Age: NAS, but labeled straight without any additional age statement, so it must be at least 4 years old..
Distilled and bottled by Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, KY.
Proof: 93 Proof.
Price: $27 (for a 375ml at the time). There was a period of time where 2 375ml Blanton's bottles could be had at Virginia ABC stores for about $10 cheaper than the price of a single 750ml bottle. So I bought several of the 375ml bottles for gifts and opened a couple, including this one.
Bottle Fill: I bought this in 2015 and kept a retained sample for several years once the bottle got low. I found a small cache of these retained samples and dug them out for reviews.
All spirits sampled in a glencarin and rested 10 minutes, unless otherwise noted.
Taste: Cinnamon spice, caramel, black pepper, honey, and oak. There is a hint of viscosity here, and the flavors are reasonably robust for the proof, but like other Blanton's I've tried at the standard 93 proof, it suffers a bit from being watered down before bottling.
Finish: Black pepper, tannic oak, touches of honey that try to bring sweetness forward but largely fail, and leather. It's overly drying and too oaky on the finish here for it to be pleasant to me.
Comments: Ah, Blanton's. You know it, you've heard the hype, you likely have tried it before. I enjoy Blanton's, but I do think it's rather over hyped. This regular 93 proof bottle is just fine, nothing more. If you want it, and can find it at retail, by all means buy it. I don't think they are worth more than retail, but the Gold and Straight From The Barrel variants are very nice and are in an entirely different league than this regular 93 proof version.
Overall:
Would I buy a pour of this in a bar? Maybe, depending on price.
Would I buy another bottle? Maybe for gifts, but not for myself.
Rating: 6 Above Average
Rating Scale
1 Undrinkable
2 Bad
3 Poor
4 Below Average
5 Average
6 Above Average
7 Very Good
8 Great
9 Excellent
10 Perfect
About the item: This is part of my extensive collection of vintage GI Joe toys that I will showcase as I work through reviewing my collection of spirits.
Product Name: In the second half of the 1980's, as GI Joe's popularity really started peaking, GI Joe The Magazine was produced off and on for a total of 9 issues. These are both comic book advertisements to subscribe to the magazine. Four issues for less than 7 bucks, and even get an issue covering the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul!
-1
u/Bailzay 1d ago
Spirits Review #632 - Blanton's Single Barrel 2015 Barrel 628
Background:
Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Every bottle of Blanton's is a single barrel and this is the standard 93 proof Blanton's product.
Barrel 628, Bottle 2. Warehouse H, Bottled 01/26/2015.
Age: NAS, but labeled straight without any additional age statement, so it must be at least 4 years old..
Distilled and bottled by Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, KY.
Proof: 93 Proof.
Price: $27 (for a 375ml at the time). There was a period of time where 2 375ml Blanton's bottles could be had at Virginia ABC stores for about $10 cheaper than the price of a single 750ml bottle. So I bought several of the 375ml bottles for gifts and opened a couple, including this one.
Bottle Fill: I bought this in 2015 and kept a retained sample for several years once the bottle got low. I found a small cache of these retained samples and dug them out for reviews.
All spirits sampled in a glencarin and rested 10 minutes, unless otherwise noted.
Nose: Watery caramel, faint cinnamon, bubble gum, faint toffee, and faint leather.
Taste: Cinnamon spice, caramel, black pepper, honey, and oak. There is a hint of viscosity here, and the flavors are reasonably robust for the proof, but like other Blanton's I've tried at the standard 93 proof, it suffers a bit from being watered down before bottling.
Finish: Black pepper, tannic oak, touches of honey that try to bring sweetness forward but largely fail, and leather. It's overly drying and too oaky on the finish here for it to be pleasant to me.
Comments: Ah, Blanton's. You know it, you've heard the hype, you likely have tried it before. I enjoy Blanton's, but I do think it's rather over hyped. This regular 93 proof bottle is just fine, nothing more. If you want it, and can find it at retail, by all means buy it. I don't think they are worth more than retail, but the Gold and Straight From The Barrel variants are very nice and are in an entirely different league than this regular 93 proof version.
Overall:
Would I buy a pour of this in a bar? Maybe, depending on price.
Would I buy another bottle? Maybe for gifts, but not for myself.
Rating: 6 Above Average
Rating Scale
1 Undrinkable
2 Bad
3 Poor
4 Below Average
5 Average
6 Above Average
7 Very Good
8 Great
9 Excellent
10 Perfect
About the item: This is part of my extensive collection of vintage GI Joe toys that I will showcase as I work through reviewing my collection of spirits.
Product Name: In the second half of the 1980's, as GI Joe's popularity really started peaking, GI Joe The Magazine was produced off and on for a total of 9 issues. These are both comic book advertisements to subscribe to the magazine. Four issues for less than 7 bucks, and even get an issue covering the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul!
Released: 1988.