Our First Nashville Picks of the Year 🔥

Every trip to Nashville Barrel Co. seems to reward us with something special. NBC continues to produce some of the strongest releases from any NDP we feature at Seelbach’s. After watching nearly every NBC and Nashtucky release sell out, it was time to head back for our first round of barrels for 2026. 
 
We’ve long been fans of the 55xx series. We started selecting these barrels when they were 8 years old, and when we heard the run was nearing its end, we knew we had to secure at least one more.
 
Now at 10 years old and nearly 137 proof, this barrel captures everything we’ve loved about the series while bringing an added depth and richness of its own.
 
Super juicy on the nose, like a boozy apple juice box, with maple-dipped green apple and a dusting of tiramisu. As it opens, creamier notes of leather and caramel begin to grow.
 
The palate is bold and engulfing, yet playful at the same time. A huge wave of dense oak and brown sugar meets baked apples and an almost gummy worm-like sweetness. Sour cherries linger more than anything else, followed by a wave of spice as tropical cocktail notes start to flow.
 
The finish is long, tingly, and oak-driven. Refreshing and semi-cooling, with nods to mango, cordial cherry, and sour apple candy, while brown sugar-coated oak lingers beyond it all.

Next up, we return with another Hickory Syrup Finished 8-Year 21% MGP bourbon. The syrup is made locally for NBC using the shag bark of shagbark hickory trees, bringing a naturally smoky and earthy character. When layered with the bold 21% rye bourbon, the result is one of the most compelling syrup-finished bourbons we’ve come across.
 
We first selected one of these barrels in the summer of 2024 and it was incredibly well received. This time, the proof climbs from 108 in our previous barrel to a punchy 123.
 
The nose begins starts with lemon-lime soda, but like our previous hickory barrel, there are plenty of fruit notes ranging from raspberry to cantaloupe to grape and apricot before fresh honey emerges. It still moves into that beautiful vanilla cream soda and sweet oak note we love in these 21% barrels.
 
The palate leans syrupy and candied, with big peach Old Fashioned and honey-dipped melon vibes before shifting into chocolate syrup-topped ice cream sundae and sweet oak. It’s elegant, but playful at the same time. 
 
The finish, still lingering with that sweet and syrupy start from the palate, begins to land the plane with perfectly golden marshmallow creaminess, a kiss of mint simple syrup, and a long-developing sweet antique oak note, especially if you give it space between sips.