Vantage highlights the blending expertise that defines Barrell Craft Spirits and is an exciting step forward in our never-ending journey to take bourbon to new heights.
Our unique vantage point in the whiskey world, combined with a passion for experimentation and nuance, has inspired us to produce a blend with impeccable balance and depth of flavor. Barrell Vantage is the result of deliberately pairing specifically identified bourbons with carefully selected cooperage, giving rise to a final expression that focuses on the subtle flavors and their compounding profiles.
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Vantage is a blend of straight bourbons finished in three distinct expressions of virgin oak: Mizunara, French, and toasted American oak casks. The result is a warm, elegant bourbon that highlights the many dimensions of oak.
The BCS team has drawn on years of experience with three-part barrel finishing, used previously in Armida, Dovetail, and Seagrass. With Vantage, those same techniques were applied to the oak itself, using different char levels, toast levels, and oak origins to create a multidimensional blend.
Each component whiskey in Vantage is finished separately, then systematically combined according to a blending process fueled in equal parts by a scientific approach, experience, creativity, and experimentation. This process focuses on the wood characteristics and the specific flavor contributions that each cask contributes to the blend. The result is a masterfully blended, perfectly balanced representation of the harmonious synergy between bourbon and barrel.
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94 POINTS at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge - 2023
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Whisky Advocate Top 20 Whiskies of 2022
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CIGAR & SPIRITS - Gold
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DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL at the John Barleycorn Awards - 2022
FLAVOR NOTES
Selected Mizunara, French, and toasted American oak casks create multifaceted dimensions to this unique blend. The unique aspects of each wood and treatment are layered atop one another, precluding the singular taste of oak. The nose is creamy, spicy, and resinous, and the palate is richly textured and oily, soaked with barrel influence.
Neat
Appearance: Burnt sienna.
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Nose: Creme brûlée, coconut oil, and chocolate pudding invoke the creamy richness of toasted American oak. Tarragon, nutmeg, and warm cola are among the dry, extractive spices highlighting the French oak. Mizunara’s incense and grilled pineapple notes, meanwhile, take the profile in a totally different direction.
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Palate: Sweet and oily with a pronounced espresso note. It’s pleasantly rich on the tongue, which obscures much of the tannin – surprising given how much wood is present. The French oak’s robust spice notes inflect a maple syrup sweetness.
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Finish: Green grapes and red plums burst above the barrel notes for the first time. It’s spicy, too, with za’atar, crystallized ginger and Szechuan peppercorns.
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With a splash of spring water
The nose grows earthier, exhibiting graham cracker and dark chocolate. The spirit’s rye grain emerges, not just with pumpernickel but also celery and chive blossom. The palate grows sweeter, tasting of maraschino liqueur and pavlova. It finishes on grapefruit zest and kola nut.