Lush raspberry & strawberry | Butter rum caramel | Maple sugar candy | Toasted coconut | Sweet French oak

Toasted marshmallow | Crème brûlée | Nutmeg | Brown sugar | Leather | Cinnamon syrup | Rich intensity

Elegant oak tannins | Dark brown sugar | Dark raspberry | Touch of oak spice | Creamy mouth-coating aftertaste

Barrel Craft Spirits’ Red Label Series continues its focus on age stated whiskeys, using finishing casks to elevate blends. Previous releases focused on finishes using different oak barrel types, then shifted to different toast levels for those same types of barrels, like this year’s Barrell Bourbon 12 Year Finished in Toasted American Oak. Though Barrell Bourbon French Toast(ed) has a cuter name than others in the Red Label Series, this release blends different toast levels in Grand Chauffe French oak barrels, which were toasted longer and at lower heat intensity.

Many bourbon drinkers are most familiar with toasted American oak finishing, which has grown rapidly in popularity over the past 5 years. Finishing in toasted oak can sometimes leave a bitter aftertaste, as toasted barrels can actually expose more raw wood surface than deeply charred barrels, increasing tannin pickup. As brands try to inject as much “toasted” oak flavor into a bourbon during finishing as possible, the bourbon often spends too long in toasted barrels, resulting in an overly bitter tasting bourbon.

While Barrell Bourbon 12 Year Finished in Toasted American Oak is a richly flavored, complex pour, switching to French oak for this release makes the impact even greater. French oak barrels impart more subtle oak influence and tannins thanks to their tighter grain structure and lower porosity than American oak. In French Toast(ed)’s case, it features a beautiful interaction with the bourbon’s red fruit notes and gentle oak tannins.

Combining a controlled, toasted French oak finish with Barrell’s blend of bourbon sourced from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wyoming creates a full-flavored yet elegant sipping bourbon. Its flavors are incredibly well integrated and balanced, yet allowed to blossom with a controlled heat and spice at the end of the finish, resulting in an extremely enjoyable sip. Its mouthfeel is extra creamy, which beautifully carries its silky oak tannins and rich red fruit notes. Barrel has set the bar for their Red Label Series, as they have really outdone themselves with this release.