Review #610 - Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon (Rick 95, Barrel 332)
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon - a whisky heavily connected with the whisky boom of the past 10 or so years. This bourbon is a poster child for limited availability, hype, and ultimately for many people, disappointment after overspending on a bottle that can't quite live up to expectations. Is it a good bourbon? Most would say so, but its reputation was pushed into the stratosphere in the 2010s, and it's been a divisive bottle ever since.
Blanton's is said to be the original single barrel bourbon product, with production going back to the 1980s. It's bottled at a middling strength of 46.5% ABV (93 proof), and each bottle is adorned with information about the rick and barrel number from whence the bourbon came. All of Blanton's bourbon is aged by Buffalo Trace in their famous Warehouse H; there's no age statement on the bottle, but these are generally believed to be aged for 6 to 8 years.
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon (Rick 95, Barrel 332)
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 85 (2025)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 46.5% ABV
Details: Warehouse H, rick no. 95, barrel 332; dumped on May 13, 2024
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 11 months; bottles at 90%, and 20% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Musty, with a bit of an alcohol kick; then it's medicinal cherry, like a bit of cherry cough medicine. Brown sugar and vanilla bring more sweetness, and the oak profile is quite soft and nicely rounded. Molasses and blood orange are accent notes, along with leather and tart grape; overall, it's quite mellow.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin; a bit more tannic and dry than expected, with leathery oak and some minty rye spice. Oranges and grape juice add a soft fruit side, and we get baking notes of cardamom, brown sugar, and vanilla icing.
Finish: Mild and well-rounded: a bit of a crowd pleaser, but not a lot of flavor lingering in the finish. Smoky oak combines with orange, grape, blackberries, and some toffee; it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: This bourbon is fine - pleasant flavors with a nice mix of fruit, oak, and baking spices. It's a classic bourbon profile, but there's nothing interesting enough to make it stand out too much; the proof also feels a bit low, which means the flavors aren't too dense and the texture is a bit lacking. Decent stuff, but nothing exceptional.
Secondary prices for the regular version of Blanton's have dropped steeply in the past year or two; you can now pick this up at auction for just $20 to $30 more than Buffalo Trace's suggested retail price. Still, even with prices decreasing, we think that the value proposition here is mediocre; there are much more flavorful bourbons available for $65 to $100.
Our Average Rating: 6.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.42
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Blanton’s reviews:
Review #369 - Blanton's Single Barrel Select - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Omerta'
