Barrell Bourbon has been offering this special release to start the New Year since 2017. These blends typically have bourbon from 3 to 6 distilleries across the U.S. and are experimental as they celebrate and explore different production styles, aging techniques, and age expressions.

Related:

• Barrell Bourbon Reviewed
• Barrell Rye Reviewed
• Barrell Craft Spirits 15-Year-Old Bourbon Reviewed
• Barrell Dovetail Reviewed

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Barrell Bourbon New Year 2021 Review

The glass coverage is great. It’s thick and oily with long, thick legs.

Nose – 86 out of 100 Points

If Booker’s and Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond decanter had a baby that’s the nose. I get peanut butter with chunky, salted peanuts mixed in with subtle honey and caramel. I also pick up creamy cinnamon cannoli and rock fruit. It’s a nose I spent some time with to pick apart the flavors.

Taste – 84 out of 100 Points

The initial pop of flavor is a kind of spicy citrus rind. My lips and mid-palate were tingling — Szechuan peppercorn. It reminds of eating a spicy Chinese orange sauce. That’s it. It also coats the palate well.

The back of the palate is charred warming spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and cumin seeds. I also pick up some oak. There’s some sweetness trying to peek its head out but the heat just won’t let it.

Finish – 86 out of 100 Points

The finish is long with vanilla and charred oak and Szechuan pepper

Complexity – 85 out of 100 Points

I can tell there’s more complexity than meets the eye but the Szechuan pepper overpowers some of the softer notes.

With just a splash of water the sweeter notes take a step into the lime light and balance out the heat. On the palate, I picked up delicate floral honey notes that I didn’t pick up before. However, the couple drops of water do tame the finish — which I loved on its own

Value – 87 out of 100 Points

Barrell Bourbon New Years is solid for the price point and it’s a barrel proof bourbon that proof junkies will love.

Verdict – Silver 85.6 out of 100 Points

Barrell Bourbon New Year 2020 Review

Barrell Bourbon New Year 2019 Review

Barrell Craft’s Flavor Notes:

The nose is greeted by a fully laden dessert cart, resplendent with assorted dried fruits and nuts, chocolates, and other confections. On the palate, rye grain delivers a complex and harmonious blend of herbs and spices.

Barrell Bourbon New Year 2018 Guide

Barrell Craft’s Tasting Notes:

Christmas cake explodes from the glass, studded with slivered almonds, prunes, and black currents. The lightly roasted coffee note drifting up is reminiscent of the New Orleans classic, Café Brulôt, where clove-studded oranges are floated in brandy, set aflame, then slowly extinguished with black coffee.

Barrell Bourbon New Year 2017 Guide

Barrell Craft’s Flavor Notes:

Crushed stone and broiled fruit give way to wet saddle leather and generous dollops of heavy sweet cream oozing over cast iron baked cornbread.  The pleasant warmth of this bourbon is tempered by the opulent, mouth-filling extended finish.  Fire and smoke swirl around your palate, leaving behind bursts of sea salt, walnut liqueur, and citrus oils on your tongue.  This is a highly sophisticated liquid, perfect for celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

Start shopping for bourbon clothing and accessories for your journey. The Bard’s Shop has custom tees and hoodies, books, barrels, and more.