I have to admit that I have not been a big fan of Barrell Craft Spirits products. The ones I have tasted in the past have all been decent products but way over-priced. They were good fifty dollar whiskeys in one hundred and twenty dollar bottles. That has changed with this latest release. The Foundation Bourbon has a price tag of about $55.00 and has a good Bourbon in the bottle. The bottles indicates that the whiskey is made up of 73% corn, 23% rye and 4% malted barley in the “mash bill”. I place “mash bill” in quotes because this is just a mathematical average of the mash bills of the whiskeys blended together to make this product. The Bourbon has a five year age statement but is made up of Kentucky Bourbon of eight years old, Indiana Bourbon of five, six and nine years old, Tennessee Bourbon of eight years old and Maryland Bourbon of five and six years old. The youngest whiskey in the bottle is five years old so that is the age statement of the whiskey. Matt and I sat down and tasted this Bourbon the other day and here are our tasting notes.
Barrell Foundation Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Five Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Marshmallow, apples, cinnamon, and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, caramel, apples, cinnamon, and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla and spices are enhanced. Tasted with a pecan and the vanilla becomes more of a caramel, a note of citrus comes forward and cardamom joins the other baking spices.
- Matt: Caramel, apple, cinnamon and oak wood. The dried cranberry added a floral note of rosewater to the flavor. The pecan brought out notes of apple pie with cinnamon and oak.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and spice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and added lingering vanilla notes. The pecan made the finish very long with oak, spice and lingering citrus flavors.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and cinnamon. The dried cranberry added some lingering floral notes. The pecan made the finish very long and dry with oak and other nutty wood flavors.
I would pair this Bourbon with a NUB Maduro cigar. I think the vanilla and rich tobacco of the smoke would pair well with the vanilla and spice of the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller