Review #: 517
Description: Broken Barrel Sauternes/French Oak Finish: Bourbon Lens
Spirit: Bourbon
Background: 30 for 30 Day 11: Broken Barrel is based out of California and is doing finishing by using staves (broken bits of barrel) to finish MGP, similar to how Maker’s does their finishing. This cask was selected by Bourbon Lens and was aged for 7 years. It was made with the 85% corn, 15% rye mashbill and finished with 75% sauternes and 15% french oak staves and proofed down to 120 for bottling.. A side note, I hate the black bottle. It looks cool but you have no idea how much is left (looking at you too, Octomore) but I will not include that in my rating.
Distillery – MGP
Bottler – Broken Barrel
Brand – Broken Barrel
Selection – Bourbon Lens
ABV – 60%
Age – 7 Years
Nose – Lots of oak, mocha, maple syrup, espresso, sweet spice and herbalism, my mind keeps going to mint chocolate chip brownie
Taste – Maple, caramel, dark cherry juice, fudge. Very much reminiscent of a candy bar like 3 Musketeers, a little bit of blackberry
Finish – Big oak and spice, dark cocoa, espresso, little bit of orange oil, blackberry and some savory herbs pop too
Score: 6
Would I buy a bottle? Yes. I got this on sale for $35 which is a steal, but even at $70 it wouldn’t be a bad value.
Thoughts: This is pretty punchy with its layers of flavor, but it pretty well works. Sweet, lots of oak coming through with the stave (thought I don’t think I can pinpoint sauternes or french oak) but then some fruit comes in to balance. 120 is plenty for proof as it is a touch warm, but I’m sure this was a fun one to pick.