Must Try

Barrell Bourbon Batch 038

58.48% ABV
$85
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 batches are the hallmark of our dedication to crafting innovative, high-quality bourbons. Released annually, each batch is a unique expression of the art of blending, designed to showcase a diverse range of ages and styles. With layers of complexity and depth, every batch is ensured to be distinctive and memorable.
Layers of mature bourbon combine to create a deep, complex woodiness. The palate is dark, brooding, and earthy, with fine tannins that linger long into the finish, allowing the flavors to slowly unfold. A splash of water reveals a sweeter side, lifting notes of confetti cake, lemon jelly, and mango.

BLEND COMPONENTS:
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskeys: 12 yrs old
Indiana Bourbon Whiskeys: 9 & 10 yrs old
Tennessee Bourbon Whiskeys: 12 & 15 yrs old
Maryland Bourbon Whiskeys: 8 yrs old

DERIVED MASH BILL:
Corn: 79%
Rye: 17%
Malted Barley: 4%

​Neat
Appearance: Warm chestnut.
Nose: Fruit punch with a touch of pineapple is quickly overtaken by aged wood. That woodiness expands into mint tea, fresh greenery, and dried hay, settling into a rich “forest floor” character. Thyme, lavender, and soft herbal notes add a resinous quality, like brushing through an herb garden. Beneath it all, a savory edge emerges, leather, toasted oak, and a hint of char.
Palate: Oatmeal raisin cookie, sweet potato pie, and crusty wheat bread highlight a balance of sweetness and savoriness. Manuka honey and beeswax evoke a full beehive richness. Sweet tea, clove, and warm spice lead into a firm, soft tannins. As it develops, a deeper earthiness takes hold, with black walnut, baking spice, dark chocolate, and a touch of smoke.
Finish: Roasted nuts, melted butter, and marzipan coat the palate. A subtle herbal bitterness cuts through the richness before deeper, aged tones emerge, reminiscent of cigar box and damp earth. Fresh ginger adds lift, balancing a returning wave of fruit with hints of red currant and dried cherry.
With a splash of spring water
A burst of fresh apple, tart berries, and lemon jelly opens the nose, followed by softer tropical notes of kiwi and mango. Sweeter aromas come forward with confetti cake, honey wine, and a hint of mint. The palate follows, becoming rounder and more dessert-like, with carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, cinnamon buns, and crème brûlée. Fruit notes brighten as well, with candied lemon peel and lightly grilled peach.

What Gary Says

Nose: Chocolate, caramel-covered apples, graham cracker, toasted oak with leather and orange zest.
Palate: Caramel cream candies, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, chili oil, cocoa, cloves and brown sugar.
Finish: Moderately long, slightly drying with nutty honey, vanilla and pepper spice.
Comments: A spectacular blend and a fine example of sweet and spicy working in balance. Adding a few drops of water brings out more fruit notes on the nose (leaning more towards citrus), and thickens the palate nicely with more pastry notes without losing the honey and vanilla. The caramel, honey, vanilla, and pastry notes give it a generous side, while the oak, clove, and pepper spice keep it from getting too soft. I did prefer it with a couple drops of water although this is a fine pour neat as well. Just to note – the suggested retail on this is $5 less than previous batches – not sure if this is a one-time price change or reflection of the market, but my hats off to them for lowering the price point slightly without lowering the quality at all. If I had any left from prior batches, I’d properly compare but this strikes me as one of the better ones! Add in that patriotic label and this feels tailor-made for a summer pour.

Rating: Must Try

Shortbarrel Sapsquatch Bourbon (2026)

Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Maple Syrup Barrels and Toasted Barrels

55% ABV
$90
Website

We would like to thank Shortbarrel and Raptor Communications for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

ATLANTA, GA (May 19, 2026) – Atlanta-based Shortbarrel, one of the fastest-growing, independently owned craft spirits brands in the Southeast, today announces the release of its limited-edition Sapsquatch Bourbon, a flavorful blend of fine Kentucky and Indiana whiskeys finished in Atlanta with sugar maple. This sister bottling to Shortbarrel’s popular Bee’s Knees honey-finished series is available online at www.shortbarrelbourbon.com and at select retailers for $89.99. Pairing perfectly with traditional Southern BBQ given its oaky and spicy profile with a touch of sweet, Shortbarrel’s Sapsquatch release is an ideal Father’s Day gift for the dad who’s big on flavor and short on his current whiskey collection.

