Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 15 minutes.
Distillery: Distilled in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee & Wyoming.
Proof: 108.5, bottled at cask strength.
Age: 12 to 15 years, finished in French oak for 3 to 26 months.
Mash bill: Not disclosed.
Retail Price: $159.99.
Appearance: Dark copper.
Nose
Crème Brulé, dark chocolate, root beer, vanilla beans, fennel, and a dash of nutmeg, black tea, cherries, pineapple and mango, hazelnuts, and allspice. As the glass sits, the underlying cherry and tropical fruits that I’ve found in some of the Barrell Bourbon Batch releases start shining through. This nose is fantastic!
Palate
The palate follows the nose, leading with brown sugar, dark chocolate, root beer, toasted oak, black tea, followed by dates, cherries, tropical fruit, vanilla, fennel, hazelnuts, and a moderate amount of cinnamon spice. Oak is the star of this show, but there are plenty of other underlying flavors to appreciate in this well-aged, complex blend. The mouthfeel is creamy and viscous, and it drinks very well at its proof point.
Finish
Cinnamon spice continues with root beer, tobacco, dark chocolate, orange peel, tropical fruits, and cloves. As more time passes, you’re left with delicate spice, soft leather, and musty oak tannins for a long, oaky finish with no bitterness.
Conclusion
The 12 Year French Oak is what you’d expect out of a well-crafted, well-aged double oaked bourbon, and then some. There’s plenty of dark chocolate, brown sugar, and root beer, but there’s also the familiar vanilla, tropical fruit, and herbal flavors found in other Barrell Bourbon releases, adding a nice layer of complexity. I wish Barrell had provided a derived mash bill, but it includes the usual suspects plus a Wyoming component, very likely from Wyoming Whiskey, using a wheated bourbon mash bill. A Wyoming component is nothing new and has been used in every Barrell New Year’s release since 2021, Batch 30, and the 13-Year Grey Label Bourbon, which seems to be a not-so-distant cousin to this 12 Year French Oak release. They both share the same state of distillation origins, have a similar low cask-strength ABV, a similar minimum age statement, and the same retail price. Maybe these two releases share some of the same sourced barrels?
I’m impressed by Barrell’s bold choice to use 12- to 15-year-old components rather than using younger whiskey, which is more common in double-oaked releases. Still, 12 Year French Oak aligns with the momentum of the current older whiskey market trend. Even Barrell Bourbon’s most recent Batch 037 was comprised of six of its seven components aged in double digits. It’s also possible, but less likely, that Barrell didn’t want to compete with their Foundation Double Barrel Bourbon by crafting another double oak release, but instead, using higher proofed bourbon with a younger age range like their cask strength Batch releases. But that’s not a bad idea.
A couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t find this 12 Year French Oak release anywhere, and I wondered if Barrell’s September drop on their site would be all there was. Since then, I’ve seen it slowly rolling out online. When I asked, Barrell Craft said, “Right now it’s a limited release that’s available in stores around the country, and at this time we are not sure if we will do another bottling.” Call it FOMO, but I loved this limited release enough to want more than my sample bottle, but my local store didn’t know if or when they’d be getting it. Luckily, I knew where to find it online and snagged it for $140. If you’re a Barrell Bourbon fan or someone who loves an excellent, double-oaked bourbon, I highly recommend the Barrell 12 Year Bourbon Finished in French Oak.
The sample used for this review was provided courtesy of Barrell Craft at no cost and without any stipulations. The opinions of this review are my own.
Rating: 8.5/10.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
