Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel
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Distiller:
Buffalo Trace
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Bottler:
Buffalo Trace
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ABV:
66.65%
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Age:
NAS
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Price:
$$$$$
- Raided Score: 86
- Publication: SpiritSurveyor
- Excerpt: This is a bit of a departure from my thoughts on the standard bottle, that I feel is more nuanced and better balanced. The SFTB though remains pretty well balanced and while the oak shows the youth, the more time I spent with it the more tropical fruit notes come in that really grab my interest.
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- Raided Score: 88
- Publication: The Whiskey Jug
- Excerpt: I’ve had some other casks that were good, but I’d still have a hard time spending that kind of money on them.
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- Raided Score: 93
- Publication: WhiskyCast
- Excerpt: The taste is equally intense and fiery with black pepper and notes of caramel and dark chocolate that come out as the spice fades. The finish is lingering with dark chocolate and molasses notes.
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- Raided Score: 88
- Publication: Breaking Bourbon
- Excerpt: The heat in the palate and finish may run rampant and would be served better if it was tamed, but if you like Blanton’s, you’re in for a treat to experience it at barrel strength.
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- Raided Score: 91
- Publication: Drinkhacker
- Excerpt: This one also edges Blanton’s Original and probably even competes with some of the higher proof Antique Collection offerings. Still, the heat never really lets up, suffocating a few flavors and spoiling some of the complexity.
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- Raided Score: 83
- Publication: Whiskey Consensus
- Excerpt: Complexity isn’t a word that came to mind while reviewing this bourbon, however there are indeed some interesting flavors going on.
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- Raided Score: 85
- Publication: Whiskey Raiders
- Excerpt: The finish is long, which is what I had hoped. But its exceedingly hot for the proof
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Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.
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Nose:
Malty and sweet. Cereal grains, caramel, sugar and cream. Mild cinnamon and clove but the nose is all about sweet on this fella.
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Taste:
Thin mouth feel despite the proof, and quite hot. Rough, sweet caramel and cream. Some corn and clove and cinnamon and theres not much more here. Its sweet and hot which is always an interesting combination.
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Finish:
The finish is long, which is what I had hoped. But its exceedingly hot for the proof. Its just not enjoyable to try and pull more notes here because the heat is crushing any other notable flavors except for sweet, cloying caramel.
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Overall:
I'm not going to lie, and I have a feeling it will upset some or a lot of you, but I don't like this dram. Id take CEHT Barrel Proof, ECBP or Bookers over this sucker on any given day without a second thought. Its good, but really it doesn't shine as high as I was expecting it to based on the reactions of people trying to procure a bottle for themselves. I like that it is sweet but it really fell flat on my expectations. If I could, Id slot this sucker into a "budget barrel proof" category. Feels rough and hot - lets half the price and be realistic about what youre getting. Its a little better than the average, I wouldnt turn it down if handed to me, but you can bet that if I saw the shimmer of a Bookers box within a square mile Id drop this in a flash in favor of that. For all of those reasons, I'm giving this dram a 6. A cut above but really it barely got here due to my love of caramel and malty sweet. Nonetheless, Blanton's has been humbled and sits here at rank 6 with the likes of Eagle Rare 10, Smooth Ambler Old Scout 10yr and CEHT Single Barrel.
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Score:
6
- Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
