Barrell Craft Spirits Launches Barrell Bourbon Toasted Single Barrel 20 Year Old
Barrell Craft Spirits has launched Barrell Bourbon Toasted Single Barrel 20 Year Old, the first of nine toasted single barrels set to be released annually.
In 2018, Barrell Craft Spirits introduced the first release of 15 Year Old Gray Label Bourbon. During the production of that bourbon, a portion of the blend was transferred into nine custom raised American oak barrels that were toasted to BCS’ exact specification. After resting for five years, the first of these toasted barrels has been bottled, with the remaining eight barrels to be released annually.
Official tasting notes for Barrell Bourbon Toasted Single Barrel 20 Year Old follow:
Nose: A singular, intense aroma of antique oak furniture. The high proof coats the furniture in fresh varnish and lemon oil yet the smell of dust lingers. It takes a bit of time and patience for other notes to appear. When they do, it’s with a complexity in which the flavor of individual herbs and spices lose their meaning and instead manifest as spice cupboard and warm cola. Barrel char singes the edges of sourdough toast and lights cigar tobacco ablaze. Banana bread studded with walnuts joins creme de menthe and dried coconut to round things out.
Palate: After the crash of polished oak, the warm cola is front and center, rendered in greater realism by the balance of sweetness and acidity. The herbs and spices go deeper, into vintage fernet, thyme, and pine needles. Fruit makes an unexpected appearance in the form of green grape and pear pie. Fresh pumpernickel and peanut butter cookies showcase the rye grain’s umami side. The char returns now in the guise of burnt marshmallow, campfire, and even tar.
Finish: A rush of sugar ushers in maple syrup and grape soda. In turn that yields to bitterness encompassing coffee grounds, cocoa powder, and wormwood.
Barrell Bourbon Toasted Single Barrel 20 Year Old is limited to 180 bottles and is now available for purchase at barrellbourbon.com and the Barrell Craft Spirits Blending Facility in Jeffersontown, KY for $199.99 per 750 mL bottle.
Source: Barrell Craft Spirits.