Blanton's Binny's Single Barrel Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon - Barrel #154

VITALS:

- $70

- 93 Proof

- NAS

- Barrel #154

- Kentucky

I don't know why I held onto this bottle for so long before opening it. It's possible that it was the last of any Blanton's store picks that I had, so I wanted to hold onto it. But, realistically, I think I just didn't realize how long it had been sitting on my shelf.  At some point I just reached for a new whiskey off my shelf to pour, and this is what materialized in my hand.

I didn't realize that this had a dump date of July 1, 2020, fresh off the government shut-downs. I sat on this for much longer than I realize or ever intended. But, it's been a minute since I've enjoyed a Blanton's Single Barrel, so I finally decided to pop this one open and give it a go. I had a couple before this that were somewhat disappointing, so perhaps that's also a reason for the wait. But that reason was without justification.

The nose gave of notes of graham cracker and caramel. The graham cracker also took on a pie crust note at times.  It had a sweet nutty note to it as well, like candied pecan, which really rounded out a delicious pecan pie aroma. I got a touch of light pepper to give it a bit of spice.

The flavor was front-loaded with soft, creamy caramel notes. It was like that soft caramel in the center of Dove or Ghirardelli chocolates.  Right away I knew this bourbon was in my personal wheelhouse. That was coupled with a coffee note, however, which gave it a flavor reminiscent of a sweet coffee drink, like a caramel macchiato. The coffee note wasn't strong and bitter, just sweet and flavorful. 

It had a layer of vanilla kind of underneath everything, and there was a bit of cinnamon spice to offset the sweetness just a bit. That cinnamon not was even more noticeable on the finish, where it was accompanied by a lingering spiced cherry note that was absolutely delicious and kept me wanting more.

This was one of the better Blanton's Single Barrel picks I can recall ever having! It really offered a bit of redemption in my book, as this really hit on all cylinders for me. 

Grade: A-