Barrell Bourbon Cigar Blend Cask Strength - 55.6% 75cl

Barrell Cigar Blend Bourbon is a blend of whiskeys aged 7.5 to 18 years finished in Madeira, Armagnac, rum, and Hungarian oak casks, delivering layered notes of dark fruit, molasses, and warm spice. Refined yet expressive, it's equally compelling with or without a cigar-crafted for slow sipping, long conversations, and a finish designed to linger.

Boston cream pie and grape soda announce that you're in for a dark, sweet, brandy-inflected bourbon. The barrels have imparted everything from cedar chest to pipe tobacco and pu'er tea. Hungarian oak's gentle cola spices pervade every part of the drinking experience while the Madeira adds pecan pie to the palate and sweet vermouth to the finish.

APPEARANCE:

Maple syrup.

NOSE:

The heady, piquant scent of crusty sourdough bread strikes first. A distinctly fruity note plays second fiddle to the toffee, pipe tobacco and dusty cedar chest of the casks themselves. The oxidized wine imparts walnuts, dry autumn leaves, and leather of rancio, going as far as miso in the savoury direction. As the whiskey breathes, pastries emerge ranging from sticky buns and eclairs ta sweet potato pie. Fruits resolve into pear, persimmon, and a splash of grape soda.

PALATE:

Warm cola with the cinnamon dialed up. Slightly burnt cornbread, pistachio ice cream, and a vanilla so pungent it's perfume-like. The texture is big, rich and chewy, full of oils, sugars and tannins. The Armagnac makes its presence felt with dried cherries and dates, while the oak brings notes of pu'er tea, and fernet. Underneath that earthiness one finds a bit of dried mushroom and soy sauce.

FINISH:

The combination of oak, spice and fortified wine reads as sweet vermouth, as if you're swallowing a sip of Manhattan. Clove is particularly pungent, as is juniper berry and cocoa powder. There's a rich mineral vein running through it containing slate and salt. As it lingers there's ample opportunity to focus on facets of rosehips, cinchona bark, black truffle and incense.