BARRELL FOUNDATION BOURBON
Let’s not waste any time here, Barrell has done it again. They are like the Oakland Raiders of the 1970’s during the real “commitment to excellence” era where they were just a perennial powerhouse that refused to settle for anything other than extraordinary. This puzzling release (more on that below) is a blend of bourbon from Maryland (say what?!), Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The age statement is 5 years, but is as old as 9. The mashup mash bill comes to 73 corn, 23 rye, and 4 malted barley and is bottled at 100 proof. Barrell of course provides some flavor notes in their press release which is linked here. One of the many things I love about Barrell, is that they don’t do a bunch of marketing gobbledygook, and they let the press and fans do the talking.
This is a leather couch bourbon, obviously.
Strawberry, melon, and cacao come to me on the nose, and it translates well to the tastebuds, offering no surprises from nose to palate, it’s got some deep dark chocolate notes that I absolutely adore. Many glasses of whiskey taste very different than they smell, not here, it promises you something, and then delivers more reliably than Santa. If you like the smell, you will love the taste because it’s complementary from start to finish with no annoying detours or flaws.
One of the nice things about Barrell and their posted flavor notes is that they also give notes with a splash of water, which most reviewers, and brands, neglect. My pal Bryan long ago convinced me of the importance of the drop or two of water to see what happens, and I’ve found that this method works best with 100 proof offerings. Water in this one transforms the whiskey entirely, it’s like having TWO different bottles in one. Sometimes you want that strawberry and chocolate, and sometimes you want vanilla, banana, and orange zest. You can have both with this bottle, just try it out.
Louis over on IG has a pretty good take on the notes as well, so give it a look for a different perspective than mine.
Five years old, Barrell Foundation.
This new Barrell is a four bourbon blend…… and it contains bourbon made in Maryland. Where could that come from you ask? Simple. It’s Sagamore. But wait, Sagamore Spirit doesn’t have Bourbon. Yes, yes they do, they just don’t sell it (yet?). See, if you follow, they laid bourbon down a number of years ago, it’s aging, it’s in barrels in their facilities, and they’re selling it to others like Barrell. The Maryland component is 5 and 6 years old, so holy smokes!
Maryland…..
In the front of this article I mentioned it as a puzzling release. Why puzzling? It’s the fist non-cask strength release from a brand that was built on being cask strength, and it’s $50. The thing about this release that I didn’t find anyone discussing was what does this mean for Stellum? Wasn’t Stellum supposed to be more or less the entry to the Barrell portfolio and allow them the ability to not always have to release at cask and come in at a more approachable price point? Wasn’t Stellum supposed to be the Chevrolet of General Motors? I’m curious about the marketing move on this. Will Stellum be sold off as Barrell now has an entry level offering? I don’t know, but it raises some questions, and if you know me, you know I love to speculate.
Final thoughts- If you’ve never had Barrell and were hesitant because of price point, then this is you chance to see what this exceptional blending house is all about without breaking your wallet. At $50, there’s no reason to not try it out, and I’ll wager that if this bottle is your first Barrell, it will not be your last, and it will be the key to exploring their other transcendent releases. If you’re already a Barrell fan, then you already know that the blend will be flat out perfect based on their body of work, and it will not deviate too far from what you know. It will however, offer a lower proof category when you’re not in the mood for a high proof powerhouse.
This is ultimately, another win from Barrell, another example of their commitment to excellence.
Note- this bottle was not purchased with my own scratch.
- Mickey Pinstripe