Barrell Craft Spirits S1B52 Private Release Armagnac Finish Review | The Daily Pour
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Barrell Craft Spirits S1B52 Private Release Armagnac Finish

  • Distiller

    Various

  • Bottler

    Barrell

  • ABV

    65.4%

  • Age

    NAS

  • Price $60 to $99.99

A blend of 8-14-year-old American whiskeys that are re-casked and finished in a single Armagnac cask, this cask-strength release is an entry in Barrell's Private Release line. It's bottled at cask strength with no coloring or filtering and is a member of one of the U.S.'s most popular single barrel release programs. How does that old whiskey and Armagnac tango? Let's find out.

  • Raided Score: 88
  • The Daily Pour
  • By The Daily Pour Staff
  • Barrell does it again with a killer release that takes the best of two unique camps and twines them together into a bold, powerful, decadent whiskey.
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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.

  • Nose:

    Powerful nose that's expressive and full of life: old tobacco, sweet grapes, honey and apple butter strike immediately, joined by undertones of baking spice, like nutmeg and clove, a pinch of pepper and a dash of candied ginger. The nose is old and fresh at the same time, with old parchment, tobacco and raisin bread mingling really pleasantly — no doubt the DNA of the Armagnac involved.

  • Taste:

    Rich on the palate, packed with maple and brown sugar up front on the tastebuds. Over time, the sweet oak, rich tobacco, a hint of nougat and raisin, currant and blackberry show up to blend nicely. At 65% ABV, you'd never know it by the viscous, pleasantly textured palate that's easy to drink — perhaps a touch too easy.

  • Finish:

    Long finish, leaning strongly into the caramel, honey, brown sugar and rich tobacco vein. This one hangs on for a long, good while with a rich, savory exit.

  • Overall:

    Barrell does it again with a killer release that takes the best of two unique camps and twines them together into a bold, powerful, decadent whiskey.

  • Score:

    88

  • Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.

  • By The Daily Pour Staff
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources