The Barrell Private Release Series is a project in detailed blending on a scale small enough to allow extreme precision.
The Private Release Series lets us exercise our blending expertise while maintaining a single barrel-like scale controlled entirely by hand and by palate. Our goal is always to maximize the best attributes of each component. Every ounce of every ingredient changes the overall character of these blends, as does the barrel that each one is aged in. For that reason, these barrels take months to polish and perfect. While we may be able to replicate the recipe for these releases, the unique nature of each ingredient and the barrel they are married in makes every bottling singularly special.
Each release of our Private Release Whiskey is a unique blend of whiskeys. Once created, these blends are married in single casks, many of which were previously used for other spirits and/or wines. Each Private Release Whiskey series has slightly different base whiskey and is entered into a finishing cask at a different time.
AH08 is a blend of KY Whiskeys, the largest component being 18-year-old KY whiskey, finished in a Malmsey Madeira barrel.
What Gary Says
Nose: Fruit salad steeped in wine, apricots, berries, vanilla, brown sugar, honey and cedar. Palate: Chocolate covered cherries, vanilla, honey, tangerines, cinnamon, bit of ginger, pepper, nutmeg and a hint of anise. Finish: Long, thick with ginger and orange marmalade. Comments: Very fruity, sweet but with a ginger-spicy edge. Interesting and unique to be sure. A bit of water brings out a note of grapefruit on the nose, and thickens the palate while bringing more citrus to the party.
Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Black Label Premium Whiskey
60.5% ABV (for sample provided; varies by barrel) $79 Website We would like to thank Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and The Brand Guild for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says
An expression that highlights barrels hand-picked by our four-time Master Blender of the Year, Victoria Eady Butler, who tastes every Uncle Nearest barrel and sets aside those that stand out to her as exceptional. Now, we are ready to share these barrels with you.
As with all of our non-rye whiskeys, this new label is both premium Straight Bourbon Whiskey and premium Straight Tennessee Whiskey. However, this single barrel whiskey is different from our other releases. It has the most distinct flavor profile of any of our expressions and was bottled at barrel strength to capture every nuance of this one-of-a-kind spirit. Our distillery’s triple filtration process ensures perfection in every sip. Every drop of liquid that goes into Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Black Label is distilled and bottled by Nearest Green Distillery, continuing the legacy of excellence of our namesake, Nearest Green.
The smooth character of our whiskey is what distinguishes it from all others. The legacy of our namesake is what makes it unrivaled.
What Gary Says
Nose: Cocoa, slightly burnt caramel, anise, oak, vanilla, worn leather, nutmeg and a hint of cloves. Palate: Warm and thick mouthfeel, caramel with a bit of cola, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, black cherry and pepper. Finish: Moderately long, thick and damp with vanilla cola and pepper spice trailing. Comments: This is a very nice pour (I’d call it a bourbon, and from their description it would qualify as such – although I am disappointed that the label on the bottle doesn’t state “straight bourbon”). It tastes like a really nice bourbon, and is well balanced with a lovely mouthfeel. A bit of water brings out a chocolate fudge note on the nose while amping the cola notes on the palate, and lending a creaminess to the mouthfeel.
Straight American Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves
50% ABV $35 Website We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Producer Says
YOUR SLICE OF AMERICA IN A BOTTLE
We strive to create whiskey that reflects a certain style and profile. Each batch and each release is meticulously crafted to ensure it is unlike other whiskey on the shelves. There is little logic to creating more of ‘the same’.
That’s where the Americana comes in – as Bourbon prices soar and alternative American whiskeys styles like Light Whiskey and Single Malt gain popularity, we believe the appetite for new American whiskey styles is growing, and so we give you the Americana. A blend of light whiskey and bourbon, finished with three very American-favored oaks that combine beautifully – toasted, charred and Apple brandy barrel staves. The results of this Oak Bill is a sweet, soft and smooth sip-worthy whiskey that offers a lighter style than bourbon. A great alternative to Highland Scotch or Irish Whiskey, and a fun substitute in your next craft cocktail.
Mash Bill: 80% Corn 14% Rye 6% Malted Barley
Oak Bill™ 40% Toasted American Oak Barrel Staves 40% New Char #4 Oak Staves 20% American Apple Brandy Staves
Batch 001 | Launched November 2022
The blend features older 4+ year-old corn whiskey, coupled with younger robust bourbon. Together, the blend delivers a rich and complex mouthfeel, while maintaining a more impressionable blend that absorbs much more of the flavor from the Oak Bill™ staves.
Tasting Notes: A soft honeycomb sweetness melts away into more complex oak and marshmallow notes. The whiskey has a weightier mouthfeel, boasting toasted cashew and notes of butterscotch, with a leathery grip on the tongue. A distinctive and bracing whiskey to be drank neat or substituted for bourbon or rye in nearly any cocktail.
What Gary Says
Nose: Oak, green apples, fresh donuts, light caramel and baking spices. Palate: Light caramel, apple, vanilla, oak, bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, hint of mint and maple candies. Finish: Short in length, drying with sour caramel apples. Comments: The apple brandy stave influence stands out. While this is a high corn mashbill, it isn’t corny. Easy to drink , and if you like apple brandy, this is an interesting interplay. I would avoid throwing ice or water in as it tends to thin out easily – but at 50% it is very easy to drink neat so thankfully doesn’t require any extra water.
