Blanton's Straight From The Barrel

Producer: Blanton Distilling Company, Frankfort, KY

Distiller: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY

Age: No Age Statement, probably 6 years

Bottled: 2020

Proof: 128.2

Finish: None

This is the original single barrel bourbon bottled at barrel proof. Blanton's Straight From The Barrel was only available by import from Japan until 2020. That's when Buffalo Trace started selling it in America. This deserves a little back story. The mash bill for Blanton's and a few other Buffalo Trace bourbons is owned by a Japanese company. This is Mash Bill #2, otherwise known as the "high rye" mash bill, though in reality, it's only medium rye. Blanton's was created as the world's first single barrel bourbon in 1984, but the barrel proof version wasn't created until many years later. It's named after Col. Albert B. Blanton, who was the one time president of what became the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Since Blanton's SFTB comes from a single barrel, every barrel will have a different proof, but you can always expect it to be high. It's allocated and new bottles will cost up to $300 on the secondary market.

Color: Amber

Body: Medium to full, thick legs

Nose: Tropical notes like pineapple, oak, raisin, carrot cake spices, pineapple upside down cake with brown sugar and cherries

Palate: Almond, wedding cake, peppermint, sugar cookie, mild baking spice, mild fruit, more cherry now, pineapple fades away, vanilla surges, cake pop with almond icing, water opens up the sweetness

Finish: Medium, finishes in the bakery with more cake

Score: King

Song: Crazy Nights - Loudness

This bourbon is a cake bomb. It takes the typical Blanton's to a bakery level. The extra ABV is a tremendous boost to what is a perfectly ordinary bourbon. I haven't reviewed the typical Blanton's on Bourbon Roxx yet, but I've consumed so many bottles over the years that I can tell you what I think. There's nothing special about Blanton's. It's all the typical bourbon flavors, sweet corn, oak, vanilla, caramel, and maybe a little cherry, but it does those flavors in a perfect way. Blanton's may be the best ordinary bourbon in the world. However, Straight From The Barrel takes Blanton's to an extraordinary level. It has all flavors of cake from pineapple upside down cake with brown sugar and cherries, to carrot cake with a bouquet of spices, to almond wedding cake with vanilla icing. The only thing missing is chocolate, but a few more years in a charred oak barrel might do that, too. Because Blanton's Straight From The Barrel was originally a Japan only brand, I recommend pairing it with Crazy Nights by Loudness, the best band out of Japan. Maybe as Buffalo Trace builds more warehouses, they can find some space to age Blanton's a little longer. It has to be metal clad like Warehouse H, where all Blanton's is aged. Meanwhile, enter the lottery for Blanton's SFTB, or pick a bottle up on the internet.