Five years along on Joe Beatrice’s foray into the independent bottling business, his Barrell brand has not taken its foot off the creative pedal. Famous for its unique and truly limited batch releases, each new bottling is markedly different from the rest. Sourcing from distilleries in Indiana and Kentucky, Barrell augmented its sequential Bourbon batch releases with private picks as well. Now, Barrell has gotten into the Rye game, and this second batch is anything but traditional. 5 year-old MGP Rye aged in Indiana and Kentucky joins a 5 year-old 100% Polish Rye aged in new charred barrels.
Had someone poured me a glass from the bottle, I would have been very excited to taste this. However, Barrell Rye Batch #2 arrived as a surprise in the mail in an unmarked bottle by a friend. I tasted this unique Rye completely blind, and my tasting notes below were recorded without any knowledge as to the whiskey’s identity.
Rye Batch 002 is our second release that expands on our interpretation of a traditional rye whiskey, combining two very diverse ryes.Barrell BourbonClick to explore our complete library of reviews to help you choose your next perfect bottle.
Barrell Rye Batch #2
- DISTILLER: A sourced blend of Indiana (MGP) Rye and Polish 100% Rye whiskey bottled by Barrell Bourbon.
- MASH BILL: Polish malted rye, Indiana rye and malted barley
- AGE: 5 Years
- YEAR: 2017
- PROOF: 117.6 (58.8% ABV)
- MSRP: $89.99
TASTE: Mild Sweetness | Bitterness gives way to a substantial dryness
FINISH: Very long and enjoyable
SHARE WITH: Rye fans looking for something different or interesting would appreciate trying Barrell Rye. I wouldn’t consider this representative of the category, which is precisely what Beatrice is going for with these one-off releases.
WORTH THE PRICE: $90 or so is a lot of money for me to spend on a roll of the dice. This is going to be very different from what you’re generally familiar with when it comes to Rye. I suspect some will feel it’s worth it, and others may not.
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Due to the uniqueness of each release (and in particular this one) I would suggest trying it at a bar first.
OVERALL: First, the obvious: I had no idea this was a rye. In fact, I guessed this was a Knob Creek Bourbon pick. The higher proof tricked me in to thinking there was more age on this than its 5 years. It also had more corn sweetness than rice spice to me, and no hint of the pickle juice that I tend to get from MGP Ryes. All that being said, I thought it was an interesting whiskey worth exploring.
I really like Barrell and how they choose to innovate. It will be very exciting to see how Barrell Ryes evolve from release to release and I look forward to tasting some more of them.
Learn more about Brett’s whiskey preferences and check out more of his reviews…
Mark Twain said, “too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” A passionate whiskey hunter & gatherer, Brett serves his opinions and reviews just like his bourbon - straight and not watered down. A native Chicagoan, he attended the University of Kansas and Chicago’s John Marshall Law School before moving to Omaha, Nebraska, where he runs a packaging distribution company and enjoys opening bottles with good friends. Read Brett's full profile.
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[…] Barrell Rye Batch #2 Review Bourbon & Banter Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 12:05 pm 0 Bourbon […]
Just tried it tonight and I like this one quite a bit. Reminds me the muscat notes from Muscat finished Bardstown Bourbon Company(collaboration with Copper & King).