Must Try

Barrell Craft Spirits Gold Label Bourbon
2021 Release, 16 & 17 Yrs

56.77% ABV
$500
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 Craft Spirits Gold Label Bourbon is a blend of 16- and 17-year-old straight bourbons. Barrels for this release were selected from four different collections: cherry bomb barrels with a rich mouthfeel, nutty oak-forward barrels, high proof and high complexity barrels, and barrels with pronounced milk chocolate notes. The last group underwent a secondary maturation in toasted virgin American oak casks before being added to this intricate and seductive blend.

• Aged for 16 years
• Distilled in IN, KY and TN
• Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
• 113.54 proof cask strength bottling

A classically fruity bourbon, as sixteen years of maturation have produced an array of stewed and dried fruits of kaleidoscopic complexity. The overlay of toasted oak has rounded off all the sharp edges, leaving a soft and gentle profile that belies its high proof.

Appearance: Burnt marmalade..
Nose: The fresh and gentle notes from toasted oak are most obvious, as they add an unexpected dimension with vivid sugar cane, pipe tobacco, and toasted cinnamon. This freshness is contrasted by the earthiness of slate, tar, and cedar smoke. Fruits soon emerge, presenting rhubarb, Rainier cherry and tamarind, before shifting to dried apricot and papaya.
Palate: Candied ginger, marmalade, and northwestern hoppy beer notes speak to a foundational bittersweet profile. These are tempered by an unctuous creaminess, incorporating pina colada, key lime pie, and banana custard. Peach nectar, and cherry jam all contribute to a juicy quality whiskey at its best.
Finish: A bright pop of hibiscus and za’atar quickly yields to the cavalcade of dried and stewed fruits. As that fades some oak spices appear – sassafras, cocoa powder, smoked cinnamon, and incense.
With a splash of spring water: A bouquet of floral notes erupts from the glass: meadowsweet, elderflower and chamomile in the lead. The palate, on the other hand, develops instead along toasted coconut and curry.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, cocoa with cinnamon, dried apricots, baked apples, rickhouse must, vanilla, caramel cremes, worn leather, subtle smoke, baking spices with a hint of minerality.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with honey, pecan pralines, chocolate, hazelnut, caramel, pepper spice with cinnamon and a citrus twang that gives way to brown sugar.
Finish:  Long and drying with cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, black tea and oak.
Comments:  Another really nice bourbon. This has got a wonderfully complex nose – I really liked the nose on the BCS Gray Bourbon 4th Release, but I like this one better. A bit of water thickens this up nicely and tamps the edges. It also definitely brings out floral notes with coconut. Despite this being older than the BCS Gray Bourbon 4th Release, the oak is less prominent. The price is tough for me here – while I did enjoy this one more than the BCS Gray Bourbon 4th Release – it’s twice the price (and that one was priced up there). The most I’ve spent on a bottle of whisk(e)y as of this review is $300, but the market has definitely moved past where I’m at.  If money isn’t important, this is a really delicious, well crafted bourbon.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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!

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

Baker’s Exclusive Selection
Unfiltered Single Barrel
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Privately Selected; 11 years, 8 months

53.5% ABV
$100
Website

We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

This fall, Baker’s® Bourbon proudly introduces Baker’s® Exclusive Selection, a limited time offering of extra aged single barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey collected from some of Baker Beam’s favorite warehouses on the James B. Beam Distilling Co.’s campus in Clermont, KY. Aged for 11 years and 8 months, the extra time in the barrel along with the changing seasons allows for even more distinct notes and layers of flavor to emerge from each individual barrel of Baker’s Exclusive Selection.

HISTORY
Baker’s Bourbon was created in 1992 by Sixth Generation Beam Master Distiller Booker Noe as part of the original Small Batch Bourbon Collection. Baker’s Bourbon is named after Baker Beam – grand-nephew of Jim Beam and a tenured distiller who worked at the Jim Beam Distillery for 38 years. Baker’s Bourbon began a new era as an exclusively single barrel bourbon in 2019, becoming as uniquely positioned among the James B. Beam Distilling Co. portfolio as its namesake Baker Beam is in the Beam family.

TASTING NOTES
While every bottle of Baker’s Bourbon offers a unique tasting journey, you can expect a few defining characteristics from the Baker’s Exclusive Selection bottles:
Proof: 107
Nose: Fruit, vanilla and caramel
Palate: Medium-bodied with flavors of oak, toasted nuts and vanilla
Finish: Robust flavors sit on the tongue for a while, warm and rounded

What Gary Says

Nose:  Caramel crème candies, vanilla, oak, chocolate fudge, roasted peanuts, baking spices, nutmeg, clove, leather, hint of mint and cinnamon.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, caramel, dark chocolate, hint of mint, peanut brittle, toffee, cloves and cinnamon.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with oak, leather and trailing spices.
Comments:  I sampled this alongside an older Baker’s (before it changed to a single barrel recently), and found this to have a more nuanced nose. It had a bit less oomph of caramel and vanilla, trading that for more complexity, more spice notes, and a nicer mouthfeel. I liked this better over time. While I’d always rather see cask strength when given the option, if I had to pick a proof point where bourbon really shines for me – it would be 107. A really solid addition to the Baker’s lineup! .

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try