We are suckers for age-stated whiskeys so when we received a sample of this Barrell Craft Spirits 12 Year Bourbon French Oak Finish we leapt at the opportunity! It's no secret that we have been fans of BCS for several years, way back when we dubbed Seagrass Rye in our top 5 favorite rye expressions - ever. The concensus was that we suspsected this bottle would be nothing short of incredible, and we were not disappointed. This whiskey was distilled and sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Wyoming and then finished in French Oak barrels with varying toast levels.
Aged copper penny in appearance, this bourbon immediately oozes ageworthy aromas of well-weathered saddle leather, antique butter churn, dried herbs, cinnamon stick and fresh baked bread. There is so much going on here, and between both of us tasting this bottle, we probably came up with close to twenty separate aromas, but had to settle on the aforementioned as we felt they were most dominant.
Mouth-watering and inviting, the palate brought us roasted nuts, tons of dried spices that reminded us of Christmas seasonal baking, graphite, dried peppers and cinnamon streusel topping. You get rewarded with a long and very lingering finish that is satisfying and scrumptuous! We are going to go back and taste this again with a couple of drops of water to see what other flavors make an appearance!
For reference, we tasted this neat in a Glencairn from a 100mL sample.
Barrell Craft Spirits proves again why they have set themselves apart from everyone else in the blending and finished whiskey world!
Check out our previous post about this hazmat Triple Rum Cask finished whiskey too!
ABV: 54.25% (108.5 proof)
Distillery: Barrell Craft Spirits
Suggested retail price: $159.99
Drink The Bottles score: 95/100
