Whiskey Wednesday

Enjoying a bit of Blanton's Bourbon on a recent trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. Those of you that have been with me since I started here, may remember that I reviewed Blantons back in 2020. But here's a copy of it if you are interested!
Cheers! 🥃

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon - a few interesting facts

Blanton’s is distilled by Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky, which is famously mum abut the exact contents of its Mash Bills #1 and #2.  We do know that Blanton’s is distilled from Mash Bill #2  a “high-rye” mash bill — meaning after the higher proportion of corn common in Buffalo Trace bourbons, the rest (or much of the rest) of the mash bill is made up of rye.

Blanton comes from a famous warehouse. There’s almost never a fun reason to bring up “warehouse lore,” except of course in the case of Blanton’s, because Blanton’s is aged in Buffalo Trace’s famous Warehouse H, the distillery’s only all-metal rick house (or barrel-aging building) and the very place where Blanton himself would stow his select barrels of whiskey. Though unconfirmed, we assume he would visit them and quietly pet them in the middle of the night. With the bourbon inside, Blanton’s barrels are aged for several years in Warehouse H. Since metal conducts heat, the walls of Warehouse H act like an amplifier for Kentucky’s temperature fluctuations, increasing the impact of heat and humidity changes, all of which encourages the barrels to absorb and then flush out the bourbon more often over the course of aging. And the more interaction between bourbon and barrel, the more flavor in the end.

Blantons barrels are almost coddled. Most whiskies are machine-dumped. In contrast, Blanton’s barrels are hand-dumped, which sounds just a bit better adding a level of persnickety care to the process for this bourbon.

The adorable horse stopper atop every bottle of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon each has a letter on it in a little circle to the lower left. Collect all eight and you get “B L A N T O N S”  FYI, the “S” shows the horse crossing the finish line; you can tell because the jockey is fist pumping. Make sure you double check your N's though.... The first is a regular old N, but the second should have a colon after it. 

Notes from Whiskey Wash:

Nose: Notes of citrus, attributable to the rye grain, and toffee, from the barrel, lead off the front, and soft notes of clove and caramel follow. Overall, the nose is well-balanced but a bit soft when compared to the new higher-proof offerings now filling shelves.

Palate: Similar to the nose, citrus notes balanced with sweeter notes like vanilla and caramel lead off the front, and some very light floral notes follow. For the finish, the sweet notes completely dissipate, and the finish takes on a dry, and slightly bitter tone, with notes of toasted nut and oak joining the floral and citrus notes.