Shortbarrel’s Sapsquatch first appeared in May of 2025 as very limited single barrel finishes. Bottled at 110 proof, this latest batch is the first to feature a broader selection of bourbons in the blend – from 20-to-30 barrels. And those barrels of six-to-eight-year-old bourbon hail from some of Kentucky and Indiana’s most respected distillers, including Jim Beam, Barton, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Green River and MGP. The mashbills vary by blend but are typically 70% corn/21% rye/9% malted barley and 75% corn/21% rye/4% malted barley – all primarily Kentucky-grown grains.

“Any great finished bourbon starts with great whiskeys,” said Co-Founder and Master Blender Clinton Dugan. “We chose barrels with a higher rye content to give us that spicy flavor that goes so well with the sweetness of the maple, making it reminiscent of the great southern cooking you can find here in our hometown of Atlanta.”

As mythical as its namesake, Dugan’s finishing technique for Sapsquatch is equally rare and intentionally engineered. Built to challenge what maple finishing can be, this process doesn’t chase sweetness. Rather, it uses maple to enhance mouthfeel, build mid-palate weight, and round out the whiskey without masking its core character. The two-stage approach begins by placing the blended, non-chill filtered whiskey into stainless steel tanks, where it conditions for six to eight weeks using sugar maple infusion spirals. This step establishes a controlled foundation of maple oak driven sweetness, caramelized sugar, and toasted depth, ensuring consistency before the whiskey ever sees a finishing barrel.

From there, the whiskey transfers into Kelvin-toasted barrels that previously aged maple syrup. This secondary maturation builds structure through oak influence, integrates the layered flavors developed during conditioning, and amplifies the maple character without pushing it into excess. The maple influence comes from both the wood itself and the carefully sourced syrup these barrels once held, including producers like Barred Woods Maple in Vermont and Seldom Seen Farm in Ohio. Each region contributes subtle variation: Vermont syrups tend toward richer, more robust profiles, while Ohio syrups offer brighter, more delicate notes.

“We found that simply finishing our bourbon in former maple syrup barrels wasn’t the right approach, it lacked consistency and missed the balance and depth we were looking for,” says Dugan. “Our goal was never sugary sweetness. Maple here is a structural component, contributing to mouthfeel, mid-palate density, and a perception of roundness without pushing the whiskey into dessert territory.”

The result is a bourbon that opens with caramelized maple and toasted sugar, transitions into a dense, rounded mid-palate, and finishes with drying oak and restrained sweetness. It’s designed for drinkers who want complexity, not confection.

TASTING NOTES
Note: Toasted oak up front, driven by maple wood and charred sugar, followed by dense caramel, vanilla bean and layered baking spice with a subtle edge of ethanol lift.
Palate: Bold and structured with immediate oak presence, carrying into dark caramel, burnt sugar and seasoned wood. Maple shows as depth—not sweetness—supporting notes of clove, cinnamon and roasted nut with a firm, whiskey-forward backbone.
Finish: Long, drying, and oak-driven with lingering toasted wood, caramelized sugar and persistent spice. Maple integrates into the structure, leaving a warm, slightly tannic close with lasting heat.

What Gary Says

Nose: Maple syrup, oak, caramel, cedar with sweet pipe tobacco smoke.
Palate: Thick mouthfeel, maple syrup, pecan pie, figs, sultanas, black cherry, dark chocolate, nutmeg + pepper.
Finish: Long, drying with maple and pepper spice.
Comments: The maple on this one is pretty heavy, and normally I’d knock it for that as the underlying bourbon gets covered up a bit. The exception here is that it’s so freaking delicious that I don’t care! A bit of water brings out more complexity, adding some notes of cinnamon and clove. This is a delightful dram with nuance to ponder, but also does really well in an Old Fashioned, giving it some extra depth. I continue to appreciate the transparency of sharing where the source bourbon is coming from.

Rating: Must Try