Blanton's Red Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:

- $150

- 93 Proof

- NAS

- Barrel No. 85

- Kentucky

This is one of those bottles that I've kept on my shelf for longer than I ever intended to. On Thanksgiving I finally decided that, after three years, it was time to finally finish off this bottle. Even then I still had some hesitation.

This was one of (if not the) first bottles I've ever purchased on secondary market. And that's only because, short of travelling to Japan, that was the only way I was getting a bottle. And once I had it, it became one of those bottles that was just fun to break out when company was over. Even the most casual bourbon drinker would have fun not only having some Blanton's, but having Blanton's that came from a red box with Japanese writing all over it. I write this all with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, of course, but it really was a fun one to break out from time to time, and so I rarely poured a glass while sitting on my couch any given night of the week.

The nose had that typical brown sugar, caramel and cinnamon combination that I usually get from the Buffalo Trace mashbill #2. Nothing really unexpected here, thought the caramel sweetness did at times lean more towards a darker molasses note. There was surprisingly a light woodiness to it as well.  I've never gotten indications of age with Blanton's before, but I certainly did on this one. 

The flavor was rich and sweet, and again right in line with my expectations. I got loads of brown sugar and caramel sweetness. It had almost a cookie-like quality to it in the flavor. There was also a sort of bread note, like a sweet bread, but definitely a bit of that yeast/grain note. 

What stood out, though, was the nice nuttiness that it had. Perhaps that's what I interpreted as a wood note on the nose, but it tasted like candied pecans and pie crust. Basically a pecan pie but without the goo.  That pecan note was accompanied by a boozy note, giving it almost a bourbon soaked pecan flavor, which I guess makes a lot of sense.

The body on this was fairly watery, more so than I've experienced in other bottles of Blanton's. Unfortunately, that led to a very short-lived finish. What was there on the finish were the caramel and brown sugar notes, and the vanilla seemed to come through a bit more. What wasn't there, though, was any sort of spice. The cinnamon from the nose was pretty nonexistent, particularly on the finish. 

All in all, this was a fun bottle to have on my shelf, but it didn't offer anything more than your standard bottle of Blanton's. I'm glad I tried it, but I won't be seeking any more of these out on the secondary market.

Grade: B

Blanton's Gold Edition Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $60 (700 ml)
- 103 Proof
- NAS
- Barrel No. 259
- Kentucky

A while back I managed to get my hands on a Blanton's Gold and a Blanton's Straight from the Barrel. My guess is the guy I bought them off of simply made the trip to Canada to get a few of eacch and then made a few bucks off them. I was happy to pay what I did (certainly more than the $60 suggested retail price), figuring I had no other real way of getting my hands on such bottles.

After also acquiring two different store picks of the regular Blanton's, I then had my eyes set on setting up a Blanton's tasting for my whiskey club. I searched and ultimately landed a Black and a Red, both Japanese imports only, and I finally had my 6-bottle Blanton's tasting!  Everyone in the group was pumped to try this tasting, and one of the guys even brought an additional bottle of Straight from the Barrel.

Quick spoiler -- to the extent the tasting was a competition, the Gold was the winner. It wasn't everyone's favorite (some liked the Red), but it definitely had the most votes.  And there was plenty of reason for it. The nose on this one was soft and sweet. It was full of caramel with a light spice to it that was kind of a blend between cinnamon and black pepper. I also got a healthy dose of brown sugar as well as what I swore at times was the distinct note of chocolate-orange.

It smelled delicious and it had a palate to match. This was what some might describe as a toffee bomb.  It was full of those butter and molasses notes that made this just taste like candy. In addition, to go with the sweet and buttery flavors, this had a nice, oily texture to it that coated the mouth in flavors of brown sugar and butter. At 103 proof, it had some added kick that you don't get out of the standard Blanton's, and it worked so well with everything else.

On the back end I got a little bit of that heat, paired perfectly with a light cinnamon spice to tickle the back of my throat. It also had a nice, long finish which, along with that light cinnamon spice, had some rich notes of vanilla bean that seemed to stick around forever.

As I made my way through the last pours, there was a sort of yeasty quality, which turned into this dessert-like pastry, almost like a caramel coffee cake with vanilla icing on top. Those last few sips were some of the best tastes of whiskey I can recall in quite some time.  If only this were a regular offering, or, at the very least, actually able to be purchased here in the states.

Grade: A