Barrell Bourbon Cask Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys

Barrell Bourbon Cask Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys is the flagship from Barrell Craft Spirits in Louisville, the bottle Whisky Advocate lists under that class name. Joe Beatrice’s team selects straight bourbons, most often distilled in Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee, matures them in new charred American oak, and prints every component age and a derived mashbill on the back label. Some batches reach into the mid-teens, and a few add a barrel from another state. Each numbered batch is its own finite recipe of this ongoing bourbon, built to drink bold and balanced.

The pleasures that keep returning are toasty oak, caramel, dark cherry, chocolate, and baking spice. Whisky Advocate has found butter pecan and baked marshmallow on one batch, cherry cordial, vanilla frosting, and strawberry shortcake on another, and a velvety sip of dark chocolate, raspberry jam, and anise on a third. The finish stays warm, running to salted caramel, citrus, or cocoa as the recipe changes. The oak never leaves.