American Whiskey Review #53: 1792 Full Proof

Distillery: Barton 1792

Region: Kentucky

Price: $45

ABV: 62.5%

Age: NAS

Color: 1.5, Auburn/Polished Mahogany.

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Nose: (according to the wife) Cafe latte. It smells uncannily like a cafe latte. You get the sweetness that only comes from steamed milk along with fragrant and slightly bitter notes of coffee. There’s a bit of caramel as well making for a very lovely nose.

Palate: For being 62.5% ABV, it certainly does not come off as a ball of heat. The main note I get is of freshly made caramel peanut brittle. There’s caramel sweetness, a bit of peanut, and even has a hint of bitterness that you get with the slightly burnt bits. A toasted vanilla note follows along with this. With some water, it gets sweeter and the slightly bitter notes go away but the flavor profile remains largely the same.

Finish: Short but rather intense in flavor. Toasted oak, toasted vanilla, and a hint of burnt sugar get wrapped up into the few brief moments this lingers on the tongue..

Conclusion: I’ve had a few 1792’s and each one seems to be different from the next. One was bananas foster in a bottle, one was liquefied sweet breads, one tasted just like a generic high-rye bourbon, and then you have this one where the nose smells of cafe latte and the palate is caramel peanut brittle. They’re all good in their own different ways, but the nose on this one was intoxicating (literally). You got wafts of the steamed milk notes along with a rich, rich caramel with the bits of coffee here and there helping balance it out. The palate is pretty good on its own as well, especially after it gets watered down a little bit. The finish was an great, intense burst of flavor to wrap things up nicely. Would I buy another bottle? Definitely want to keep one around.

Final Score: 82.

American Whiskey Review #53, Bourbon Review #40, Whisky Network Review #293

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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.