Once a year the Malt Nuts set aside malt and turn our senses towards the oak-driven style of bourbon. This year we decided to take on a single release from a single distillery to see just how much variance can occur in single barrels. To do this we gathered up a bunch of different 10-year-old Rebel Yell Single Barrel expressions, blinded them and set about the arduous task of tasting them all… rough I know.
One quick note about the tasting notes below before we dig into the tasting. Since these are all the same whiskey (wheated Heaven Hill aged for at least 10 years) I only put down full notes for the first one and used that as the basis to compare all the rest.
Corn Nuts – Rebel Yell Single Barrel Face Off
1: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 4744356 – 09/05
- Nose: Oak, caramel, vanilla, toasted corn, cherry heavy dark fruit and spice.
- Palate: Oak, caramel, vanilla, spice, cherry heavy dark fruit and candied citrus.
- Finish: Long -> Oak, caramel, vanilla and spice.
- Overall: A- (90-92) Huge oaky delivery with a cavalcade of dark sweets and fruit with a spicy underpinning.
Side Note: I’m always leery of myself when I want to give the first whiskey of the night anything higher than a B and always make sure to save some and circle back after tasting others. I can happily say that this one continued to deliver well after the other 7 were tasted.
2: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 4744359 – 09/05
- Nose: More vanilla and a bit less oak.
- Palate: More vanilla and spice and a bit less oak.
- Finish: Long -> Spicy with low oak on the fade.
- Overall: B (83-86) Not bad, decent even, but doesn’t have the same punch.
3: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 5083233 – 09/06
- Nose: Big caramel, medium oak.
- Palate: Definitely more caramel here too and medium on the oak.
- Finish: Long -> More caramel and some roasted grain.
- Overall: B (83-86) A lot more caramel which made it far more sweet than #1, but the roasted grain notes helped smooth it out… a bit.
4: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 5083234 – 09/06
- Nose: More dark fruit and roasted corn.
- Palate: More dark fruit and roasted corn.
- Finish: Long -> Corn and spice.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) Not too bad… digging the added dark fruit, but missing some of the oaky complexity of 1.
5: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 51323103 – 02/07
- Nose: Lots of fruit and spice.
- Palate: Lots of fruit and spice.
- Finish: Long -> Fruity, spicy and a big caramel fade.
- Overall: B (83-86) Almost cloying level of fruity, it’s a bit intense.
6: David Nicholson 1843 KSBW: 50%
- Nose: The corn is a bit musty and there is more caramel and vanilla.
- Palate: A lot more corn and the oak is quite light. No real spice.
- Finish: Long -> Corn and spice (ah, there it is)
- Overall: B- (80-82) Super light aroma, that was its biggest downfall.
Side Note: I was shocked this is what it was. But makes sense in context. These all tasted deeper and oakier and this came through super light in comparison.
7: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 5083173 – 06/06
- Nose: Some sandalwood-like spice.
- Palate: Big ol’ spice bomb, oak has nearly disappeared and so has the dark fruit.
- Finish: Long -> Spice and light oak.
- Overall: B- (80-82) Mega spice bomb that tamed down a bit after a while of airing out and some bits of dark fruit and oak crept in enough to keep it from being so one noted.
8: Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 years: 50% – Cask 5043539 – 05/06
- Nose: Oaky and spicy.
- Palate: Oaky and spicy.
- Finish: Long -> Big oak and some candied orange.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) This one is rich and complex and at first pour was giving 1 a run for its money. After opening a bit some of that faded out on the aroma, but stayed strong on the palate. A seriously good barrel.
And there you have it. It was great to get to taste all of these releases of the Rebel Yell Single Barrel side-by-side and see the differences and similarities to the opening whiskey. This tasting, more than any I’ve done, has really hit home the level of variance that exists from barrel to barrel. Till next time, cheers!