Very Old Barton Kentucky Straight Bourbon / 43% / 0.75l

Very Old Barton is a bourbon from the Barton 1792 Distillery, owned by the Sazerac Company (since 2009).

The Bardstown-based distillery began in 1879 as Mattingly & Moore Distillery, changed its name to Barton Distillery in 1934, and has used its current name since 2009. The bourbon formula lists 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% malted barley. Until recently, Very Old Barton was largely unknown outside of Kentucky and was a closely guarded secret in the state, in part because the Sazerac Company, after acquiring Barton Distillery, focused on promoting its 1792 Small Batch bourbon, distilled to the same formula. Very Old Barton is blended from spirits aged for four to six years.

Nose: simple yet pleasant, caramel, toffee, vanilla, cornbread, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and some oak in the background.

Taste : initially sweet, vanilla, brown sugar, cornflakes, baked apples, after a while cinnamon, cloves and black pepper take over, complemented by the bitterness of oak.

Finish: medium long, pleasantly spicy, with notes of cinnamon, pepper, oak, a touch of vanilla and mint.