Barrell Bourbon New Year 2027 Review: A 7-State Blend That’s Absolutely Worth the Asking Price

(Photo: Barrell Craft Spirits)

Barrell Craft Spirits officially released the 2027 edition of its annual Barrell Bourbon New Year bottling on Monday, and the blend is as intricate as you’d expect from the blending savants at Barrell. Louisville’s renowned independent blender built the 11th annual edition from bourbons distilled in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wyoming, Maryland, Texas and Ohio, then blended and bottled it at cask strength (115.34 proof). It sells for $84.99 per 750-milliliter bottle on barrellbourbon.com and at select retailers.

Indiana supplies the largest share of the lineup, with components aged seven, eight, nine and 10 years. Kentucky and Maryland each contribute 7- and 8-year-old barrels. The age range stretches in both directions from there. Texas and Ohio add 5-year-old bourbon at the young end, while Tennessee’s 10- and 16-year-old contributions and a 13-year-old from Wyoming anchor the top. The overall derived mashbill of the blend is 73% corn, 22% rye, 4% malted barley and 1% wheat.

The result? One of the best and most nuanced bourbons we’ve tasted this year. It’s loaded with spice, even more than you’d expect from the 22% rye in the mashbill, and has subtle sweet notes and just the right amount of oak.

Expect notes of gingerbread, anise, marshmallow and sassafras on the nose, with a viscous palate featuring cinnamon, butterscotch, blackberry, toasted oak, peanut brittle, licorice and clove. The finish is long, with more baking spice, plus crème brûlée, tea and leather.

Blends with this many moving parts sometimes wind up as a pile of competing flavors, but if you’re a fan of Barrell Craft Spirits, you know that you don’t need to worry about that with any bottle bearing the Barrell logo. New Year 2027 is complex but cohesive and impressively balanced. At $85, this one is absolutely worth buying.

Find our full review, including complete tasting notes and scoring, here.