Barrell’s at all times been good at names. Dovetail, their breakout evergreen launch, is meant to evoke the dovetail joint, a nod to the precision that goes into its mixing course of. Seagrass, arguably its most profitable mix, calls to thoughts the oceanside with its rye completed in rum, Madeira, and apricot brandy barrels. Vantage? A nod to, and the fruits of, a decade-plus of mixing expertise.
Then we’ve got the lately launched Cask End Sequence. Stated to be “a celebration of the unimaginable vary of flavors created when considerate ending meets skilled mixing,” a celebration I’d assumed had already occurred throughout the context of Barrell’s largely blended and completed lineup. The launch is a little bit of an oddball coming from a model with a rigorous dedication to minimalism, or not less than succinct categorization, the bottles touchdown sq. in the course of a flurry of seasonal product bulletins.
So… why? These appear to be whiskeys that might sometimes find yourself as a part of Barrell’s sprawling Personal Launch line. Marketed as a yearly launch, is that this Barrell’s play to remain seen in a enterprise more and more outlined by restricted time choices? Is there even room for one more Barrell SKU atop 2023’s maximally congested cabinets? And, does it even matter, if the liquid is sweet? Effectively…
Barrell Cask End Sequence Story of Two Islands – I’ll let Barrell clarify precisely what that is:
In 2018, the Barrell Craft Spirits workforce produced the legendary Story of Two Islands Rum: a Jamaican Rum matured in peated Islay single malt barrels. These empty casks have been used to complete a mix of straight bourbons. The sweetness of the rum and the smokiness of the Islay casks mingle along with the underlying bourbon that continues the Story of Two Islands.
This context is vital for what it omits. All through the pour the bourbon performs a 3rd fiddle to the ending course of. The nostril is frivolously grilled coconut and pineapple that come off as astringent or perfumed when inhaled deeply. Extra rum than bourbon, then. On the palate it’s a celebration within the entrance, enterprise within the again, with spicy tropical fruits and single origin craft chocolate giving solution to a mushy, vague peatiness on the end.
It’s concurrently lingering-yet-unsatisfying. The drop(s) of water Barrell recommends to open up the pour simply permit it to provide solution to but extra mushiness. This isn’t to say it’s a nasty pour, however relatively it’s simply unbalanced. I consistently discovered myself asking what this was alleged to summon. All the parts of one thing good, even one thing already inside Barrell’s arsenal, are there. They’re simply disparate. A story of two, utterly separate islands, a technique over there. No, farther than that. You’ll need to belief me. 118 proof. B- / $85
Barrell Cask End Sequence Amburana – Concurrently whiskey’s Marmite and one of the vital fashionable finishes available on the market, you’d assume that is what it says on the tin: bourbon completed in amburana, or “Brazilian oak” casks. And, positive sufficient, on the nostril it has rather a lot in frequent with different choices available on the market. It smells like a vacation pour, all liberally buttered cinnamon toast and pumpkin spice. An actual deal with should you’re, like me, a fan of the end.
Nevertheless, on the palate is the place it will get attention-grabbing. As a result of this isn’t simply amburana completed whiskey. That is really a five-bourbon mix the place the workforce dumped two 53-gallon amburana barrels and blended it down with unfinished whiskeys. That is paramount to the best way the bourbon’s allowed to shine by way of such a dominant end. It’s not merely current, however vibrant, the interaction of the wooden and the older Indiana bourbons reworking rote cinnamon and caramels into chai, gingerbread, and vanilla into spice cake.
It’s nonetheless desserty, nonetheless spicy, however it’s additionally nonetheless bourbon. Barrell has performed an exceptional job, an absolute tightrope stroll alongside fishing line, in creating an amburana-finished bourbon that’s not solely scrumptious, however balanced. 116 proof. A- / $85
With all that in thoughts: does it matter? The advertising and marketing, the glut, absolutely the disregard for Barrell’s naming conventions? One launch appears like an experiment, a “Why the hell not?” gone awry. The opposite, praxis as victory lap, whereby Barrell reiterates why they’re nonetheless the perfect at what they do. “A Story of Two Ethos,” then? No matter they’ve determined to name the road, so long as they proceed to drop releases like Amburana inside it, it’s one thing to maintain a large eye on.
Barrell Cask End Sequence Amburana
$85
