Very Old Barton (1980s)
This Very Old Barton was, well, very old! An 8-year-old specimen from the 1980s, I got to try this blind from my friend Ryan. The bottle is an Italian export bottle at 80 proof, not surprising for multiple reasons.
During the 60s, 70s, and 80s, when bourbon was at its nadir worldwide, there were almost no bourbons above 80-90 proof, and those that were were probably bottled-in-bond. 30 years later, there are many many more higher-proof bourbons in the US, but around the world the export-only products tend to stay in the lower proof range just as they did back then. Just see Blanton’s Green and Black (Europe- and Japan-exclusive, respectively) as examples of that.
There’s a sense that European and other non-US palates somehow either can’t handle the extra proof or, alternatively, prefer the lower proof, but I don’t really believe that. I think, like everything else with whiskey, it’s to the person to decide what they like. That being said, clearly this bottle followed the stereotype and, unfortunately, I think it seriously suffered for it.
Very Old Barton 1980s 8-Year-Old Specs
Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Origin: Barton Distillery
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 15% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Age: 8 Years Old
Location: Kentucky
Very Old Barton 1980s Price: N/A (Current Release is around $20)
Very Old Barton 1980s 8-Year-Old: Tasting Notes (Blind)
Eye: Fresh honey, medium rims bleed thick, quick legs.
Nose: Corn forward, hint of acetone. Slightly funky note, sweet too. Tight, leaning more towards a rye than a bourbon.
Palate: Barest hint of heat. Corn, rye both discernible, some oak dryness in the corners of my mouth. Vanilla and caramel there but the young harshness is pretty hard to get past. Mouthfeel is thin, hits every corner but doesn’t stick.
Finish: Bitter and herbal, lingering oak and menthol.
Overall: Tastes like a young, barely legal rye, and not a good one.
Final Rating: 3.9
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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