Review #828 - Blanton's Gold Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Pity the Fool'
Between the standard Blanton's single barrel bourbon and the Straight From the Barrel version of Blanton's, there's a middle ground: Blanton's Gold, bottled at 51.5% ABV (103 proof). Adorned with a reflective gold horse topper, this bottle is clearly meant to be eye candy, but we're a little more interested in how it actually tastes.
The market for Blanton's gold has dropped off a bit in the past year or two; as far as we can tell, the MSRP for this bottle now sits at $130 or so, and it can be found quite regularly at auction for $150 to $160, or just a $20 to $30 markup. It's a sign that the bourbon market is continuing to slow, but maybe also that the Blanton's brand doesn't have the same reputation that it once did.
This specific single barrel was picked by the Wiseguy Lounge, a chain of speakeasy-style bars in the Midwest USA. It was aged for a total of 7 years in the famous Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace.
Blanton's Gold Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Pity the Fool'
USA - Bourbon
MSRP: USD 130 (2026)
Available Price: USD 155 (2026, based on recent auction results)
Age Statement: 7 Years
Strength: 51.5% ABV
Details: Warehouse H, rick 37, barrel 68; barreled June 22, 2018, bottled September 21, 2025
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 90% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Musty, with a combination of cherry cordial and leather. The complexion is dark overall, but we also get bruleed sugar, cinnamon, a bit of coffee ice cream too. It's quite sweet; caramel and whipped cream mix with vanilla and soft grape notes.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. Butterscotch and cinnamon sugar start the palate, but there's also a decent amount of drying oak tannins and some corn spirit character. Overall, it's still sweet and candied with honey and graham crackers, as well as vanilla and a bit of a starchy flavor.
Finish: Butterscotch, oak tannins, buttery oak, and nutmeg; graham crackers, hot honey, and creamy grain. It's a medium length finish.
Final Note: The nose on this bourbon is very nice, but in comparison, the palate ended up being a little bit of a letdown. Each part of the tasting experience was quite sweet, but we liked that darker, denser complexion that the nose had, along with that typical grape flavor that we tend to find in Buffalo Trace bourbons. The palate was much more focused on baking spices and oak, and it tasted a little bit young at times. Overall, it's a good bourbon, but nothing more than that.
At both the MSRP and the current secondary valuation, we think that this bourbon is a little bit overpriced. It's a nice trophy to have on the shelf, but we think there are other bourbons that taste much better at the $150 price point.
Our Rating: 7.0 / 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 (MSRP): 5.53
Value Rating (Available Price): 5.21
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.
