Barrell Bourbon Armagnac & 2026 New Year

I love being able to celebrate the brands we've grown with over the years. Barrell Craft Spirits is a prime example.  We recently spent some time at their booth at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, trying some of their newer offerings and LTOs that really showcase the breadth of their blending and finishing abilities.

Armagnac, one of the world’s oldest and most characterful brandies, imparts deep complexity when used as a finishing cask—infusing bourbon with notes of dried fruit, burnt sugar, clove, and tobacco. To complement these bold, spicy-fruity characteristics, the BCS blending team carefully selected bourbon barrels that would both harmonize with and amplify the Armagnac cask influence. The result is a blend of bourbons aged 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 years old, with a derived mash bill of 78% Corn, 18% Rye, and 4% Malted Barley. that is robust yet elegant, with layers of flavors—from dried plum and dark toffee to warm vanilla—culminating in a long, lingering finish. 
 
The aroma deftly navigates the ground shared by both bourbon and armagnac, exhibiting strawberry rhubarb pie and candied walnuts. Chocolate peanut butter cups on the palate signal a sweetness that would be liqueur-like if not kept in check by the high proof. Of course, only a splash of water is needed to push everything into decadence.

While we normally get this release sometime after the New Year has come and gone, we are releasing early the 2026 New Year Bourbon. While they have a lot of offerings, the New Year release is one of the best examples of blending I can think of. This year's release features bourbon from Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming, Tennessee, New York, and Ohio, all ranging from 5 up to 16 years old. 
 
Rich and oily bourbon characteristic of small craft distilleries is tempered by the clean, sweet, more mature spirit of the old guard. Together they yield a whiskey that’s at once fresh and complex, heavy yet crisp. The pomegranate and green apple of youth play off the pumpkin pie of maturity to create a tipple with a broad spectrum of flavors.