Review: Barrell Bourbon Batch 23
Review: Barrell Bourbon Batch 23
It’s a new year, which means new batches of Barrell Bourbon from Barrell Craft Spirits. We recently received the latest, Batch 23. This one is a blend of straight bourbons from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, all of which are aged at least ten years (similar to Batch 21). Let’s see how this one stacks up, shall we?
On the nose, this one is big and burly. Plenty of that Tennessee whiskey shows up at first with peanut brittle, earthy tobacco, and saddle leather, but an orange rock candy sweetness eventually creeps into the background along with some dark cherry. The wood notes are fresh and fragrant and tie everything together with a bit of pie spice, lumber, and cinnamon sugar. The palate is oily but not overbearing. There’s a lightness to it that helps to amplify the oak with top notes of sawdust, pipe tobacco, black pepper, and creamy, dark caramels. Butterscotch pudding, orange peel, and cherry cordial arrive on the mid-palate to sweeten things a touch, but this one stays rather restrained in that department. It drinks older than its age statement with a lush finish full of toasted pecans, cherry juice, and baked apples. Another year, another winner from Barrell.
107.8 proof.
A- / $90 / barrellbourbon.com [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Barrell Bourbon Batch 23
$90
