In 2020, Barrell Craft Spirits released 14-year-old Gray Label Rum, a blend of Jamaican, Guyanese, and Barbados rums. The blending team then filled the empty barrels with 15-year-old Bourbon from Tennessee. After five years of patient aging, the result is a truly exceptional spirit: a 20-year-old bourbon, elegantly finished in three distinct rum casks.
This is an extremely limited production of 250 bottles priced at $199.99, which will be available June 18th at 10 am Eastern Time online and at their Louisville facility. This sale is not available in AL, AK, AR, HI, IL, LA, MA, MI, MS, SD, TN, or UT.
Two decades in oak have shaped this bourbon into a complex and refined whiskey, layered with nutty, herbal, and leathery notes. The rum cask finishing imparts vibrant depth: Jamaican rum contributes high-ester notes of tropical fruit, roasted pineapple, and melon; Guyanese rum lends rich flavors of maple, buttery oak, and milk chocolate; while Barbadian rum adds warm undertones of banana bread and toffee, completing a profile both intricate and indulgent.
Tasting Notes
Nose: A lush medley of high-ester tropical fruit and ripe melon. Buttery undertones emerge, harmonizing with notes of milk chocolate, sweet oak, and creamy vanilla. Wisps of coconut and cherry weave through, joined by gently warming spices—clove, caramel, and toasted hazelnut.
Palate: On the palate, a comforting richness evokes fresh banana bread and smooth milk chocolate, balanced by a lively burst of lemon cream. Layers of sweet oak, caramel latte, and toffee unfold, leading into a profoundly nutty core featuring spiced pecans, hazelnut, and a whisper of nutmeg and aged leather—an echo of the bourbon’s two decades of maturation.
Finish: The finish brings a slightly resinous note of pine and toasted marshmallow, wrapped in the bittersweet complexity of sweet vermouth. Lingering impressions of dark rum, baking spice, and herbal warmth.
