking spices. Comments: Have yet to try a batch I didn’t like, but I really like this one; just right in my wheelhouse. Delicious neat although gets even better with some water, thickening and bringing out a note of peanut butter. A robust, unapologetically brash while nicely balanced bourbon.
