New England Barrel Company is an awesome new start up rapidly gaining steam across the country; they are based out of New England and are taking a new spin on sourcing great whiskey. This is a fresh off the truck release from the New Hampshire Liquor Outlet - it is a single barrel picked by the New Hampshire Bourbon Club. The tasting group consisted of Wayne Charron, Ryan McCabe, Sarah Maillet, Justin Fillip and his wife. The group went and met with James Saunders to select this MGP barrel which is identified as barrel #18 and comes to us at 113.9 proof. This is a 5 year bourbon I am excited to get into for the first time so I will only be providing some quick, preliminary first-thought notes tonight.
Company on Label: New England Barrel Company
Whiskey Type: Bourbon
Mash Bill Percentages: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley
Proof: 113.9°
Age: 5 years
Further identification: This is a single barrel select from the New Hampshire Bourbon Club
Nose: A nice spice and savory meatiness to this - it reminds me of a Booker's batch a bit with that ~6ish year old oak aroma I actually really dig. Deep, dusty caramel comes off really soft in the nose. There's a tinge of metal on the back end but it blends in well. I'm really surprised how savory this is coming across to me tonight, but that might have something to do with the steak dinner I had not long ago. Really nice on the nose. I'm digging this. The oak is right at my sweet spot with this. With bourbons around this age I actually usually prefer things to get capped at around 7 years before I think things start to shine again at 12-15 for my palate. The empty glass smells of funky plum, a rich dark bread and level oak.
Palate: My first sip is a lovely pop of cherry. Wow, no - this is more than a pop of cherry this is a full blown cherry pie that just keeps on pushing forward. Mm. I get a nice tingly bit of bitters along my gums. This is a sweet delight. There's a traditional creamy caramel I normally attribute more towards the 36% rye mash bill from MGP but this 21% is doing it so well. There's a hint of citrus and chamomile that gives this a lovely complexity. The glass leans towards a floral sweetness. My last sip is oak forward with hints of chocolate, marula fruit sweetness and a long linger of orange creamsicle and manageable spice. Yum.
Rating: Two thumbs up!
Hopefully you can get your hands on one of these! I know these are starting to go fast and it was only the first day of the release. If you strike out keep your eyes peeled for a @MassBourbonAlliance NEBCo set of picks we have in the pipeline! Cheers folks!