This would be a nice bottle to have on the bar and bring out when your whiskey friends come over. I don’t like that the story behind the bourbon is so vague and has so many unknowns.
It's silky and surprisingly gentle for a 20-year-old whiskey, with notes of creamy caramel, brown sugar and touches of tropical fruit and allspice. It finishes remarkably long, with gentle vanilla sweetness.
It’s certainly not a bad bourbon, in that it isn’t littered with acrid or bad flavors, but it’s not as balanced as I would like for a bourbon of its age and price, and it’s not very complex in the least.
All the BS marketing aside I really do enjoy the Orphan Barrel Barterhouse and if you think about it, it’s not a shabby deal. $90 for 20 year old bourbon?
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House Review
Nose:
Faint, mellow and not very robust. Malty, grainy and caramel heavy. Subdued leather, clove and mild brown sugar. Mild woody char.
Taste:
Bananas? doughy, thin, astringent and mildly hot. Molasses, clove, leather, and brown sugar.
Finish:
Medium but shortest of the three. Hot and punchy which was really a surprise,
Overall:
You can tell by my lack of detail that I'm not horribly thrilled. For an old, expensive product this was nothing greater than an average dram. As a result of this, Barterhouse also gathers a 5 rating. It's not bad, but it's also not excellent.
Score:
80
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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