An Even Dozen
Barrell Bourbon Batch 012 has just been bottled and is making its way north, south, east and west from Kentucky as we speak. It’s a high rye bourbon comprised of 9 year old barrels and selected older bourbon stocks, most which were aged in the lower sections of the rick house. This gentler aging style makes Batch 012 a fruit-forward bourbon that shows its spice in the mid-palate, and its drawn out complexity in a long, layered finish. You can find the tasting notes on our website. And on the horizon ... Barrell Rye.
Eleven We’re still exhilarated by our win at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition; it doesn’t get much better than “Best Bourbon.” But we can try. Whisky Advocate rates Barrell Bourbon 011 a 91 in their current issue. Fred Minnick writes “at six years old it’s hard to believe this could get any better with more time in the barrel. It begins with an explosion of honey, warm graham crackers, cinnamon, nutmeg and marzipan…baking spices develop as the whiskey finishes long with a lovely salted-caramel note.” Fred is the author of Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker and the recently released Rum Curious: The Indispensable Tasting Guide to the World's Spirit. He writes about whiskey for Covey Rise, Whisky Advocate, and Whisky magazine. Breaking Bourbon reviews Barrell Bourbon Batch 011 and writes “Joe Beatrice … and his team put a lot of care into selecting and blending the barrels for each batch. Barrell is a company to watch, as Beatrice along with master distiller Tripp Stimson are on fire, producing some of the best bourbons on the market today.” Whiskey lifestyle website The Whiskey Wash selected Barrell Bourbon as one of the Five Great Whiskeys for Mother’s Day, saying our releases “are all uniformly excellent.”
Whiskey Whisky If you haven't tried Barrell Whiskey yet, treat yourself and pick up a bottle. Kara Newman of The Wine Enthusiast reviewed Barrell Whiskey 003 and 004 and rated them both a score of 93. Kara is the Spirits Editor for Wine Enthusiast and author of Cocktails for a Crowd. Look for her review in their online issue this July. Fred Minnick gives Barrell Whiskey 004 a score of 90 in the Whisky Advocate saying “it’s molasses-forward with quick introductions of clove, vanilla, flowers and strawberry…at times fascinating for its rye, bourbon, and rum qualities…it’s a must-pour for a spirits lover.” The Whiskey Reviewer writes about Barrell Whiskey Batch 004 “My take is that Batch 004 offers an extravagant drinking experience, one that invites repeated pours.” And if you want to try our award winning bourbon in a cocktail try Warren Bobow’s new summer cocktail, the Vietnamese Style: Lemonadesque Mint Julep, made with Barrell Bourbon Batch 011, Vietnamese Lemonade Shrub, fresh spearmint and Demerara Sugar. Warren writes all the Barrell tasting notes and cocktail recipes and is author of Apothecary Cocktails, Whiskey Cocktails, and Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails.
What's going on
We’ve begun work on our new distillery in Louisville, starting with getting our bottling operation in place. Our Master Distiller and Director of Distillery Operations Tripp Stimson is leading our distillery building initiative. Tripp was previously Master Distiller at Kentucky Artisan Distillery. We hit the ground running last month in Colorado, and we’re about to get busy in Florida. We'll be at WhiskyLive Louisville on Saturday June 10th - if you're there stop by and say hello. That'll be followed by Whisky Jewbilee in NYC on June 15th. Thanks to all the new retailers and bars and restaurants that are carrying our products, and special thanks to the ones who have supported us since we started out in 2014. Tag us if you're holding a Barrell Bourbon tasting or posting a photo because we're happy to promote it on social media. Check the Store Locator on our where to buy page to find a retailer near you, or one that will ship Barrell Bourbon directly to you. Looking for Father’s Day present for that special someone, or for yourself? Sometimes we need to shop for things other than whiskey. We’ve got them in our online store, which features tee shirts, baseball caps and our own Glencairn glasses.
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Lift your spirits.