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Many of my readers already know that I don’t review bottles from Nashville Barrel Company or Rare Character. These two producers alone account for so many single barrels of whiskey that it’s impossible to keep up. And while there are many other non-distiller producers (NDPs) out there that are also putting out ridiculous numbers of single barrels, I feel like most of them are typically sourcing barrels distilled primarily by 1 or 2 distilleries. But NBC and RC source from so many different distilleries that it feels like playing the lottery when you go to buy them.
In my mind, the only way I could ever feel comfortable purchasing a single barrel pick from either of them would be to have as many flights as possible from their selections so I could determine the best one. That sounds like an impossible task. Thankfully, I found myself in that exact situation during a Jack Daniel’s barrel pick down in Tennessee last December. The group I was with went out one night with our sights set on a trip to NBC. I figured that would be as good a time as ever to finally pick up a bottle. And as the review already gives away, this is the bottle I walked away with.
The Nashville Barrel Company Experience
Nashville Barrel Company is a weird experience. I would describe it like getting invited to a party by a person you don’t know very well and once you get there, you realize it’s a cult. But you really like the drinks they have at this cult, so you try to balance talking and mingling just enough to get what you came for but not so much that you can’t find your way out before they bring out the cyanide Kool-Aide.
If they had a bad pour in the place, you would’ve never known. Ever person was raving about what as in their glass. Honestly, I liked what I was poured, but I wouldn’t go as far as these people were in describing it. My group was led back to the room where barrels were stacked (I think they do single barrel picks here?) and were given some Tennessee Bourbon thieved straight from the barrel. My intention was to walk out of NBC with something unique and what I just had seemed to fit the bill.
I did my best detective work to get our guide to tell us who made what was in the barrel. He did a good job keeping the secret, but I got enough context clues that I determined it to be made by the ultra-secretive Tennessee Distilling Group. This “MGP of Tennessee” has been quietly distilling millions of gallons of whiskey since 2016. One of the telltale signs that a really good “Tennessee Bourbon” comes from them is the fact that they call it “bourbon” in the first place. Jack Daniel’s would absolutely never do that. George Dickel would do that (as is evidenced by interviews with Nicole Austin), but this was missing their trademark vitamin/minerality note. Plus, our guide at NBC said this had not gone through the Lincoln County Process or any filtering whatsoever.
Stella’s Secret Stash
Since we couldn’t buy what was in the barrel, I asked our guide what they sold in their gift shop that would come closest to what we tasted in the barrel. This was his recommendation. The dog on the front label is Stella, the distillery’s loveable goldendoodle who supposedly knows where all the best barrels are in their warehouse, so she goes on every pick? She has many fans (I did not personally see her that night) and is kind of a mascot for the company, but I’m not sure how much this is really true beyond just being a good story to tell. I have a goldendoodle as well and she’s scared of her own shadow, let alone being able to tell me the differences between barrels.
The only specs on the label tell us that this is barrel #6143 and it was distilled in Tennessee, aged for five years and bottled at 125.10 proof. So how was it? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Appearance: I know I rarely comment on appearances, but this stuff is DARK. It looks like it had 15 years in oak, not 5. This gives me the impression it was double-oaked, even though there is no indication on the label saying as such.
Nose: Scents of buttery caramel candies along with table syrup and vanilla creme start the nose off on a very sweet start. Between those lies other notes of freshly charred oak and freshly cut oak wood. It provides some welcome opposition to the sweet notes, but doesn’t necessarily come off as very mature. There are a couple of fruit notes underneath it all like apricot and orange jelly. Otherwise the nose is a pleasant affair without too much complexity.
Palate: My tongue is immediately greeted with pleasant cinnamon spice and candy canes flavors. There are a good amount of wintergreen mint, oak and cedar wood flavors just beyond that. I think one of the more standout flavors that sort of define the whole dram would be “Mexican hot chocolate.” It’s spiced, chocolatey and a little hot. Following that are notes of toffee, granola and dried bits of cherries. Finishing up the sweet flavors is one that I liken to the shells of M&Ms. Kind of like a candy sugary sweetness if that makes sense. Still, there is a lot to like here.
Finish: Lots of barrel influence can be found at the end along with lots of chocolate sauce, leather and caramel. What’s interesting is the rye spice begins to wake up after the sip is complete with lingering flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Then, a tiny ting of herbal flavors followed by a pleasant menthol cooling sensation when I open my mouth and the notes are complete. Not a bad way to end the session.
Score: 8/10
Each sip was packed with flavor. One of the more interesting notes was the different variations of chocolate I found throughout. This honestly tasted like a cask-strength version of Woodford Double Oaked or Old Carter Bourbon with all of the barrel influence involved. But it was ultimately delicious. Fans of either of these brands will love a bottle like this.
Curiosity got the best of me and I went down a rabbit hole after doing my tasting notes by asking friends and acquaintances if NBC has a history of double-barreling their whiskey. The answers I got back were starkly different with some telling me that it’s kind of an open secret that they do this (with many citing the secondary barrels were from Kelvin) while others seemed to take offense that this would be a question at all.
All I’ll say about it is what I tasted here sure tasted and looked like it had seen time in a second, new-charred oak cask. I don’t often find this much chocolate, oak and toffee on something this dark and young without a second barrel coming into play. In fact, I found this review of a different Stella’s Secret Stash (which was a 14-year-old MGP rye whiskey) and it also called out a chocolate note. Chocolate isn’t typically a note I find on MGP rye which further leads me to believe they were double oaked.
Final Thoughts
At around $100 for a 5-year-old bottle, the value for this bourbon might not appear to be there. But it has a ton of flavor and depth that you just won’t find at this age in modern bourbon. For those reasons alone, I’d say that this is bottle you should buy if you’re looking for a sure thing. Take the talk of my claim that this is double-oaked with a grain of salt, but just know if you liked the two bourbons I compared this with above, you’ll be in good company with a bottle like this.