Barrell Rye Batch 001 Review
Barrell Craft Spirits is an American company that sources barrels of whiskey (and rum) from various producers, and bottles the whiskey under their own label. They are what is known as a Non-Distilling Producer (NDP)—meaning that they produce whiskey without actually distilling it themselves. If they were in Europe, we would call them an Independent Bottler, but for some reason we give American companies who bottle bourbon a different name. And hey, why not? We spell “whiskey” incorrectly, so we may as well call Independent Bottlers by a weird name too ?.
Barrell has gained a strong reputation for finding, blending, and bottling some terrific batches of bourbon. One of their recent batches won the award for best bourbon at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. I don’t put a lot of value on competition awards, but in this case, it was well deserved. I’ve sampled several different batches of Barrell Bourbon, and they are consistently excellent. I like to think of Barrell as the Compass Box of American whiskey.
Unlike many NDPs, Barrell sources their bourbon and other whiskey from a variety of sources in several different states. All of their releases are bottled at cask strength and are unique. Rather than seeking a consistent taste profile with every release, they embrace variety from batch to batch, which I find quite refreshing in the bourbon world. Also unlike many NDPs, Barrell is quite transparent in regards to what they are bottling. Although they don’t tell you the name of the distilleries from which they source their whiskey (probably due to contractual obligations—companies such as George Dickel are happy to sell you their barrels, but only if you agree not to mention their name), they do let you know the ages and sometimes the specific mashbills of the whiskey in their batches.
Recently Barrell released their first batch of rye whiskey. Barrell Rye Batch 001 was made by combining a sweeter rye from Indiana that was made using a rather unique mashbill of 51% rye and 49% malted barley, with a spicier rye from Tennessee made with a more traditional mashbill of rye, corn, and malted barley. The bottle states that this whiskey was aged for 4 years, 6 months.
Before I get into the actual review and tasting notes, I’m going to be up front with a spoiler—I love this whiskey. It’s one of the best whiskeys I’ve had in 2017. Maybe the very best, at least from American producers. Let’s take a closer look.
Barrell Rye Batch 001 Review
Type: Rye
Region: USA (Indiana and Tennessee)
ABV: 58.5%
Nose
Freshly baked rye bread, right out of the oven. Buttered toast. Gooey caramel. Malted milk balls. Chocolate. Light fruits. Baking spices. Hints of dill, lavender, and freshly cut flowers. Wonderful.
Palate
Rich and spicy, yet fairly light and lively with terrific balance. Rye bread. Light fruits, apricot in particular. Toffee. Malty. Dark chocolate. Fruit syrup. Barley sugar. Floral, particularly lavender. Black tea with a spoonful of sugar and cream. Rich and buttery. Slight dill on the backend, but only a touch. Mouthfeel is full and creamy. Delicious and complex, especially when you add a drop or two of water.
Finish
Long and spicy. Cinnamon. Toffee. Chocolate covered coffee beans. More simplistic than the palate, but still good.
Overall
Wow, I’m really impressed with this rye. The palate has so much depth—I’m continually finding new notes with every tasting. The high amount of malted barley in the mashbill gives this so much more complexity and balance than other rye whiskeys I’ve tasted.
Now if you are looking for a huge blast of rye spice like you may find in some other rye whiskeys, then you might be disappointed. Although there is plenty of rye here, it’s not a rye bomb. Instead, it’s a truly unique, balanced, and delicious whiskey. Highly recommended.
SCORE: 92/100
Final Thoughts
I love rye whiskey, but so many of the ryes currently available on the market have a similar taste profile—usually either being high rye content (95-100% of the mashbill) with a huge rye and dill blast, or low rye content (51%) that is close to a bourbon taste profile. It’s wonderful to run into a rye that diverges from the standard, while also being extremely tasty and well made. Barrell just recently announced the release of their second rye bottle (Batch 002)—I can’t wait to try it.
Buy again? Yes. This is delicious. If you like rye and see a bottle of this, buy it. This is a fantastic rye whiskey that is not too hard to find (depending on where you live)—it’s substantially better than the other ryes that are at least somewhat easy to obtain. And heck, I tasted this side-by-side with my bottle of Thomas H. Handy, which is one of the most highly regarded and difficult to obtain rye whiskeys in the world (and which I love), and I couldn’t decide which I like better… but I think I prefer Barrell. It’s that good.
Drink This Not That: Drink this. Although it’s a bit on the expensive side (around $85), it’s absolutely worth it.
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.
