Barrell Bourbon “New Year” 2020
Thanks to Sandee at the Whiskey Ward for the picture of Barrell Bourbon New Year
Sometimes you go to your local bar and they have a special going on (wow do I miss the days of just going to the local or, in my case, the Whiskey Ward). For this tasting, which included the Barrell Bourbon Batch #22, and the Barrell 9th Floor Rye, it was around New Year’s and they had each of these for $5/oz - how could I possibly turn that down??
The first one I tried was Barrell Bourbon New Year 2020. Barrell has been putting out an annual “New Year” release since 2016 (with that one labeled as 2017), but as far as I can tell this is the first year that included NY and TX in there (someone prove me wrong if I’m wrong!). Now, at this point, I had not had a Texas whiskey that I liked (I’ve since discovered Garrison Bros. and quite enjoy their products - check out reviews on the Garrison Brothers Balmorhea and Cowboy Bourbon in particular). I’d had tons of New York whiskies - bourbons and ryes - and they were hit or miss, with some really high highs and some…well, some drain pours that did a disservice to the drain.
As with other New Year releases, Barrell labeled this as a non-age-stated blend. Barrell does outline that the blends are of 5- and 10-year straight bourbons, with all the regulations that that entails.
Barrell Bourbon “New Year” 2020: Specs
Classification: Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskies
Origin: Undisclosed distilleries in TN, IN, KY, NY, TX
Mashbill: Undisclosed
Proof: 109.4 (54.7% ABV)
Age: NAS (4+ Years Old)
Location: N/A
Barrell Bourbon “New Year” 2020 Price: $75
Barrell Bourbon “New Year” 2020 Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Light caramel, thin rims and medium legs.
Nose: Peaches, maraschino cherries (real ones), pie crust, nuttiness.
Palate: Lots of orange and stone fruit sweetness. Some darker fruits develop, especially figs. The nuttiness remains in the background but this is a fruit salad show. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, balances the heat and sweet quite well.
Finish: Long and lingering sweetness after a strong final push from the burn.
Overall: Beautifully balanced - I know the distilleries in NY and TX are younger stock, and to be honest I never ever like the TN distillery that Barrell sources from, but it didn’t really come through in this blend. Certainly a fruitier bourbon, which could turn some people off since there isn’t a lot of what I would call classic bourbon notes. A unique blend from a unique blender.
Final Rating: 7.6
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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