Ranked #3 In Whisky Advocate's Top 20 Whiskies of 2022
Vantage is a blend of straight bourbons finished in three distinct expressions of virgin oak: Mizunara, French, and toasted American oak casks. The result is a warm, elegant bourbon that highlights the many dimensions of oak.
The BCS team has drawn on years of experience with three-part barrel finishing, used previously in Armida, Dovetail, and Seagrass. With Vantage, those same techniques were applied to the oak itself, using different char levels, toast levels, and oak origins to create a multidimensional blend.
Each component whiskey in Vantage is finished separately, then systematically combined according to a blending process fueled in equal parts by a scientific approach, experience, creativity, and experimentation. This process focuses on the wood characteristics and the specific flavor contributions that each cask contributes to the blend. The result is a masterfully blended, perfectly balanced representation of the harmonious synergy between bourbon and barrel.
Selected Mizunara, French, and toasted American oak casks create multifaceted dimensions to this unique blend. The unique aspects of each wood and treatment are layered atop one another, precluding the singular taste of oak. The nose is creamy, spicy, and resinous, and the palate is richly textured and oily, soaked with barrel influence.
Tasting Notes:
Appearance: Burnt sienna.
Nose: Creme brûlée, coconut oil, and chocolate pudding invoke the creamy richness of toasted American oak. Tarragon, nutmeg, and warm cola are among the dry, extractive spices highlighting the French oak. Mizunara’s incense and grilled pineapple notes, meanwhile, take the profile in a totally different direction.
Palate: Sweet and oily with a pronounced espresso note. It’s pleasantly rich on the tongue, which obscures much of the tannin – surprising given how much wood is present. The French oak’s robust spice notes inflect a maple syrup sweetness.
Finish: Green grapes and red plums burst above the barrel notes for the first time. It’s spicy, too, with za’atar, crystallized ginger and Szechuan peppercorns.
"Already an established force in the world of blending, Barrell Craft Spirits has demonstrated its finishing prowess with a series of creative releases that marry different cask types together. Vantage is the most recent, and to us, the most successful. The nose has a bake shop sweetness, with aromas of sugar cookie, nutty chocolate brownies, and Funfetti cake, plus earthy dried tobacco leaves and strawberry candies underneath. The creamy palate delivers rich chocolate, Red Hots, and with water added, dried leaves and snickerdoodles. Big cinnamon spice on the finish ties this one up beautifully." - Ted Simmons, Whisky Advocate
