Branch & Barrel 5 Year Old Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Branch & Barrel is located in Centennial, Colorado (“The Centennial State”), an exurb of Denver located south and just slightly east of Denver’s core. Operating since 2015, the distillery is part of a vibrant craft whiskey scene that I had in the running for becoming America’s third whiskey state (after Kentucky and Tennessee). When I wrote American Whiskey 2nd Edition, I decided that the depth, width and variety of the Texas scene had grown enough to clinch the title, although that does nothing to dismiss the merit of Colorado distillers like Branch & Barrel.

The flagship expression of Branch & Barrel is a 5 year old bourbon, released regularly in numbered batches. I caught up with the stuff at Batch 35, dubbed “Mitch’s Blend” for Master Blender Mitchell Nester’s fondness for it. The mash behind the bourbon is a 84% corn, 16% malted barley, no rye mash bill, and in that respect is more like a Tennessee mash than a Kentucky style one (although Tennessee Whiskey often has a very small portion of rye). They use a pot still rather than a column or hybrid, barrel at a low, 104 entry proof into char #3, standard barrels, Batch 35 is bottled this batch at 92 proof.

The Bourbon
The pour has a coppered, light amber look in the Glencairn. The nose led with its caramel, with candy corn and toasted Grape Nuts coming up behind, and a hint of elderberry syrup that comes out a little after a few nosings. My initial take on the palate was “Milky Way with butterscotch instead of nougat.” The light touch of milk chocolate, caramel plus butterscotch was all there, more candy bar than crafty candy. The hint of elderberry remains, along with a hint of dried cherry. The finish hits first with a note of clove, before turning hard into black tea tannins.

The Price
Batch 35 of Branch & Barrel 5 Year Old Bourbon is priced at $55.