Barrell Bourbon Batch 026
Mostly Bourbon

Bourbon

September 12, 2023

Last May I received an email from Barrell Craft titled, “We’re opening the vault”. For a limited time, Barrell offered some of their vintage releases that were long gone from retail shelves. I was surprised to see that these older batches were still around and thought maybe they were leftover duds from the past. I’m no expert on vintage Barrell batches and can’t even remember which ones were hot a couple of years ago. Reading all the info for each batch gave me the gist, but not enough to be sure I wasn’t going to regret it. After a quick search, I found an article from The Bourbon Culture called, “10 Best Barrell Craft Spirits Bottles Reviewed: 2020 – 2023 ” . Batch 026 was #6 on their list.

Batch 026 was Barrell Bourbon’s last release in 2020. According to The Bourbon Culture, just three months prior there was a lot of hype surrounding Batch 025 being the first Barrell batch to contain a wheated bourbon, and it was a big hit. Barrell fans anticipated the wheated trend to continue, only to be disappointed when Batch 026 was released. To make matters worse, Batch 027 was released three months later with a wheated bourbon in the mix, leaving Batch 026 in the dust. In the meantime, Batch 026 was getting great reviews and winning awards through 2021.

Barrell’s website says,“Barrell Bourbon Batch 026 was created by combining 9, 10, 11, 13 and 15-year-old barrels in several blending steps. The first was a fusion of 9-year-old high rye barrels peppery and pointed on the palate, 10-year-old oak forward barrels, and sweet, toasty 11-year-old barrels for mouthfeel and classic baking spice notes. The second balanced citrus forward 10, 12 and 15-year-old barrels with spicy, floral 9-year-old high rye barrels. These two blends were gradually co-mingled resulting in an intriguing bourbon that dances between fruit and spice long into its finish”. I wonder why they didn’t mention the characteristics of the 13-year-old barrel. Let’s check it out!

Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 15 minutes. 

Distillery: Distilled in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Proof: 112.64, bottled at cask strength.

Age: A selection of 9, 10, 11, 13, and 15-year-old barrels.

Mash bill: NAS.

MSRP: $85.00.

Appearance: Reddish caramel.

Nose

Maple syrup, molasses, toasted oak, vanilla bean, peaches, mixed berry fruit jam, pineapple, black tea, fennel, mint, allspice, dark rich oak. Smelling pineapple as a bourbon note is a first for me but there’s a tropical vibe to this bottle that I get every time. The overall balance of all the flavors is excellent and there is very little proof heat. I love how fruit-forward this is, combined with a lot of mature, dark flavored barrel influences

Palate

The nose is similar to the palate with sweet toffee, chocolate-covered raisins, mixed berries, vanilla, black tea, citrus, and tobacco. A considerable but balanced amount of black pepper spice covers the whole palate with a creamy mouthfeel. I especially love all the rich toffee and darker flavors the oak brings out, with all the fruit and herbal flavors that take turns being the focus as the sip progresses.

Finish

Black pepper spice lingers on for a long time with oak, tobacco, black tea, mixed berries, citrus, vanilla, and toffee. All the way through this pour you can taste the influence of the older barrels used in this batch. Even more so towards the very end of the finish with some dusty oak and more tobacco, with just a touch of Dickel “minerality”. Overall, this finish is long and excellent.

Conclusion

It’s always impressive to me when Barrell Craft creates something that is more unique than the sum of its parts. I’m also impressed by the way they use George Dickel barrels in their blends. Sometimes I find they use Dickel subtly, while other times it’s extremely obvious, and I mean that in the best way possible. Batch 026 is the latter. Imagine taking some excellent and very mature oak-driven Dickel and combining it with very fruit-forward Barton and 36% high rye MGP and you’ve got Batch 026 in a nutshell. Of course, it’s possible there’s also some oaky Barton in there too with fruit-forward MGP, but you get the idea.

Compared to other Barrell Bourbon batches I’ve had in the past couple of years, Batch 026 has a more mature overall tasting profile. I credit this to being the last batch released that starts at 9 years old. Except for Batch 028 which was an outlier containing only 10 and 11-year barrels, Barrell Bourbon batches have started at 5 and 6 years since Batch 026 was released. While it’s true prior to 2020, there were 10 Barrell Bourbon batches that included barrels younger than 8 years (excluding 4 New Year batches), 17 batches started at 8 years or older. I’m including the “7b & 8b” batches for those who are doing the math. Here is a list of what the batch ages were since Batch 026. I included the states of distillation and which ones contained a wheated bourbon.

Batch 026 – 9 through 15 years. TN, KY & IN.
Batch 027 – 5 to 15 years. TN, KY & IN. Wheated.
Batch 028 – 10 and 11 years. TN, KY & IN.
Batch 029 – 6 through 16 years. KY, TN, & IN. Wheated.
Batch 030 – 5 through 15 years. TN, KY, IN & WY. Wheated.
Batch 031 – 6 through 16 years. TN, KY & IN. Wheated.
Batch 032 – 5 through 10 years. TN, KY & IN.
Batch 033 – 5 through 9 years. TN, KY & IN.
Batch 034 – 6 through 15 years. TN, KY & IN.
Batch 035 – 6 through 13 years. IN, TN & KY.

Another good perspective into the Barrell Bourbon past is The Bourbon Culture’s review of Batch 35 where all the Barrell Bourbon batches are grouped into what they call “four evolutionary periods”. I’m not saying that Barrell Craft hasn’t released some excellent batches since Batch 026, because they have. I will say that Batch 026 beats out Batch 030 as my new all-time favorite Barrell Bourbon batch. I love bourbons that are both fruit and oak-driven and Batch 026 checks those boxes and then some. I’m looking forward to trying Batch 035 to see how it stacks up.

Rating: 8.3/10.

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.

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