Barrell Dovetail was a labor of love in the blending department over at Barrell Craft Spirits - taking almost a year to get right. It's a blend of straight whiskeys finished in Rum, Port, and Cabernet wine casks, bottled at a hefty 62.26% ABV.
Barrell really does some things that you look at and think, “that can’t work” and even this one isn’t that crazy, then you taste it and it is a bit of sensory blast that takes a second to wrap your head around, but then you realize, it works.
This whiskey is like an orchestra or composition you don’t think will work but totally does. It may seem a little weird when you consider all that’s involved, but there’s also a fun richness and weird blending and tuneful quality to it.
The palate is chewy, with dried cherries, grape soda, root beer candy, roasted walnuts, dark chocolate, black pepper, ginger, graham cracker, cinnamon cookie, and lush leathery oak. Good development, if you have the patience to linger.
Like so many of Barrell’s releases, this one is a surprisingly easy sipper at cask strength, but a few drops of water temper the pepper on the palate while amplifying more classic baking spice notes and turning those dark fruits more tropical. A fine addition to the Barrell family.
Sweet, creamy and mouth-pleasing at the first taste, it heads off into a bold, tannic and quite hot direction, with a breathless and somewhat minty finish.
I thought this was a very good whiskey and can tell that a lot of time and effort was put into balancing the flavors so none would overpower the others. It is very well balanced and complex.
