This is an international-only release of Blanton's, a popular single-barrel bourbon released by Buffalo Trace in the U.S. The major selling point behind Blanton's Gold, apart from its exclusivity in markets, is that it is bottled at a higher proof than regular Blanton's. Let's see how it is.
While it’s fine bourbon, I don’t think it’s worth 2x regular Blanton’s, which I feel like balances it out a bit better, and there are certainly plenty of releases regularly available under the $120 MSRP that I would have ahead of this.
I’m not sure how many would go back for a second bottle due to the fact that while it’s slightly better, I’d be willing to bet many would be hard pressed to pick one bottle of Gold over almost two bottles of Blanton’s Original Single Barrel
It would be fun to see how much variance there is in Blanton’s Gold releases. Are they like Four Roses SiBs that have a fairly narrow range of variance in quality or will they be like Jack Daniel’s and have a huge range?
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House Review
Nose:
Honey, caramel, clove and tobacco. Some corn syrup, earthy pepper. Nice complexity here and certainly much more than the standard Blanton's Single Barrel.
Taste:
Medium mouth feel, clove and brown sugar. Maple, honey, oak. Mild fruits, earthy tobacco. Great complexity, quite a bit of diversity. Fun and loving that tobacco character.
Finish:
Medium length, earthy pepper, nice cocoa and creamy wafer. Some tobacco. Tobacco returns here and is pleasant, as is that wafer note. Really nice finish.
Overall:
Not too bad - I like this better than the OG Blanton's and about the same as some of their Straight From The Barrel expressions. When Blanton's is good, it's good!
Score:
85
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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