Item: 100 Proof
Rating: 3.5
Author: Josh Peters

Barrell Vantage Bourbon Review

The process behind Barrell Vantage, and other Barrell Craft Spirits blends for that matter, is unique. The bourbons that comprise Barrell Vantage are distilled in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. Each of the three component bourbons are then finished separately in Mizunara, French and Toasted American oak barrels. In addition, different char and toast levels for the barrels are used. Once the secondary finishing is deemed complete, the individual finished bourbons are then blended, rather than being blended together prior to finishing. This allows for greater flexibility in creating the final product. So how is it? Read on to find out!

The post Barrell Vantage Bourbon Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

Barrell Vantage
“A blend of straight bourbon whiskeys finished in Mizunara, French and Toasted American oak.”
Distilled in Indiana, Tennessee & Kentucky
114.44 proof
MSRP: $79.99 at barrellbourbon.com
Review

Please enjoy our Barrell Vantage Review!

Barrell Craft Spirits Uses A Unique Process For Whiskey Blends

Barrell Vantage Bourbon Review - Front Label

Tasting Notes – Barrell Vantage Review

Let’s taste it:

Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

Nose: Pear and dried apricot, vanilla, syrupy brown sugar sweetness & burnt caramel, light grassiness and dry woodiness as well as subtle floral notes in the back; a touch of wintergreen & cinnamon; Moderate alcohol
Taste: Brown sugar, & caramel; more dry woodiness and oak; dried apricot and sweet apple juice; a bit of barrel char
Finish: Rapidly building capsaicin spiciness, with lingering dry oak and char, but also sweetness and fruit, too. Very long finish with a moderate burn.

Barrell Vantage Is A Very Complex Bourbon

Barrell Vantage is a very complex bourbon, presumably due to its very complex composition. Who would have thought? All those different bourbons and barrels blended together create quite a few flavors. Like an everlasting Gobstopper, this is one whose flavors change throughout, from nose to finish, each being different.

Stopper - Barrell Vantage Review — Stopper – Barrell Vantage Bourbon Review

The fruit is very noticeable in the nose to me. Dried apricot as well as softer sweet fruits like pear and apple are there, too, but not at the same time. Floral notes are in the back, blending with a dry woodiness and some barrel flavors, too. The taste is quite sweet with more fruit and caramel, with dry woodiness and oak becoming more apparent. Considerable spice appears in the long finish but the fruit and sweetness are there, too. While the various types of oak are present, the oak is far from overbearing.

Am I The Only One Who Gets Fruit Notes?

As a side note, the majority of Barrell Vantage bourbon reviews I have read do not really seem to pick up the fruit that I do. Try as I might, it is still there for me, so it may be there for you, too. The flavors I get are also quite different from Barrell’s tasting notes, but I find that is often the case with the tasting notes from distilleries.

A Very Enjoyable Bourbon

This is a very enjoyable bourbon. It won me over on my first taste of it at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and it continues to impress. If you enjoy a complex bourbon with a bit of fruit up front, you will enjoy this one.

Are you a Barrell Bourbon fan? I am too!

We hope you have enjoyed our Barrell Vantage Review! If you would like to read more about another Barrell whiskeys, check out our Barrell Seagrass Rye Review! Cheers!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!

The post Barrell Vantage Bourbon Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

Again, rum at random

Abuelo XII anos ‘Two Oaks’ (40%, Panama, +/-2021)Mount Gay 6 yo ‘The Madeira Cask Expression’ (55%, OB, Barbados, Master Blender Collection, 2706 bottles, 2022) Foursquare 2021 ‘LFT White’ (62%, Habitation Velier, Barbados, 2022)Foursquare 17 yo ‘Isono…

