Distillery: Barrel Craft Spirits sourced from KY, TN, and IN
Proof: 123.8
Age: NAS - Blend of 10 year old whiskey distilled in Indiana, finished in Dunn Vineyards Cabernet barrels and 11 year old bourbon distilled in Tennessee finished in black strap rum casks and LBV Port Pipes
Mashbill: Undisclosed
BACKGROUND: Barrell Craft Spirits is a whiskey company that started in 2012. They source and blend all of their whiskey instead of distilling their own whiskey and they are very transparent about it. Barrell Craft Spirits continues to expand their offerings with bourbon, rye, and other types of whiskey including unique blends and finished whiskey. They gained an immense amount of fame from their batch 009 and most recently, their batch 21 earned double gold in 2020. They offer bourbon, rye, and American whiskey. One of their most popular releases is this Barrell Dovetail which is an American whiskey. Dovetail is an American whiskey finished in Rum, Port Wine, and Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Barrels.
NOSE: The nose is creamy and sweet with robust notes of sweet cherry, vanilla, strawberry, licorice, and molasses. There is a slight tingle from the proof making this a sweet and tempting nose that is reminiscent of rum. (23/25)
PALATE: You're greeted by a rich and creamy whiskey that coats your mouth with sweet and rich flavors of pure cane sugar, rich molasses, dark berry, baking spice, and caramel that play together to form a flavor profile that is reminiscent of a rum and bourbon blend. It is sweet, rich, and bold without losing any flavor from the proof. (35/40)
FINISH: The finish is sweet and smooth with notes of cracked pepper, candied pecans, and aged, full bodied wine. It is really enjoyable and is medium in length. (22/25)
VALUE: Barrell Dovetail has an SRP of $80 which is a great value for this unique, cask strength, finished whiskey. (7/10)
Overall: 87/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Barrell Dovetail is a delicious and unique whiskey with a smooth, sweet, and creamy flavor profile. This would make for an excellent dessert whiskey. We recommend this anyone who is a fan of red wine, rum, or sweet whiskey.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Wild Turkey Master's Keep Revival
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Blood Oath Pact 6
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Yippee Ki Yay
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
