Kentucky’s Best Whiskey Blender Just Dropped a Hazmat-Level 33-Year-Old Canadian Whisky
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Barrell Craft Spirits is, as we’ve explained more than once here before, one of Kentucky’s premiere whiskey blending houses. The Louisville operation sources barrels from various producers and distilleries and blends them into superlative whiskeys, often giving the liquid unique cask finishes along the way. While bourbon is the company’s bread and butter, that’s not the only category that it delves into, as proven by the release of this new 33-year-old Canadian whisky finished in French oak and sherry casks.
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Canadian whisky might not be on the top of every brown spirits fan’s list, but the fact is that there are some excellent expressions being released. WhistlePig might be making its own rye whiskey now, but for more than a decade it’s been sourcing its juice from Alberta Distillers in Calgary (along with MGP in Indiana, of course). Canadian whiskies like Crown Royal are extremely popular here in the U.S., and that brand in particular has been adding older aged expressions to its lineup like a new 31-year-old blended whisky. J.P. Wiser went even older, releasing a tasty new 42-year-old blend as part of its Decadent Series.
Add Barrell Craft Spirits to the list of companies touting the virtues of extra-aged Canadian whisky, which can stand up to decades inside barrels because of the use of used oak and cooler climate there. (Of course, new oak is used as well, and the summers do get pretty hot, but still.) The details about this new whisky are kind of scarce, which is unusual for BCS. The company just says the spirit is a blend of barrels of Canadian whisky that were aged for 33 years, presumably in Canada, and then finished in Kentucky in French oak and Oloroso sherry casks. We did not get to sample this whisky for ourselves, but the official tasting notes describe “zesty citrus and herbal characteristics with notes of vanilla and veg tanned leather” on the palate, followed by a “deep, mulchy earthiness” on the finish.
Also of note, this is a true hazmat whiskey. That term refers to whiskey bottled at 140 proof or higher, a level that the FAA deemed is unsafe to bring onboard an airplane. This new 33-year-old whisky was bottled at cask strength of exactly 140 proof, or 70 percent ABV, putting it into that category. If you can’t tell, that’s really, really strong, which is something that some people love, others not so much. There are just 333 bottles being released of this new Canadian whisky (SRP $200), which will be available to purchase online from the website starting today. You can also check ReserveBar now to find many other expressions in the deep and varied BCS lineup.
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