This is another review I did as part of the /r/bourbon series of community reviews.
From my perspective, Barton is one of the better Kentucky distilleries that doesn’t get as much recognition as it should. Personally I am a huge fan of their Very Old Barton Bottled in Bond product which did very well in my Bottled in Bond bonanza. I happen to think that is the best bottle of whiskey you can buy for under $15. Barton also recently launched a couple of one-off products, 1792 Sweet Wheat which I liked well enough and 1792 Port Finished which I have yet to review but am enjoying a lot. Given all that, it stands to reason I should like their flagship product 1792 Small Batch as well.
No Age Statement; 46.85% ABV; $30
Nose: Very standard bourbon nose - typical caramel and vanilla sweets, moderate about of woody oak with just a little tannic complexity. It doesn’t smell as young as I expected and the heat is well tamed.
Taste: Yep, tastes like bourbon. No surprises here as it’s mostly a rehash of the nose. On the sweet side I find a little extra honey in the mix now and the finish has a little rye spice tingle. Again my biggest surprise is it doesn’t taste as young as I expected. Unlike the Bottle in Bond product which must be the product of distillate from the same season, I suspect this small batch is a mix of some older and younger barrels which I think has created a nice balance of younger grain forward fruity notes along with older more tannic complex wood notes.
Thoughts: This is about as standard of a bourbon as you can get. It’s not too woody, not too young, not too sweet, and not very bitter. It’s just an all around safe bourbon whiskey. That might be its biggest downfall though as that also makes it somewhat boring. If you are just looking for a good daily sipper this would fit that bill very nicely and I feel it’s just a notch above some of the other products near this price range like Wild Turkey 101 and Old Forester Signature though not as good as something like Henry McKenna or Eagle Rare.
Rating: B- / C+
Value: As always, I don’t factor cost into my ratings. Considering that I’ve paid almost double this price for whiskeys I’ve rated about the same, I think this a decent buy.
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