Barrell Bourbon Batch 014 Review

Barrell is a company that has made a name for themselves sourcing and blending whiskies from various undisclosed distilleries in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana (which we can assume is MGP). In general, I've really liked all of their bourbons I've tried and a batch of their whiskey too. All of the Tennessee ones I've tasted were very George Dickel forward and while the Dickel profile is not for everyone, I find it unique and oddly gravitate towards it at times. That's probably why I like their bourbons as much as I do and why when I heard about this batch my curiosity was piqued. The highlights from barrellbourbon.com: 

We reserved a portion of Barrell Bourbon Batch 012 in the original barrels, which became the foundation for Barrell Bourbon Batch 014. We then selected additional 9 year-old bourbon barrels for their fruit notes, as well as a number of 14 year-old high rye barrels to deliver a bit of spice and oak. The result is complex and thoughtful - a nicely balanced spicy bourbon.

Distilled and aged in Tennessee and Kentucky

Selection of 9 and 14 year-old barrels

Aged in American white oak barrels

Mash bill: corn, rye, malted barley

While this isn't complete transparency in terms of ratios or distilleries, I think this is about the best we can get from a non distiller producer these days so kudos to them for continually publishing this information with each release. 

The only thing that's held me back from most of these has been the cost as I don't understand their pricing model. Every single release seems to be priced the same whether it's 4 years old or 13 years old. Considering they average for around $90 here, they are usually a hard pass however I was traveling recently and came across a bottle at a lower than usual price so I took a chance.

Aged 9 Years; 54.7% ABV; $70

Nose: A little bit of multivitamin Dickel funk, trademark Dickel high corn, and slight rye spice in the form of anise / menthol. There is also a touch of earthy bitterness which I suspect is the 14 year old component coming through. 

Taste: Corn, multivitamins, and sweet honey flavors up front. Lots of rye spice and light apple/pear fruit in the middle. A darker, almost bitter chocolate finish along with more spice. It's considerably spicy. It tastes like someone made a mixture of rye and corn bread with a little apple jam. The notorious multivitamin Dickel notes are there but they are rather mellow. While the nose smells like there is a higher ratio of Tennessee bourbon, the palate suggests it's more like 50/50. 

Thoughts: It is good but not great. At times I feel like there is too much going on as it's overly busy. There are a bunch of distinct elements at play that are all battling it out but it never really finds harmony. Spice is the only component that really shines through but beyond that, neither wood depth nor sweet notes really stand out and rather just seem to hang out in the back seat arguing with each other. Considering the quality of their previous bourbon releases, I'm a little disappointed. The 13 year old Tennessee bourbon (batch 009) still remains the best thing I've had from them.

Rating: B / B-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.