I'm going to start this review with my usual Barton disclaimer: I like their products more than most other folks seem to. I don't live in Kentucky so I don't have easy access to the crazy bang for your buck products like Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 6 year. What I do have access to here though is Very Old Barton Bottled in Bond "6" and at $12 a bottle, that is easily the best whiskey value my money can regularly buy. Given my fondness for that product, it's been nice to see them branching out with quite a few special releases over the past couple of years - Port Finish, Sweet Wheat, Full Proof, and what we have here today, High Rye. I'm glad to see them pushing the envelope with different things but truth be told of all of those the High Rye sounded the least interesting to me. I personally didn't seek it out but when a friend spotted a bottle and asked if I wanted it, my Barton heart strings were tugged and I caved.
No Age Statement; 47.15% ABV; $46
Nose: Tingly rye menthol spice, a fair amount of ethanol heat, and a very familiar banana note that I typically taste and smell in Barton products.
Taste: Some caramel/vanilla/honey wood sweets up front, then some spicy rye tingle in the back. That youthful Barton banana note is heavy handed, kind of like banana runts candy. The finish is mostly oak and wood related sweet flavors. It has a little spice kick in the form of anise and spearmint but I'm not really picking up a heavy rye presence.
Thoughts: Of all the special release 1792 products, this one is my least favorite. It's pretty close in quality to the regular 1792 small batch in terms of age / wood depth and I don't think the high rye mashbill has added much of anything to make this special. It's not a bad bourbon per se but I find it exceptionally boring and average at best. In this price range for a Barton product, Full Proof is a much better value or if you wanted to go with a better high rye bourbon, stick to Four Roses Single Barrel.
Rating: C
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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