Barrell Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel - r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish — Photo Courtesy of t8ke

As some of you might remember, my last experience with an r/Bourbon pick was a bit, well, unaligned with my palate. Since then, I enjoyed their Old Elk Wheat pick (“Bullwinkle” as my father calls it) but also had received a subsequent sample of a pick from a high profile brand that I was left unimpressed by. All that said, this doesn’t mean they’re bad picks. In fact, realizing you don’t share a palate with someone is one of the most useful things you can learn while tasting any spirit or beverage. So I figured I’d give it one more go with one of their most recent picks, Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel – r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish

Disclosure: This pick was purchased by a friend who provide me a 2 oz sample to enjoy. The photo was provided by t8ke, who is nothing short of wonderful to communicate with.

Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel – r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish

Sight: Deep copper

Smell: Sweet honeyed grape notes waft up with tinges of bright starfruit and green apples. There’s a pleasant cinnamon spice with hints of cloves that adds to a vanilla and caramelized sugar note. Light peaches and cream with a bit of oak joins in, but the warm honey notes are really a nice consistent backbone, with an almost fresh baked white cake element to it.

Sip: The body is smooth and nicely viscous, with a nice weight. The start has plenty of spice and honeyed notes, while roasted apples and poached pears pick up in the background. The oak notes play a nice baking spice background, and there’s an interesting char and vanilla notes in the background. A hint of sweetness keeps it all tied together.

Savor: The ending pops with this beautiful creamy, aromatic vanilla that laces with green apples, poached pear, baking spices, and honey. The finish has this lingering oak spice and char, but it has this pretty sort of vanilla cream that runs in the background. Despite some warmth, it really is mouthcoating and creamy in the best sort of ways.

Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel – r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish is fun, fruity, and creamy in all the right ways. It has a really intriguing aromatic, natural vanilla flavor that with the creaminess really brings it through. While this is an expensive bottle, it’s delivering complexity and dessert sweetness that really deliver on sip over sip. The flavors here are really great, and overall, it’s an enjoyable sipper.

In Cocktails:

Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel – r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish in a Manhattan creates a storm of caramel and honeyed notes. The initial burst of sweetness gives way to some of the poaching spices and honey, but the result is sweet and slightly muddled. While I lacked any additional bourbon to continue to experiment, I can’t help but feel this would make a really beautiful Old Fashioned base. Still this doesn’t really feel like a bourbon for making a cocktail out of, but rather one better enjoyed neat.

As a reminder, our testing procedure is to make Manhattans. If you buy a bottle of this, don’t make a Manhattan out of it. It clearly isn’t the best choice of drink. Rather I recommend thinking about a using a honey liqueur or Benedictine to make an old fashioned (which I would test for you if I had any more left). Simply put, avoid red wine / sweet vermouth here – it’s a poor fit.

In Review – Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel – r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish

Barrell Whiskey Private Barrel – r/Bourbon German Ice Wine Finish is so good neat. It pulls you in with a nose that drives home how tasty it’s going to be. Then it does one of the most important things that a whiskey can do, it delivers. Baking spices, honeyed notes, and plenty of pome fruit make this a ride worth taking. Now obviously, you’re not going to find this bottle (r/Bourbon sells out every week thanks to over 200,000 signups), but it should give you an idea about what Barrell can do with a German Ice Wine finish and a bit more confidence if you see one on the shelves of your local retailer.

While the quality is there, this brings us to the issue of price. While Barrell’s finishes whiskey clearly show great flavors even at the high price, this bottle comes in at close to $130 (after tax and shipping). That’s a lot, and is borderline starting range for Little Book / Midwinter Night’s Dram (if you can find them). This isn’t to say you shouldn’t consider buying an ice wine finished barrel product, but definitely check out your local retailer where you might be able to find one closer to $100 (thanks to avoiding shipping).

Want to Try r/Bourbon Picks for Yourself?

Barrell Seagrass

Barrell Seagrass is a blend of American (distilled in KY, IN, and TN) and Canadian rye whiskeys. These sourced whiskeys are then finished in the Martinique rum, Madeira, and apricot brandy barrels before being blended to make the distinctive flavor of Barrell Seagrass. As a result, proof varies between batches. This batch comes in at 118.58 proof.

Sight: Deep copper

Smell: Apricot and bubblegum come floating out with a good waft of heat. The apricot is sort of malleable, giving way to an apricot compote with a spiced note. Grassy notes with a touch of mint come in. The nose fringes into candy, almost like gummy bears laced with elderflower. The nose is very perfumed.

Sip: The palate is smooth and slightly sweet. The flavor of candied and dried apricot starts things off, before opening into spiced oak notes and a touch of grass. There’s a bittersweet almond and cocoa note that hints at the fringe. Grapefruit and elderflower come toward the tail and leave the ending with a floral character.

Savor: The ending brings in a wet stone, fresh rain on wood notes, and laces with grassy element, nuts and spices. The finish continues on with touches of unripe apricots and grapefruit pith.

Barrell Seagrass is distinct and unique thanks to the finishing process. The flavors are very well layered and balance between sweet, floral, and earthy. Apricot standouts out here, giving a perfumed character that runs all the way through the whiskey. The floral and nutty notes, combined with citrus makes for an exciting mix of flavors that keeps each sip evolving. Martinique rum also lends the earthy and funky flavors that make it hard to pin down what flavor is leading. Overall, the finishing job is tremendous, and it’s excitingly well done.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan, the apricot sweetness comes through front and center. It mingles with the grassy rhum notes and slightly minty rye notes to vibe with the herbal notes in the vermouth. The juicy red berry and caramelized notes of the vermouth bring an additional level of fruitiness. Finally a crazy floral streak runs right through the middle to brighten and perfume the whole drink. Spice and apricot round things out for a long finish. Overall, it’s a wild Manhattan, but probably not the best use of a high end finished rye.

In Review – Barrell Seagrass

Barrell Seagrass is priced at $80 – $90. The price is undoubtedly high, but the quality of the product matches in this case. From a cocktail enthusiast’s perspective, Barrell Seagrass offers an opportunity to make supercharged, superstar unique cocktails – but the price is prohibitive to experiment with. For standard classic cocktails, you’ll want to go with something more traditional like Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye or Pikesville, or even Rittenhouse. However, none of those will be anywhere near the unique sipping experience that Barrell Seagrass offers. This is a must try (and perhaps a try before you buy for a full bottle.)