Premium Pours: Barrell Craft Spirits 20 Year Gold Label Seagrass for $499
I'm not telling you to spend a car note on one bottle of bourbon. However, if you had to spend a car note on one bottle of bourbon, this is a great choice.
Whistlepig. Old Forester. Koval. Michter’s. You ask me which brands of American whiskey I love, those are four of the five names I’ll rattle off.
Barrell Craft Spirits is the fifth.
Barrell Craft Spirits (BCS) is an independent blender and bottler of unique, aged, cask strength sourced whiskey based in Louisville, Kentucky. Certain offerings — like the Dovetail and Seagrass — are personal favorites of mine due to their exceptional and complex flavor.
The Seagrass, which is a blend of American and Canadian rye whiskeys and finished separately in Martinique Rhum, Madeira & apricot brandy barrels, comes in at 119 proof and usually retails upwards of $90. It’s a banger of a bottle, but is exceptional as a celebratory sipper, a shareable with family and friends and makes for a great gift.
However, when news broke that BCS would be releasing a 20-Year Gold Label Seagrass edition, I was immediately intrigued and needed more details.
Here are the details.
Available for pre-sale on Monday, May 23 at BarrellBourbon.com, BCS Gold Label Seagrass is an ultra-rare 20-year rye whiskey, sourced and finished in Martinique rum, Malmsey Madeira (a fortified wine), and apricot brandy casks. First distilled in Canada, then crafted and bottled in Kentucky at cask strength, the end expression is an incredible 128.12 proof.
Two sets of 20-year-old 100% Canadian Rye barrels were used as the foundation of Gold Label Seagrass - one with bright citrus notes and the other with earthy notes.
BCS Gold Label Seagrass will be available at select retailers and online via the BCS website at barrellbourbon.com in mid-June. One 750ml bottle will set you back $499.99.
Per Joe Beatrice, Barrell Craft Spirits founder: “Gold Label Seagrass epitomizes our team’s expertise in global sourcing and blending, both in whiskey and finishing materials. This exceptional whiskey is remarkably flavorful, showcasing the best of the Seagrass profile in a whiskey that can only be made this complex and nuanced with time in the barrel."
In full transparency, I’ve never spent $500+ on a bottle unless I was in a club environment with sparkles attached to said bottle. In all likelihood, I will not be acquiring this bottle, because obviously — $500. However, there are watering holes in Los Angeles like Seven Grand and Everson Royce with expansive whiskey offerings that’ll likely pour it for ~$20. This will be my route to the experience.
However, in speaking to a few trusty insiders, this could be a bottle that accrues some value and could go for a higher price down the line. Limited quantities plus overwhelming demand make for an economically sweet dream for resellers. If that’s something you’re into, I’m not giving financial advice, but…you make your own call on such a thing.
Also, if you’ve been wanting to ball out and grab a boss ass bottle this is it. If you’re not sure you’re ready to throw down half a stack on it, go get Barrell Seagrass for 18% the cost ($90 vs. $500) and determine if the Gold Label is worth the pursuit. YOLO.
I grabbed the tasting notes on BCS 20 Year Gold Label Seagrass for your perusal. Let us know if you plan on copping a bottle — mostly so we can steal a pour for ourselves from you!
Tasting Notes: Barrell Craft Spirits 20 Year Gold Label Seagrass
Notes courtesy of barrellbourbon.com
Nose: Classic Canadian rye notes of white flower, toasted grains, and bright honey. As it sits in the glass, toasty tropical notes of apricot and roasted pineapple present themselves. Nutty, raisin-like madeira shows here too, as does a subtle wild-grassy freshness. After a minute, toasted hazelnut and orange blossom drift into focus.
Palate: Ripe Meyer lemon and clover honey show first, with fresh basil and perfectly ripe pineapple taking over in the mid-palate. There are glimmers of deeply aged rye, as this layered whiskey evolves from sip to sip. Moments of heat are balanced with a viscous sweetness, brightened by the natural acidity of the Malmsey Madeira finish. Black pepper is present too, as this is a cask strength rye, but the tropical notes win out until the finish.
Finish: A touch of classic rye spice presents itself on the finish, with exotic pink peppercorn and Mediterranean herbs including fresh oregano and sun-dried rosemary. The spice is tempered by a sweet, apricot-dominated viscosity drawing out the finish. Finally, tropical sweetness subsides into more classic mature whiskey notes like leather and nutmeg, leaving your palate with lemon, honey, and cracked black pepper.
With a few drops of spring water: The sweet tropical notes are supercharged. The lemon becomes passionfruit, and the light honey darkens to fresh cane syrup. This whiskey opens up in the glass with a drop of water but resists breaking against a few cubes of ice.