Tasting notes

nose

a handful of fruit gummies, with green apple, peach and cranberry at first, softening into pineapple and coconut, lime pie and dark fruitcake, over honey, eucalyptus and a faint savory note

palate

rich and syrupy; honey, golden plum and pollen over coconut milk and roasted chestnut, with a yeasty strong-ale note and a bright edge of fresh apple and watermelon candy

finish

long; red cherry, white currant and gooseberry with resin, hops and gentian, then a wisp of incense, drying to a chalky mineral prickle as the fruit fades

Mash bill

Grain recipes not published: the blend pairs an 18-year-old Kentucky whiskey with Canadian whiskies aged 23 to 25 years, and Barrell has disclosed neither the grains nor their proportions. The label calls it simply whiskey rather than bourbon or rye, which leaves the recipe open. The two parts were finished apart, the Kentucky whiskey in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels and the Canadian whiskies in Sauternes barrels, before being married.

Why it's craft

This Black Label release splits the work between two wine casks: an 18-year-old Kentucky whiskey went into Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for structure and dark warmth, while Canadian whiskies of 23 to 25 years went into barrels that held Sauternes, the sweet white wine of Bordeaux. Barrell Craft Spirits distills none of it; the Louisville blender, started by Joe Beatrice in 2013, buys mature barrels from other producers and bottles at full cask strength without chill filtration.