Nashville Barrel Company – Insane Corn Posse Pick “Yellow B”

Photo courtesy of Reddit user u/jomr.

Nashville Barrel Company SiB – Insane Corn Posse Pick “Yellow B”

Cost: Reported $100/bottle (I just have a sample though)

Age: 7 year

Proof: 120.8

Mash Bill: MGP bourbon…which one? Unknown.

This expression from Nashville Barrel Company is a local whiskey club’s (Insane Corn Posse) pick, and in their randomization of picking the samples provided to them by NBC, they gave them a color and a letter. “Yellow B” is the randomized sample that they chose for this pick. (check out jomr‘s review of this for more details). Having seen some good stuff about Nashville Barrel Company, I have been really wanting to try something from them but haven’t had an offering locally. So when I saw u/Prettayprettaygood do a review of this pick, I figured this one might be worth a sample swap to try it out. Here’s what I think…

Reviewed neat in a glencairn.

Appearance: A deep, brownish, terracotta red color. SHE THICC! Like, this thing takes forever to finally form legs!

Nose: Brown sugar, a touch of cherry, some oak and rye spice providing some balance. On a second, deeper nosing I’m picking up a craft vanilla marshmallow, caramel apple, and tobacco. This is borderline smelling like it’s a finished bourbon with the intense sweet notes.

Palate: The mouthfeel is oily, soft on the palate. I’m getting a good balance of dessert notes and spice: Belgian waffles with cherry compote, caramel drizzle, and vanilla whipped cream, but also charred oak, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. There is a little heat on the backend of the palate that transitions into the finish.

Finish: I’m picking up a little lemon zest and a rich, sweet pepper jelly. This is backed up by a moderate amount of oak and black pepper. The finish is long, and does not have a hug to speak of. The whole experience makes this drink significantly lower than you would think for the 120.8 proof that it is.

Rating: 8.1/10

Overall: I see you NBC! I see you picking something that by stats most would think a rather boring “been there done that,” standard MGP bourbon mashbill, and aged at only 7 years, but you showed your talent of picking special barrels. This is a fantastic pour at only 7 years old, non-finished, standard MGP mashbill (and props to Insane Corn Posse for claiming dibs on this barrel too). What I love about this is just how raw it is. This is nothing other than pure American bourbon. It’s not finished. It’s not blended. It’s not anything other than just picking good grain, making a good distillate, and aging it in a white oak barrel in a (quite possibly) ideal location and conditions. It’s really a great example of how sub double digit age statement bourbon can compete among the kings. MGP gets a lot of flack at times, but they really make dame good products and Nashville Barrel Company and Insane Corn Posse picked a spectacular example of what they can do.

Behind the Bottle: Thanks to u/jomr for allowing me to use his spectacular photo of this bottle with the beautiful art on the back, as well as his whiskey club picking a fantastic barrel to bottle, and thanks to u/Prettayprettaygood for providing me with this tasty pour!

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect