Blanton's Binny's Single Barrel Select Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon - Barrel #321

VITALS:

- $70

- 93 Proof

- NAS

- Barrel #321

- Kentucky

This is a bottle that I've been sitting on for quite some time.  It was dumped on December 17, 2018, and I'm fairly certain it was around March 2019 that I picked this bottle up at Binny's. I used it in a Blanton's tasting for my work whiskey club, and then it went back in its box and onto my shelf, where it sat for a long time, completely unattended to.

I think the main reason that it sat there, not getting drunk, is due to the box.  Most of my bottles on my shelves are not housed in boxes, and I can readily see not only the bottle, but the yummy liquid inside as well, and, of course, the fill level. It's the fill level that often reminds me to revisit a particular whiskey that I may have opened, tried and then forgotten about. Yet the Blanton's sit in boxes, and they are more or less out of sight, out of mind. I happen to really enjoy Blanton's, so I can't think of any other reason.

As to the whiskey itself, it had that familiar nose that I love in Blanton's and the other Mashbill #2 products from Buffalo Trace.  I got delicious notes of salted caramel and even a light chocolate note. There was a cherry note to it that was more along the lines of a cherry cordial, like it was soaked in liqueur. It even had a bit of an anise spice to it. I also got a somewhat odd note of wood shavings, like the smell of using a table saw.  

On my first sip, I got a really strong amaretto note. Perhaps that's what I was smelling when I got the cherry cordial scent.  In fact, I did get a bit of a candied cherry note to go with that amaretto. It was all sweet but rich and delectable.  

Pairing perfectly with these flavors was a nice dark chocolate note. That paired perfectly with what came across as more of a toffee than a caramel. It had a touch of that burnt sugar note to it. It also had a light oak note to it, something that I think I've noticed in maybe half of the different bottles of Blanton's I've tasted over the years.

The finish seemed to change course a bit, as it came across as more of an Old Fashioned flavor. That's where I got some bright citrus, like orange peel, along with that candied cherry note. At times that orange came across as more of a burnt orange note, but the Old Fashioned effect remained.

I've come to learn that not all Blanton's single barrels are complete winners. I've had a bottle before that I simply did not like. I have, of course, had bottles that blew me away. This one falls somewhere in the middle. It was a good bottle of Blanton's, but there wasn't anything that really stood out about it. Not that I'll stop buying these when I get the chance, but there are certainly better private picks out there.

Grade: B