Barrell Craft Spirits is known for releasing batches of bourbon throughout the year, along with a wide array of interesting cask-finished whiskeys, all of which are bottled at cask strength. But a couple of years ago, the brand launched its Foundation lineup of non-cask strength bourbons that are lower priced and perhaps easier on the palate for some. The latest entry in this series is a new double-barreled bourbon that is bottled at a totally reasonable 100 proof, and is quite delicious.
Barrell Craft Spirits is located in Louisville, but the bourbon (and sometimes rye) it sources comes from all over the country—mostly Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee, but other states like Wyoming and New York from time to time as well. The proof of these releases is usually upwards of 110, with some exceptions, which is not aggressively hot and nowhere close to hazmat levels. Still, that can be too strong for some people, and even fanatical barrel-proof devotees need to tone it down every now and then. This 100-proof bourbon is a blend of the following component whiskeys: eight-year-old Kentucky bourbon; Indiana bourbon aged five, six, and nine years; eight-year-old Tennessee bourbon; and five and six-year-old Maryland bourbon (the distilleries are undisclosed, but MGP is surely one of them). The final mashbill after blending the whiskeys together is 73 percent corn, 23 percent rye, and 4 percent malted barley.
The final step for this release was the double-barrel finish, in which the liquid was put into a new set of charred oak barrels for up to two years. This is a time-tested practice at this point, with other well-known double-barrel expressions on the market from Woodford Reserve, Garrison Brothers, Old Forester, Peerless, and Jack Daniel’s, to name a few. The point is to infuse the whiskey with a new burst of flavor derived from the new oak, and that certainly is the case here. Look for notes of chocolate, leather, graham cracker, dusty oak, apple pie, and toasted nuts on the palate. Of course you should enjoy any whiskey however you like it, but Barrell seems to be positioning this particular expression for mixing as well as sipping, while the batches are geared more towards the former.
Barrell Foundation Double Barrel (SRP $55) is available now in select U.S. markets, so check your local liquor store. You can also purchase it directly from the brand’s website, and you find many other expressions in the lineup, including the first Foundation, at ReserveBar now.
