Ridgemont 1792 Single Barrel Select (for Kensington Wine Market)

I brought this bottle back with me from Calgary, and I drank almost the entire damn thing in about two months, saving one last dram for my review. Barton 1792 Distillery bottled this single barrel exclusively for Kensington Wine Market in Calgary. There is no age statement (their Small Batch is usually 8 years old) and no information about the barrel.

The colour is a deep copper. On the nose there is cigar box, musty bookshelf, sweet corn, furniture polish and red apple skins. Lots of oak. Pencil shavings. A drop of water adds peaches and wood smoke. Classic, hard-edged bourbon.

On the palate there is a lot of spice and more alcohol heat than I was expecting. Burnt toffee, blackberries, vanilla pods, cigar ash and black cherries. Water smooths things out nicely. Delicious, and really packs a punch!

The medium-length finish is luxurious with cloves, cardamom and charred oak. This is excellent stuff, but without doing a side-by-side I can't tell if I like this better than the Small Batch 8 year old or not. Ultimately, it doesn't matter since they are both fantastic!

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