Abuelo XII anos 'Two Oaks' (40%, Panama, +/-2021)
Mount Gay 6 yo 'The Madeira Cask Expression' (55%, OB, Barbados, Master Blender Collection, 2706 bottles, 2022)
Foursquare 2021 'LFT White' (62%, Habitation Velier, Barbados, 2022)
Foursquare 17 yo 'Isonomy' (58%, OB, Barbados, 2022)
Foursquare 16 yo (61%, La Maison & Velier, Barbados, Magnum series #1, Elliot Erwitt Edition, 2022)
Hampden 5 yo 2016 (60%, La Maison & Velier, Jamaica, Magnum series #1, Elliot Erwitt Edition, 2022)
Saint James 15 yo 2004+2006 (45%, La Maison & Velier, Martinique, Magnum series #1, Elliot Erwitt Edition, 2022)
Bellevue 23 yo 1998/2021 (61%, HNWS Taiwan, Guadeloupe, bourbon barrel, cask #17, 109 bottles)
Caroni 24 yo 1998/2022 (61.9%, Whisky Concerto, refill American oak, cask #12)
Old Man 'Project Three Dark Expression' (40%, OB, blend, +/-2021)
Outlaw Rum 'Double Cask 2021 Edition' (43%, Outlaw Rum Co., 1400 bottles)
Vieux Sajous 5 yo 2017/2022 (52.14%, La Maison & Velier, clairin, Haiti, Caroni cask)
Caroni 20 yo 1999/2019 (47%, Alambic Classique, Trinidad, cask #19099, 123 bottles)
Ghana 2020/2022 (66.5%, The Nectar of The Daily Drams for LMDW, Antipodes, Ghana)
Barbados 21 yo 2000/2022 (49%, Rum Sponge, 241 bottles)
Mhoba 2017/2022 'Rare Cask' (60.8%, LMDW, South Africa, Antipodes Collection, cask #9, 286 bottles)
Jamaican Rum 14 yo 2007/2021 'JMWP' (58.1%, The Whisky Blues, for The Alcohol Bar & The Whisky Seeker, cask #025, 274 bottles)
Hampden 12 yo 'HGML' (63.6%, OB for LMDW, bourbon barrel, cask #23, 2022, 275 bottles)

The Reserve By Old Elk (Video)

The Reserve By Od Elk Distillery is Old Elk’s boutique cocktail bar in downtown Fort Collins. It’s a great place to sample Old Elk whiskeys, as well as enjoy cocktails and food. Check out our short video and also our full review to learn more!

The post The Reserve By Old Elk (Video) appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

The Reserve By Old Elk Distillery is Old Elk Distillery’s Boutique Cocktail Bar in Old Town Fort Collins

We hope you enjoy our short The Reserve By Old Elk Video! Then, check out our full The Reserve By Old Elk Distillery Review & Tour.

What happens when you put together the Founder and Developer of OtterBox and the long time master distiller at MGP? Well, you get Old Elk Distillery, of course! Old Elk is based in Fort Collins, CO. But don’t go trying to find the distillery – you can’t – it’s not on the map! However, you can find The Reserve By Old Elk, their boutique cocktail bar, right there in downtown Fort Collins! It’s a great place to visit if you are looking to sample some of Old Elk’s whiskeys. In addition, they have great food and cocktails, too!

Old Elk Distillery uses a unique “Slow Cut Proofing” process in making their whiskeys. After aging, the whiskey, be it bourbon, rye or wheat whiskey, comes out of the barrel at, well, barrel proof. That is pure undiluted whiskey. However, to get to bottling proof, fresh Colorado mountain water is added. Instead of adding the water over a short period of time, the folks at Old Elk Distillery take their time. Lots of time. Weeks, in fact. The idea is that the slow proofing process will preserve more of the bourbon’s flavor.

At The Reserve By Old Elk Distillery there is the opportunity to try all of Old Elk’s offerings, include their bourbons and other whiskeys, the Whiskeysmith line of flavored whiskeys and Dry Town vodka and gin. We did our best to try all of those things, as you can see in the video!

Check out our short The Reserve By Old Elk video from the @Bourbon_Obsessed Instagram page by clicking below! Don’t forget to give us a follow!

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The Reserve By Old Elk Video – A post shared by Ed (@bourbon_obsessed)

We hope you enjoyed our short The Reserve By Old Elk Video. Next, check out our full write up in our The Reserve By Old Elk Review & Tour! If you would like to learn about some of their whiskeys, then check out our Old Elk Wheated Bourbon Review and Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon Review! Cheers!

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Port Askaig 100 Proof Review

Like many undisclosed Islays that came before it, there is a bit of mystery surrounding the source of the Port Askaig 100 Proof. And I truly mean a bit because with a little bit of reasonable elimination we end up with two distilleries as our possibilities and they taste quite a bit different. Laphroaig and […]

The post Port Askaig 100 Proof Review appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.

Port Askaig 100 Proof Review

Laphroaig and Ardbeg are both in such high demand, and have been for so long, that this being the source, especially at this price, is highly unlikely – plus it doesn’t really taste like either. Bowmore and Lagavulin don’t supply indie lines and, again, it doesn’t taste like either of them. Kilchoman we can cut just on scale alone.

Bruichladdich barely keeps their own peated whisky in stock and their use of Highland peat gives it a dry signature profile not found in these bottles. That leaves us with two viable candidates who are known to supply NDPS: Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain. Though when you consider the scale needed, coupled with the taste, that really leaves us with one. Caol Ila.

Though if you want to just go with the obvious, that Caol Ila is located in Port Askaig, that would work too. However, most of the sherried releases are rumored to be Bunnahabhain and the ones I’ve tasted don’t taste like serried Caol Ila. Anyway, let’s get to drinkin’!

