Barrell Seagrass Rye Whiskey Finished in Martinique Rum, Madeira and Apricot Brandy Barrels

VITALS:
- $90

- 118.4 Proof

- NAS

- Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee & Canada

This is an interesting bottling, and one that I was on the fence about buying, quite honestly. There's a lot going on here.  Not only is this a blended rye sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Canada, but the finishes are kind of crazy and unique. It all sounds like it would make for a very sweet, almost sugary whiskey, particularly with the Madeira and apricot brandy finishes. What makes this interesting, though, is the Martinique Rum finish.

I've had rum Agricole one time in my life. It was very well-aged, and I absolutely hated it. It wasn't a sweet rum, and to me it had the very distinct taste of burning paper. The idea of a whiskey finished in such a barrel certainly did not appeal to me. However, I know that the Agricole influence wouldn't be anywhere close to what I tasted then, and the fact that it doesn't necessarily lend to the sweetness told me it might actually help temper the influence of the Madeira and apricot brandy barrels. In the end, the intrigue got the best of me, and I decided to give this one a try.

Not unexpectedly, the nose was very sweet up front, with the apricot being very noticeable, particularly dried apricots. I also got a bit of sweet orange peel. But, behind those sweet citrus notes was a layer of smoke, I'm guessing from the Agricole rum finish, that oddly worked very well with the apricot. It also had a bit of a black pepper spice to it to remind me that this is a rye whiskey.

On my first sip, my initial thought was, "Holy apricot!"  It was nearly all I could taste on the tip of my tongue, this strong apricot jam flavor. It was very tasty, but it was also very sweet and almost syrupy in flavor. I also got some baked apple and a bit of a pie crust note, which was very enjoyable, but again, very much on the sweet side.

The sweetness, however, isn't necessarily a sugary type of sweetness. It comes across more as rich and jammy. I got a pastry note that reminded me of an apricot Danish, with a bit of a powdered sugar icing kind of flavor to follow.

Beyond these sweet citrus and pastry notes, though, I did get notes of pine and cinnamon, again reminding me that the base grain here is definitely rye. Also, I didn't get it at first, but about halfway through the bottle I started noticing this smoky note that I really enjoyed. It added another layer and a bit more complexity. Plus, the smoke was delicious with the apricot. I've never had smoked apricot before, but if I were to try it, my hope would be that it comes out tasting like this.

While this was a very sweet rye, it nonetheless scratched a certain itch. Sometimes I get in the mood for something on the sweeter side, and this whiskey found a bit of balance with the spice of the rye and that funk from the Martinique rum barrel influence. I found that I really liked it for something different and unique, and I would absolutely get this again.

Grade: B+

Barrell Dovetail Whiskey Finished in Rum, Port and Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Barrels

VITALS:
- $100
- 124.34 Proof
- NAS
- Indiana and Tennessee

Certainly finished whiskeys have been done before. And certainly finishing combos have been done before, such as Jos. A Magnus.  However, this one had a bit more draw to me than others. For one, it's barrel strength, something you don't see a whole lot of with finished American whiskeys, for whatever reason. Plus, this particular finished whiskey has been particularly well-received and regarded in online reviews--again, something you don't see a whole lot of with finished American whiskeys.

I tend to be a fan of finished whiskeys, particularly port-finished, and so I took the gamble on a pricey bottle to find out for myself. I will say up front, I was not disappointed nor did I have buyer's remorse, despite the hefty price tag.

The nose seemed to really favor the Cabernet over any of the other notes or finishes. I got a lot of that earthy and dry dark fruit and berry. This was a pleasant surprise. Given the rum and port finishes, I was half expecting something almost syrupy sweet. Instead, I got a nice mix of raisin and blackberry that had this sort of jammy note to it, but again, without being sweet (which I realize make little to no sense, but I don't know how else to explain it).

It was, however, very sweet in flavor. On the palate I immediately got a lot of dark fruits--plum and raisin, and again the jammy blackberry. Only this time it was very much a sweet jam. It is very dessert-like, and if you're not in the mood for something sweet, it may not hit you quite right. I thought it was delicious for what it is, though.

It also had a certain amount of bread or cracker-like quality that, along with the blackberry, reminded me of blackberry pie. It even had a nice, warming spice on the end, kind of an allspice note.  My initial impression was that this was similar to Magnus, but done much better, which is certainly attributable to far more than the proof.

Everything seemed to work very well together. The heat from the high alcohol content added a warmth and depth that seemed to make the flavors from the various finishes really lay heavy on my tongue. I'm not a huge fan of rum finished whiskey, and I actually didn't really notice the rum finish very much, which I particularly appreciated. Towards the end, though, the rum notes seemed to come forward, as I started to get notes of anise and molasses, and the blackberry seemed to fade.

While those last couple pours weren't as enjoyable as the first, this was nonetheless a great overall bottle that I really enjoyed. I would say that you'd have to be in the mood for this, as it may not necessarily scratch that bourbon itch, but yet I found myself going right back to this one regardless of my mood, simply because it was really good!

Grade: B+/A-

Barrell Rye Cask Strength Rye Whiskey Batch No 001

VITALS:
- $90
- 117 Proof
- 4 yrs., 6 mos.
- Region: Indiana & Tennessee

Barrell is one of the few "craft" whiskey companies that has really been able to take the world by storm. Their business model is a bit different, however, not only acknowledging the fact that they are a Non-Distilling Producer, or "NDP," but embracing it and marketing as such. They seem to take pride in transparency, and for this reason alone they have been a breath of fresh air.  Plus, it doesn't hurt when your sourced bourbons seem to frequently win awards and accolades.

I haven't yet gotten around to trying one of those bourbons, but I couldn't pass up their first rye release when it came out. Barrell products come with a somewhat steep price tag, relatively speaking, so it wasn't an automatic decision, but in the end it was one I was glad I made.

The nose, at first, was incredibly off-putting. When I first opened it up (and even on the next few pours) I got a strong whiff of ethanol singing my nose hairs (of which there are many). Eventually, however, that ethanol note disappeared, perhaps evaporated off, and other notes were able to come through, including natural cherry (as opposed to the cough syrup kind), even with a bit of tartness on the notes. It also had a more earthy, almond note to it. All and all, once that ethanol seemed to burn off, it smelled really good!

More importantly, though, even when that ethanol note was hanging around, this rye tasted amazing! It was sweet up front with a mild spice providing just enough kick to counterbalance the sweet. It was tones of molasses or brown sugar, balanced out by a Christmas-y cinnamon spice. It also had light pine notes and even a hint of dark fruits, like black cherry or plum. I couldn't quite place my thumb on it.

As this rye opened up, though, it became a caramel bomb. Pour after pour I found myself taking a sip and then licking my lips for a while before diving in for the next sip. The cinnamon spice still stuck around, but this was caramel all day, rounded out just a bit by those dark fruit notes.

This was Barrell's first foray into rye, and it was a great success! I loved everything about this rye (even despite the off-putting nose at first), and I would recommend this to anyone as a great example of a traditional rye. I certainly place this on par with Kentucky Owl Rye or even Michter's Toasted Barrel Rye, which I loved.

Their second batch is sourced in part from Poland, which has me intrigued. Given how good this one was, there's a real possibility I give that one a try as well.

Grade: A