American Whisky Review #20: Blanton’s Single Barrel

Distillery: Buffalo Trace

Region: Kentucky

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/pwnedapanda

ABV: 46.5% Cask Strength

Barrel Details: Barrel Number 1671, dumped on 2.28.2018

Age: NAS

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

This is the eighth in my Countdown to Christmas series where I’ll be posting a review a day until Christmas. You can find the entire series here.

Nose: (according to the wife) Lots of freshly cut wood and acetone along with a bit of cherry.

Palate: Very thin mouthfeel, it goes down incredibly easily though. There’s a nice big helping of rye spice with cloves and other baking spices at the forefront along with a bit of cherry. The main note though is fresh oak and tannins. There’s the tiniest hint of corn mash towards the end.

Finish: Rather short. More of those fresh oak and tannins notes pop up briefly.

Conclusion: I’ve had Blanton’s a few times in bars and restaurants but I’ve not had a chance to sit down and actually think through what I’m drinking. It’s an incredibly easy to drink dram, it goes down very smoothly and I can see why so many people go crazy over this. However, that might just about be the only redeeming point in this for me. The nose has a rather unpleasant acetone note. The palate is so wood forward that I felt like I was chewing on wood. The finish is more of the same. Decent, but far from great. Would I buy a bottle? Unlikely.

Final Score: 74.

Scotch & Sheen is now on Instagram! Please take a look for quick summaries of my reviews!

American Whisky review #20, Bourbon Whiskey Review #17, Whisky Network Review #174

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.