Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass Release is 16-year Cask Strength
TheBarrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass expression is official! The Louisville, KY blender and bottler of unique, aged, cask strength sourced whiskey and rum, is known for its blending expertise. That is certainly what you get in this unique blend based on Canadian rye whiskey.
This highly anticipated drop is featured on our bourbon release calendar for the month of January. We review everything bourbon lovers need to know from price to proof. Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Limited Edition releases feature a variety of expressions from Bourbon, Whiskey, Rye, Rum, and now Seagrass. What exactly is Seagrass though you may ask?
“We knew we had something special with the launch of Barrell Seagrass last year and decided to take that same method of global sourcing and blending, both in whiskey and finishing materials, and apply it to a very special set of barrels,” says BCS Founder Joe Beatrice in a press release announcing the whiskey release. “BCS Gray Label Seagrass is an expression rooted in the profile of Barrell Seagrass, but at a level only achievable with older and higher proof whiskies.”
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Review & Tasting Notes
The 2022Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass cask strength release consists of two different batches of 100% Canadian rye barrel stock. The juice from those two separate groups of rye is 16-year old juice, with deep maturation.
Of those those groups features characteristics ofbright citrus, crisp green apple notes, and the other group with earthy spearmint notes. Next, a portion of the first group was finished in Apricot Brandy casks, whilea portion of the second group was finished in Martinique rhum barrels. Furthermore,a blend of the first and second groups was finished in Malmsey Madeira barrels. When each set of those secondary maturations hit their desired aging, those casks were pulled, and married with the final blend in a slow and precise manner.
Quick notes regarding this limited edition release:
- Matured for 16 years
- Distilled in Canada
- Rye whiskey finished in Martinique rhum, Madeira, and apricot brandy casks
- Aged in the US and Canada
- Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
- 130.82 proof cask strength bottling
Color
Rich, golden straw.
Nose
Aroma: The savory side of rye is showcased by an array of exotic spices and seeds–caraway, fenugreek, dill, and mustard. Rye toast, grilled cornbread, and roasted taro root give it a bready depth. The Rhum Agricole barrels bolster the spirit’s innate grassy notes of cucumber peel, black olive, and bark mulch. Beyond the cask’s prior contents, the oak itself is expressed by cigar tobacco, coffee, and cinnamon.
Palate
Taste: Extremely oily, displaying notes of peanut-, coconut-, and tea tree–oils. As it’s held in the mouth it grows creamier with soy milk and cocoa butter. A bright lemonade note buoys nutty sunflower seed in a nod toward the madeira barrels. That madeira influence expands into notes of grapefruit peel, verjus, and gravel.
Finish
The apricot brandy casks pick up where the madeira left off, bursting forth with passionfruit, mirabelle plum, and banana peel. Now the collective minerality of the rye and its respective finishes wash over the palate with notes of chalk dust, flint, paraffin, and cedar smoke.
With a splash of spring water: The maritime scent of fresh costal breeze is dialed up. Maraschino liqueur, cloudberry, and green apple herald a fresh fruitiness. Meanwhile marmalade, burnt marshmallows, and roasted chestnut sweeten the palate considerably. It gets a bit woodsier too, with balsam, wild mint, and raspberry leaf.
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Release Date & Availability
TheBCS Gray Label Seagrass will hit shelves January, 2022. It will be available in Barrel Craft Spirits’ typical 48 U.S. state distribution zone, and also available viawww.barrellbourbon.com.
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Proof & ABV
This BCS Gray Label Seagrass cask strength blend is bottled at 130.82 proof and is non-chill filtered like all of the BCS products. The130.82-proofing is the equivalent of 65.41% ABV.
Mash Bill
While we aren’t 100% sure of theBarrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass mash bill for these two groups of Canadian rye, some folks suspect this whiskey is sourced from Valleyfield Distillery in Canada. The typical rye this distillery makes features a mashbill around 53% rye, 39% corn and 8% malted barley.
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MSRP & Secondary Price
This 2022 Limited Edition release is available in a 750ml bottle which resembles a similar looking bottle the distillery uses for the most of its releases.Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass has an MSRP of $250. Being as it is a highly sought after offering with limited allocation, secondary market prices will demand many times over that that retail price. Historically those secondary prices have gotten more than $700.
Suggested retail pricing is officially set for $250. However, you may be hard pressed to actually findBCS Gray Label Seagrass for sale since it’s an allocated release. Therefore, if you’re willing to pay secondary prices just to score a bottle, get ready to pay two to three times over the SRP from the producer.
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