65.77% 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
Over the past several years, Barrell Dovetail has become a highly regarded expression within our portfolio of products and the American Whiskey world. Recently, we became intrigued with applying the concept of “Dovetail” to some of our older stocks. The result is BCS Gray Label Dovetail, which still boasts our award-winning blend of Whiskey finished in rum, port, and Dunn Vineyards cabernet barrels and uses the same finishing and blending method. The difference, as with all our Gray Label offerings, is that we used older and more rare barrels in Gray Label Dovetail. The result harmoniously unites a dark and fruity California cabernet finish, a jammy and pleasurable port finish, and a sweet and funky rum finish to create a well-balanced, iconic whiskey. The component whiskeys are aged up to 20 years, making the final blend significantly more elegant.
This is an ester-forward bourbon with the brooding depth of cabernet and port casks. The varied distillates and casks come together into a complex palate that showcases the cola notes of whiskey that’s spent many years in oak.
Whiskey finished in rum, port, and Dunn Vineyards cabernet barrels
Distilled in Indiana, Tennessee and Canada
Aged in the US and Canada
Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
131.54 proof cask strength bottling
FLAVOR NOTES Neat Appearance: Warm Amber. Nose: Green grape, tart apple, and pollen lead into one very vivid note of just-pressed cider. The notes of gooseberry jam, cranberry sauce, and dried apricot are pronounced and defined. Maple walnut ice cream, tahini, and leather provide a subtle, savory undertone. Palate: Robust and impeccably balanced, with flavors ranging from strawberry rhubarb pie to fennel pollen. Flan and coconut oil provide a rich and creamy texture that balances some light sandy tannin and modest astringency. Depth seems to come mostly from the oldest Canadian whiskeys, in the form of fennel, poppy seed and peppercorn. Allspice, ginger, and cola notes from the French and American oak round it out. Finish: A burst of licorice candy and molasses gives way to Earl Grey Tea with honey. The palate is left with a range of dusty mineral notes, among them necco wafers, oyster shell, and squid ink. With a few drops of spring water Classical notes of crème brulée and funnel cake take the lead. The complexity here is more savory, with shiso, tomato, and tajin. An unexpected burst of lychee on the finish yields to charcoal and paraffin.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich, butterscotch brownies, green apples, sandalwood, mango, apricot, worn leather, flan with a drizzle of maple syrup. Palate: Viscous mouthfeel, rich fruits with apricot jam, honey, molasses, bit of pepper spice followed by coconut, cola, and a hint of grapefruit. Finish: Long and drying with anise, cola, honey and grapefruit. Comments: Wow – a really delicious and well balanced dram with so much going on, I felt with each sip I was discovering something new! Water brings out more sweetness without knocking it out of balance, and retaining that lovely mouthfeel. I reviewed this side by side with Barrell Dovetail, which I enjoyed although this is definitely on another level. Several shades darker as it sits in the glass, and I’d give it as many minutes as you can wait to allow it to open up more. I wish I knew what ‘whiskey’ was included (reportedly this includes bourbon and rye from multiple sources), but whatever it is – it just works. If the mission is to not blend in with anything else you might pick up on the shelf – this nails it.
Barrell Dovetail Whiskey Finished in Rum, Port & Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Barrels
62.35% ABV $80 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
Dovetail took almost a year to get right, from blending to labeling, all coming together in a seemingly perfect point. We have produced limited releases of Dovetail using the same ingredients and process. With each bottling, there are proof variations.
Dovetail is blended to highlight some of our favorite flavors. Woody bourbon; terroir driven Dunn Cabernet; toasted French oak; Late Bottled Vintage Port pipes; black strap molasses casks; all working in tandem to create a buttery and deep whiskey as unique as it is delicious.
FLAVOR NOTES Neat Appearance: Rose gold with highlights of worn copper. Nose: Opens with mature aromas both sweet (canelé, panna cotta, crème de noyaux) and savory (walnut oil, leather). This is followed quickly by a vast array of fruit derived both from the spirit (smoked apricot, grapefruit peel) as well as the cask treatment (sloe gin, damson jam). The aroma is high toned, pungently floral and herbaceous, with subtle, balancing pops of minerality. Palate: Darker (cocoa, molasses, burnt marshmallow) and spicier (cola, nutmeg, Tellicherry peppercorn) than the nose, an effect well-complemented by the cask treatment and rendered more complex by the savory and herbaceous themes running throughout. Finish: A sweet and elegant signature of rose jelly, chestnut honey, and Pineau des Charentes that also features hazelnut, eucalyptus, and Corsican mint. With a few drops of spring water An unexpected avalanche of orange and tropical notes of watermelon, lychee and vanilla on the nose.
What Gary Says
Nose: Vanilla, tropical fruit notes of pineapple and grapefruit, sponge cake, savory spice, floral, nutty with subtle exotic wood (mahogany?) notes. Palate: Thick mouthfeel with cocoa, caramel, molasses, pepper spice kicks in with cinnamon, savory spices with tarragon and an acidic citrus note. Finish: Moderately long with honey, chocolate, hazelnut and mint. Comments: I hadn’t tried this before, and had NO idea what I was missing. Deceptive nose with more tropical and citrus fruit notes, while the palate shifts gears and reminds me of a spicy SNICKERS® bar. I like (good) surprises, and when a nose and palate feel different, provided both are good, that’s not a bug but a feature – and one that is tricky to pull off. Bit of water brings out the fruit more, while retaining that lovely thick mouthfeel.
