Blanton's Straight from the Barrel (no. 235) Review

Hi everyone,

Never tried Blanton’s before. Mainly because it’s generally more expensive and less available than other stuff in the UK, probably due to the little figurine atop each bottle. I was excited about this one in particular because it was up at that higher strength than can sometimes denote an older Bourbon and greater intensity, which is generally what I’m craving from my Bourbon.

Since then I’ve leant that it’s distilled at Buffalo Trace and has a pretty good reputation for quality across the whole range.

 

Blanton's Straight from the Barrel 66.65%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Full

Nose: Intense, oak, nutty, caramel, damp rotting wood, which isn’t an off note but makes for a really interesting nose.

Water: Softer with more fruit, almond and marzipan, even some cherry.

Taste: Really intense caramel and oak then toffee and tingling spices, vanilla, quite bitter though.

Water: Softer with more balance now, lovely orange and it's more juicy.

Finish: Long length. This is where the magic happens. Chocolate, dense and rich, nice oak. Better with water again. Lovely finish.

A very impressive one for my first Blanton's, although not quite as good as the Elijah Craig Barrel Strength I’ve had recently, this is great quality. Especially in the finish here, this one really shines.

79/100

Thanks for reading!

American Review #54

Whisky Network Review #653

American Average: 69.3

Network Average: 74.7

Best Score: 93

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

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