Port Askaig 100 Proof – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Style: Single Malt (Scotch)
Region: Islay, Scotland
Distiller: Undisclosed (likely Caol Ila)

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: NAS (3+ Years)
ABV: 57.1%

Port Askaig 100 Proof Price: $70

White background tasting shot with the Port Askaig 100 Proof bottle and a glass of whiskey next to it. — “One of our core expressions, Port Askaig 100° Proof is a cask-strength single malt with notes of sweet fruit, peat smoke and minerality, making it a benchmark Islay whisky and great everyday peaty dram.” – Port Askaig

Port Askaig 100 Proof Tasting Notes

EYE
Pale straw

NOSE
Orchard fruit (peaches, pears, dried apples), smoke, malty sweetness, vanilla, honey, minerality and a touch of plastic.

Young, crisp and bracing. It’s a slightly spirity aroma that makes me think “Caol Ila”.

PALATE
Minerality, smoke, dried fruit, lemon peels, vanilla cake and some malty sweetness with a bit of spice.

Like the aroma, there is a spirity nature to it, but it works quite well here. It’s a punchy sharp little whisky.

FINISH
Long -> Smoke, honey, spice and minerality.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Decent balance, med-full body, oily feel.

Port Askaig 100 Proof – Overall Thoughts and Score

Kind of strange to have a whisky this high in proof feel so light. It drinks much softer than its heavy 114.2 proof. That could be due to the nice bit of sweetness underpinning the smoke and minerality that dominates it. The balance makes it easy to sip.

Or maybe I’m just so used to high-proof whisky this just seems normal to me. It’s hard to say and after 17+ years of whisky drinking I have to say that either, or both, are possible. Regardless, this Port Askaig 100 Proof is a nice whisky and one to consider if you like the crisp minerally nature of young Islay whiskies.

SCORE: 3.5/5 (tasty, worth checking out ~ B | 83-86)

Port Askaig 100 Proof Review $70

Overall

3.5

Nose

(3.5)
Palate

(3.5)
Finish

(3.5)
BBF

(3.5)

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Port Askaig 100 Proof Back Label

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Jack Daniel’s Debuts American Single Malt Whiskey

Jack Daniel’s has released their first-ever American single malt whiskey – Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt Whiskey. Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt is made with 100% malted barley, matured for five years in new charred American oak barrels, finished for two years and eight months in Oloroso sherry casks, bottled at 45% alcohol by volume […]

Jack Daniel’s has released their first-ever American single malt whiskey – Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt Whiskey.

Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt is made with 100% malted barley, matured for five years in new charred American oak barrels, finished for two years and eight months in Oloroso sherry casks, bottled at 45% alcohol by volume [90 proof] and is said to contain notes of fruit, nuts and vanilla.

Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt Whiskey is being made available exclusively in travel retail venues worldwide for $100 per bottle beginning in June 2023.

Three quick Tomatin

Tomatin 1999/2013 (57.6%, OB for Royal Mile Whiskies, Hungarian Oak finish, 302 bottles)Tomatin 36 yo ‘Batch 10’ (46.2%, OB, 2022, 1200 bottles)Tomatin 36 yo ‘Batch 5’ (46.8%, OB, 2019, 800 bottles)

Tomatin 1999/2013 (57.6%, OB for Royal Mile Whiskies, Hungarian Oak finish, 302 bottles)
Tomatin 36 yo 'Batch 10' (46.2%, OB, 2022, 1200 bottles)
Tomatin 36 yo 'Batch 5' (46.8%, OB, 2019, 800 bottles)

ARDBEG HERALDS HYPERNOVA – THE SMOKIEST ARDBEG EVER

In October of this year, Ardbeg will unleash its smokiest whisky ever: Ardbeg Hypernova. An evolution of the highly-popular Supernova series, the Islay Distillery’s newest expression takes Ardbeg’s signature smoke into a new dimension with a powerful e…

JAMESON REINTRODUCE THEIR SIGNATURE STYLE JAMESON SINGLE POT STILL

Jameson, the world’s bestselling, and most awarded Irish Whiskey[i], is delighted to introduce its latest expression, Jameson Single Pot Still, as a new addition to the Jameson family. Celebrating the traditional style of Irish whiskey after which it i…

Samuel Gelston’s to Strike Gold with New Campaign

Samuel Gelston’s is bringing some gilded glamour to the UK this season with a series of exciting collaborations that explore the golden roots of its Irish Whiskey.

MARVEL AT THE POWER OF CREATIVITY WITH ROYAL SALUTE FORCES OF NATURE BY KATE MCCGWIRE

Royal Salute, the master of exceptionally aged Scotch whisky, has unveiled an enchanting new expression, the Royal Salute Forces of Nature by Kate MccGwire. The ultra-prestige release is the first iteration from Royal Salute’s new pinnacle collection e…

Month: October 2022