If you ask my opinion on the best bargain in bourbon available today, my answer is easy: Very Old Barton Bottled in Bond. It's certainly not the best but at $12 a bottle, it's an outstanding value. When you start to branch out from that bottle I think the rest of Barton products are decent enough but it appears I'm in the minority there. Back when we did the /r/bourbon community review of 1792 Small Batch, it was painfully obvious not many people cared for it. I can't quite get my head around why it did so poorly but I'm okay accepting the fact that I like Barton more than most people so keep that in mind as we proceed.
No Age Statement (press release says 8.5 years); 62.5% ABV; $45
Nose: Smells a little young. I get some of the ripe banana notes that were prominent in the younger bottled in bond product. It noses very sweet, like a caramel banana sundae. You can certainly smell the 125 proof as it's pretty warm.
Taste: Upfront it is just like the nose - a hot caramel banana vanilla ice cream sundae. Towards the finish some leathery and tobacco notes come in showing some slight oak complexity. This tastes just like what I would expect from more proof and extra aging of the bottled in bond "6" product.
Thoughts: This is pretty good. I doubt you will find a better (mostly) barrel proof bottle of whiskey in this price range on the shelf today. But like the bottled in bond product it is not without its flaws. When I first opened the bottle I thought it was brutally hot for the proof and occasionally I get some harsh char or untamed ethanol. It mellows out well with some airtime though and at the end of the day it's just a solid, uncomplicated bourbon with a lot of umpf.
Rating: B-
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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