Barrell Rye Batch 003 Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Barrell Rye Batch 003
(Credit: Barrell Craft Spirits)

Releases from Barrell Craft Spirits are periodic in nature, but we’ve been waiting more than a year for the coming of Barrell Rye Batch 003. This one is a whopper in its blending stock, though. They’ve drawn on sourcing in Indiana (of course), Poland (the novel source introduced with Batch 001), Tennessee and Canada. Given that the age of the stock used ranged from 4 to 14 years, that encompasses just about everywhere I could imagine picking up a substantial consignment of rye whiskey except Kentucky. The result came out at a cask strength of 116.7 proof.

The Whiskey
The liquid has a deep coppered appearance, while the nose smacked me of ginger cookies and vanilla, with a sliver of woodiness. The flavor followed in that vein, being thick with cookie spices and vanilla-brown sugared sweetness, but it was also a little peppery and a touch hot. Those were two distinct aspects, quite separate from each other, and I got that heat despite adding a generous splash of water. So, this whiskey has a little bite to it.

The finish, however, had no trace of that heat (an interesting twist in and of itself to be sure). The final stanza opens with the cookie sweetness and spices, but these fade fast and leave a lovely, modest note of barrel char on the tongue.

Just the other day, I was commenting that one of the virtues of Barrell Craft Spirits is that their releases are so consistently B+ items, and when they aren’t they are more often A- than B. Sadly, I felt this particular offering merited a B, but that said, it’s not like cask strength rye whiskeys at this price point grow on trees.

The Price
You should pay $79.99 for this item. If the retailer asks for more, scoff at him.