Blanton's Straight From The Barrel

Blanton's Straight From The Barrel, NAS, 66,25 %

Today I am presenting my favourite bourbon. Well, a variant of my favourite bourbon. You see this is a single barrel release, sold at cask strength, so each release will be unique. I must also rush to say that I might very well find a bourbon at a later stage that I like even better, but so far I have tried half a dozen releases of the Blanton's Straight From The Barrel, and they have all been excellent.

So, Blanton's have four different core range products; the Special Reserve at 40 % ABV, the Original Single Barrel at 46,5 % ABV (see review), the Gold Edition at 51,5 % ABV (see review), and finally the cask strength Blanton's Straight From The Barrel. The Blanton's products are produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery.

This particular release of the Blanton's Straight From The Barrel that I am reviewing today has a whopping ABV of 66,25 %. Seems almost magical as the spirit was put in the barrel at 62,5 % ABV. It has barrel number 645 and was dumped (bottled) on 2015-05-15.

On the Blanton's website you will the following note on the Straight From The Barrel:

Our Straight from the Barrel edition is currently only offered in international markets, as well as in Duty Free organizations (typically located in airports) domestically.

The price for a bottle is around USD 110, but will of course vary some from country to country.

Nose: Deep and rich notes of corn and rye. This is bourbon heaven. Amazingly you can safely bury your nose in the glass with this one. There's no sting at all, it is just super smooth and integrated. Vanilla, coconut oil, fudge, leather, tobacco leaves, and rum. Strawberries as well as hints of perfume and polish.

Taste: Intense and rich mouthfeel. Vanilla, warm fudge, golden syrup, ginger, oak, hints of root beer (not fizzy though!), and a touch of perfume.

Finish: Looong finish. Does not develope much further, but rather refines what was there from the get go. There are lovely notes of honey, peppermint and chocolate right at the end though. After Eight chocolate!

Comments: Sooo balanced, sooo rich, sooo rewarding!

Score (92/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas