Blanton: Black Label (USA: Single Cask Bourbon: 40% ABV)
Visual: Darkened gold. Fast, thick streaks come from the spirit.
Nose: Honeycomb. Slight sulfur. Rye crackers. Vanilla toffee. Smooth. Water smooths out more to crushed shortbread.
Body: Very smooth. Honey. Custard slices. Warming. Oily sheen. Vanilla yogurt. Orange skin. Rounded feel. Green grapes. Water gives shortbread. Toffee. Subtle coffee.
Finish: Vanilla fudge. Shredded wheat. Custard touches. Peppery. Slight oak. Orange skin. Water adds slight malted chocolate. Grapes. Milky coffee.
Conclusion: Ok, so, invariably I’m going to compare this to Blanton’s Gold. Like, with no pun intended Blanton’s Gold is the gold standard of Bourbon for me. As a single barrel experience I know each Blanton’s I experience will be a tad different, but they have yet to let me down.
But before I dig into comparing it against the king of Bourbon, how does it do as a dram in itself? It is incredibly smooth, very well rounded and gripping with a slight oily sheen that covers the tongue. It all gives a wonderful mix of weight and easy drinking character. Is very surprisingly gripping for its reduced 40% ABV.
The flavor range isn’t surprising but it is robust, with a very warming and rounded take on the usual toffee, peppery, rye crackers and cereal notes. It does expand into sweeter and honey and on the darker side subtle milky coffee notes which really give a classy feel.
Initially I was blown away, I was considering it a serious competitor to Gold, it is so smooth yet so rounded in flavor. The easier drinking Blantons. It has less alcohol to work with and against, but has a ton of character.
After thinking, I have to admit I would still go with Gold as the all time great though. With the advantage the extra abv give Gold it gets to play with a bigger and wider range of notes. So, it is the better bourbon overall, but this cannot be beaten for quality matched with ease of drinking. Though I will say if there is available a version with this thing’s age, and Golds higher abv I have a feeling it may win best bourbon ever. Also if it is something I can afford as I have a feeling such a thing would cost a pretty penny.
As is, at the cost this goes for in Japan this is a freaking steal – an amazing quality and rounded bourbon with grip, a nice sheen, bright sweet notes, slight pepper and those coffee notes all combining to something special. At this cost it goes for outside Japan … I would say grab the Gold as that extra abv gives it the edge.
Still a fantastic bourbon if you can get it at a non silly price.
Background: My 500th Whiskey tasting! And something special I have been saving. The eagle eyed and with long memories of you may recall ages back I mentioned that I had one final drink to do note on from my Japan holiday, then I never did it. THIS IS IT! Yes my last drink from Japan is an American whiskey, stick with me for a moment. This is the Japan only Black Label release of Blanton, that gets flipped for silly money over here. It is only 40% abv compared to the 45-50% and up of most Blantons release, but Black Label is said to have a higher minimum age of whiskey in it. I say “Is said” as I see different dates from different sources. The most common said is minimum 6 years for standard Blantons, and 8 years for Blantons Black, so lets go with that for now. I kept my eyes out for this in bars but never saw it, and then, while I was hunting for a local seafood market in Niigata as I had heard the red snow crab was a delicacy to try, I saw right next to it a big beer and liquor store. So of course I poked my head in and … there it was ..one single bottle of this rarity. I used my phone, checked and yep that was it. I had found it while looking for something else entirely. Only one bottle, much to the chagrin of many a friend who would have loved a bottle. Then again I had enough issues trying to get it back undamaged in my luggage – especially when my flight home was cancelled and I got sent via Scotland adding nearly a day to my trip, where their x-ray made them think I had brought back the worlds largest perfume bottle due to the bottle’s odd shape. Anyway, for what it is it was incredibly cheap. I wont give exact amount, but less than 40 quid. So I figured at that cost it was worth the risk of trying to get it back undamaged. As you can see the box took a bit of a kicking. So there we are, the tale of my 500th whiskey tasting. Music wise I want for the Roadrunner United album for some great music to back this event.
