Blanton's Original

Blantons Original Single Barrel Warehouse: H Barrel: 1237 Rick: 56 Dumped: 1-22-2018

I figured i would do a third BT product this week in keeping with the theme.

Blantons Original Single Barrel is a Buffalo Trace distillery product, under the Sazerac Company. It is Buffalo Trace mash bill #2, which is believed to be a higher rye mash bill (I've seen estimates of 12-15% rye, 5% barley) than mash bill #1. This whiskey has become harder to find in many areas and is often seen at ridiculous and inflated prices. I paid about retail for this last month at $65+tax. Bottle has been opened for a few weeks and is 80% full. Sample is in an Arran style Glencairn.

Nose neat: Takes some time to open up. When it does, I get fruity notes strawberry, raspberry and blackberry. More so of strawberry. Also notes of honey, vanilla, and the inside of an acorn. Some more time reveals a wee hint of smoke and butterscotch. It takes some time and its still a bit closed but nice nonetheless. Perhaps a drop of water will open things up?

Palate neat: Honey! Lots of honey. Vanilla. Then loads of fruit jelly. Apricot and strawberry jam to be more particular. Near swallow I get a tad bit of chili pepper spice. Very enjoyable and opens up more than the nose.

Finish: Finish is oakier and drier. Not as fruity, but spicy, peppery and oaky. A nice way to balance all the sweet fruit and honey out. Short-Medium in length.

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Nose w/water: Really not much change in the flavours but it does open it up a bit and brings out the grains more.

Palate with water: This was a mistake. The lovely fruit jams are gone and I'm left with the grains. Wait...some time lends itself out some grapes. So we went from strawberry and apricot to grapes. Interesting.

Finish w/water: Spicier, less oak.

Overall: A much better BT experience than my last two reviews. I would summarize the flavours thusly: Buttered toast with fruit jellies, honey and a dash of chili pepper. Much better without water.

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