Barrell Bourbon Batch 007 Review

Barrell Bourbon Batch 007

Barrell Bourbon owner Joe Beatrice had a midas touch for choosing barrels for Barrell bourbon batches 005 and 006.  Both came from Tennessee.  Both were aged around eight and a half years.  Both were OUTSTANDING bourbon releases. I brought my bottle of batch 005 to a tasting, and it didn’t last long.  The selfish side of me is tightly holding my bottle of batch 006.

So what does Joe and company have in store for the next batch?  Distilled in Tennessee, batch 007 comes to market at five years old.  As always, Barrell Bourbon is bottled at cask strength.  In this case it’s 122.4 proof.  The mashbill is 70% corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted barley.

The nose here is fantastic.  Buttered corn grits, Red Hots, maple syrup and a slight touch of dill swarm out of the glass.  The entry is sweet and spicy, almost like a spiced syrup.  That high proof shows itself, adding some bite.  From there, a vibrant citrus note gives way to toasted cereal grain, honey and some oak.  As expected, the finish here is long and warm, leaving behind a sweet maple note.

Barrell Bourbon batch 007 is going to be another hit.  At five years of age, this bourbon is more complex than whiskies twice its age.  To my tastes, however, this one is just a notch less “there” than batch 006, which is still my favorite release to date.  However, this bourbon is no slouch.  Pick up a bottle and find out why Barrell Bourbon will soon be a household name.

8/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by Barrell Bourbon.)

Usquaebach Old-Rare Blended Scotch Review
Photo courtesy of Usquaebach.

Photo courtesy of Usquaebach.

Usquaebach Old-Rare is the high end of the company’s small core range, which includes Usquaebach Reserve and 15-year-old blended malt.

This blended whisky is made from 41 single malt whiskies aged up to 20 years and two grain whiskies which were aged in ex-sherry hogsheads.  What differentiates this blend against most is that it’s made up of 85% malt whiskies.  That’s a lot of malt for a blended whisky.  How does it taste?

Some stewed fruits, sweet malt and a slight sherry head up the light nose here, with  some toffee and lemon rind in the background.  It smells richer than the standard Usquaebach Reserve blend.  The entry is a bit thin at first.  That’s most likely due to the low 43% abv.  Layers of toffee, sweet malt, lemon peel appear first.  Some white chocolate develops afterwards, but not much else happens until the finish, where some freshly ground black pepper shows up to the party.  If you look past the sweet notes, the medium finish sort of tastes like lemon pepper chicken, sans the chicken.  That spice note is welcome here.

Usquaebach Old-Rare is a fine whisky, but not a particularly memorable one.  I do appreciate the richness this whisky carries, which is here courtesy of the 85% malt content in the blend.  The sweet malt and lemon peel combination work well together, but there isn’t too much more here until the finish.  This comes with my recommendation, but know this:  at $115 a bottle, Usquaebach Old-Rare doesn’t provide as much value as the standard Reserve, which only costs $40.

8/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by this company behind this whisky free of charge.  The opinions written are my own.)

Laphroaig Lore Single Malt Scotch Review

Laphroaig Lore

A new permanent Laphroaig expression?  That’s an exciting idea, although I hope this whisky is worthy of an addition to the distillery’s core lineup.  The basic idea behind this release is to honor the skills and traditions Laphroaig distillers have passed on generation to generation.  In other words, they’re referring to the use and blending of different types of barrels.

Laphroaig Lore is made up of variety of barrels:

  • First-fill ex-bourbon casks followed by a second maturation in virgin European oak casks
  • First-fill ex-Oloroso sherry butts
  • First-fill and refill quarter casks
  • Refill ex-Laphroaig stock (casks that previously matured Laphroaig)

Although Laphroaig Lore carries no age statement, Distillery Manager John Campbell says he used whiskies aged between 7 and 21 years to craft this blend.  It’s being called “the richest of the rich.”  Let’s check out the liquid.

The nose on Laphroaig Lore is heavy with grilled pineapple, spiced mango and a crisp bonfire upfront, and notes of salted dark chocolate, vanilla, orange peel and licorice just past that.  A blast of peat starts things off on the palate alongside fresh orange juice.  This quickly develops into creamy malt, spicy cinnamon, toffee, brine, seaweed and sherried fruit notes.  The ashy smoke in this whisky slowly increases as you approach the slightly dry finish.  Oddly it isn’t as long as I’d expect from Laphroaig, but then again there are quarter cask-matured whiskies here. All that wood contact may have added drying tannins.  A bit of smoke and sweet malt are left lingering.

I’m a sucker for peated sherried whiskies, and this one fits the bill, if only a bit.  That smoky fruit flavor combination is killer stuff.  Adding to the complexity is that spiciness provided by those quarter casks.  Those first-fill sherry butts do give this whisky a richness not normally found some of their expressions, but there is a crispness that cuts right through.  This is a really nice expression of Laphroaig.  I’m glad this is a permanent addition to their core lineup and not a limited edition, one-time release.

9/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by this company behind this whisky free of charge.  The opinions written are my own.)