GOLD LABEL
BOURBON
PRESS
Uproxx ranks Gold Label Bourbon #2 in "The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked," saying, "This is 21st-century bourbon at its best — perplexing, provocative, and profound." Barrell Vantage and Barrell Bourbon New Year 2023 also made the list.
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Jake Emen of Man Talk Food reviews BCS Gold Label Bourbon, giving it a score of 93.
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Breaking Bourbon sips Barrell Gold Label: “there is no debate when it comes to the fact that Barrell Gold is a great bourbon.”
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Whisky Advocate reviews Barrell Gold Label, giving it a high score of 92
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Drinkhacker reviews Barrell Gold Label Bourbon, saying, “you’ll be hard pressed to find anything else quite like this on the shelves.”
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Whiskeyfellow reviews Barrell Gold Label Bourbon, saying, “stupendous. It is gorgeous. It is delicious. It is amazing.”
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Barrell Craft Spirits Gold Label listed in 50 Things We Want by Brobible
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Barleycorn Drinks includes BCS Gold Label in their 2021 Holiday Gift Guide
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Barrell Craft Spirits Launches Limited-Edition and Ultra-Rare BCS Gold Label Bourbon
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Matured for 16 years
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Distilled and aged in IN, KY and TN
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Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
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113.54 proof cask strength bottling
Barrell Craft Spirits Gold Label Bourbon is a blend of 16- and 17-year-old straight bourbons. Barrels for this release were selected from four different collections: cherry bomb barrels with a rich mouthfeel, nutty oak-forward barrels, high proof and high complexity barrels, and barrels with pronounced milk chocolate notes. The last group underwent a secondary maturation in toasted virgin American oak casks before being added to this intricate and seductive blend.
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FLAVOR NOTES
A classically fruity bourbon, as sixteen years of maturation have produced an array of stewed and dried fruits of kaleidoscopic complexity. The overlay of toasted oak has rounded off all the sharp edges, leaving a soft and gentle profile that belies its high proof.
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Neat
Appearance: Burnt marmalade.
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Nose: The fresh and gentle notes from toasted oak are most obvious, as they add an unexpected dimension with vivid sugar cane, pipe tobacco, and toasted cinnamon. This freshness is contrasted by the earthiness of slate, tar, and cedar smoke. Fruits soon emerge, presenting rhubarb, Rainier cherry and tamarind, before shifting to dried apricot and papaya.
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Palate: Candied ginger, marmalade, and northwestern hoppy beer notes speak to a foundational bittersweet profile. These are tempered by an unctuous creaminess, incorporating pina colada, key lime pie, and banana custard. Peach nectar, and cherry jam all contribute to a juicy quality whiskey at its best.
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Finish: A bright pop of hibiscus and za’atar quickly yields to the cavalcade of dried and stewed fruits. As that fades some oak spices appear - sassafras, cocoa powder, smoked cinnamon, and incense.
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With a few drops of spring water
A bouquet of floral notes erupts from the glass: meadowsweet, elderflower and chamomile in the lead. The palate, on the other hand, develops instead along toasted coconut and curry.