Kentucky’s Best Whiskey Blender Dropped an Eclectic New Rye
Barrell Craft Spirits just released two new blends of straight whiskeys, including an incredible 20-year-old bourbon blend finished in toasted barrels. Well, we have some more news to share from this stellar Kentucky blending house today: the release of a 19-year-old blend of rye whiskeys that was finished in three unusual types of barrels, part of the company’s high-end Gray Label series.
BCS Gray Label Seagrass is a more expensive and older version of the core Seagrass expression, which is a blend of American and Canadian rye whiskeys finished in Martinique rhum, Madeira, and apricot brandy casks. The new Gray Label release is a blend of two lots of 19-year-old Canadian rye barrels made from a 100 percent rye grain mashbill (the source is not disclosed, but Alberta Distillers is a likely suspect given the age and mashbill). According to the brand, one group was chosen for its “bright citrus and crisp green apple notes,” while the other had more “earthy spearmint notes.” Some of the first group was finished in apricot brandy barrels and some of the second group in rhum agricole barrels from Martinique, while a blend of barrels from each group was finished in Malmsey madeira wine barrels. Finally, the barrels were blended together and bottled at cask strength of 128.3 proof. According to the official tasting notes, the rhum barrels reinforce the whiskey’s grassy notes, the madeira provides some nutty flavors, and the apricot brandy barrels give the blend tropical fruit notes and some minerality.
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The second Gray Label release is a blend of straight bourbons aged from 13 to 19 years that were distilled in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Wyoming. Dickel and MGP are the likely sources for the Tennessee and Indiana bourbons respectively, although that is unconfirmed. Wyoming bourbon has been used in a few BCS releases as of late, and a likely source for that would be Wyoming Whiskey, although again that is just conjecture. The whiskey was bottled at cask strength of 110.12 proof, and the tasting notes, which are always elaborate for BCS whiskeys, describe s’mores, oatmeal raisin cookie, crystallized ginger, peppermint, and black peppercorn on the palate, to mention just a few.
The 13-year BCS Gray Label Bourbon is available now for a suggested retail price of $159 from the BCS website and specialty stores around the country, and you can find past releases available to purchase from websites like Total Wine. You’ll have to wait a few more days to find the 19-year BCS Gray Label Seagrass in stores, however, and it won’t be available from the BCS website until December 1. You can find other expressions, including the regular Seagrass blend, available now at ReserveBar.
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