Blanton’s Single Barrel - Last Drop Review
Last Drop Review
A review designed to explore how a bottle changes over the time it’s opened.
Age: Not disclosed but assumed 6-9 years
ABV: 93
Cask: Charred Virgin Oak
MSRP: $59.99
Distillery Name: Buffalo Trace
Bottle Date: 6-21-2018
Finished: 11/23/20
Opinion Through the Bottle: This bottle was puzzling. When I found this bottle, I was stoked. It was at my local Total Wine and More, and it was the first time I had seen the elusive “Blanton’s” at retail. I waited months to open it, saving it for a special occasion. Once I did try it, I loved what was in the bottle. It was sugar, caramel, leather, tobacco, and all the wonderful words that so many have said about it.
But I found that I slowly started outgrowing this while I made my way through the bottle. It took me a lot longer to finish this than I had originally thought. After Stagg Jr, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, E.H. Taylor - and even Evan William’s Bottled-in-Bond - coming back to Blanton’s felt flat to me. It was missing something special to draw me in. I was reaching for it less and less. And by halfway through the bottle I was offering it to other people more than drinking it myself.
I’ve seen passed on this many times at retail, leaving it for someone else who is hunting for it. At around $60 there are many other bottles I would grab over this, including more readily available stuff like Old Forester 1920, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, or even Eagle Rare.
Since Blanton’s is a single barrel bourbon maybe I had a bad barrel. Maybe I left the bottle open too long. There could be a million reasons why Blanton’s wasn’t for me, but I am definitely not itching to replace this whiskey any time soon.
