Blanton’s has a solid reputation among American whiskey drinkers and with good reason. They produce consistently good bourbon across their range.
I tried a sample of their infamous Straight from the Barrel “Hazmat”, so called because it’s ABV exceeded the 70% limit and therefore had to be labeled as a hazardous material, and it was truly excellent. I’ve also sampled other offerings from the Straight from the Barrel range and the standard Single barrel and have never been disappointed.
This is the first time trying the Blanton’s Gold though and as I’ve only ever heard it being lavished with praise I had high hopes for this one.
Blanton’s is distilled at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky and is known for there cool bottle shapes and the “man on a horse” bottle stoppers.
That’s quite enough trivia though, let us do what needs to be done and get the Blanton’s Gold reviewed:
On their website:
“Blanton’s Gold Edition was created for discerning bourbon aficionados who appreciate exceptional smoothness and complexity in their bourbon whiskey. The nose is first marked by spicy rye and tobacco notes. Caramel and honey follow soon after, mingled with dark fruit and citrus notes. The palate emulates the same complex nose with rye, tobacco, and honey at the forefront. Round and bold notes of charred oak and vanilla carry you through to an extremely long and harmonious finish. This bourbon consistently delivers on balance and character, on par with the world’s finest whiskey.”
Distiller: Buffalo Trace
ABV: 51.5%
Proof: 103
Age: NAS
Mashbill: Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2 (approx. 12-15% rye)
Website: https://www.blantonsbourbon.com/pages/our-bourbon
Tasting Notes
Nose:
Caramel sweetness but light, almost fluffy. The way I would describe it is like caramel candyfloss. Baking spices, cinnamon, chai tea, lemon meringue, sherbert and freshly baked croissants. Extremely fresh. Has a slight Speyside quality mixed in with the bourbon aromas.
Taste:
Classic bourbon profile on the palate with deep caramel, toffee and dark fruits. Incredibly sweet with various different flavors in this area, there is some honeycomb there and treacle mixed in. Still remarkably light considering it is 103 proof but this is certainly not at the expense of flavor. Also some creamy vanilla for good measure.
Finish:
Oak with toffee apples, tobacco, cake frosting and an oak and pepper fade.
Summary:
An excellent bourbon in every way. Great nose then an amazingly flavor packed palate that still retains the quality of being light and an easy drinker. It’s not as in your face as the Straight from the Barrel but still has plenty of flavor.
You could easily sip through a good portion of a bottle of this on a lazy afternoon. Or any time for that matter.
Super sweet flavor profile with more in this area than just caramel. You have to get a bottle of this if you can, I believe it’s not available in the US but if you can find it somewhere online I’d snap it up.