Nashville Barrel Company 7yr Small Batch Bourbon

COST: $75 for 750 mL bottle

AGE: 7 yrs

MASH BILL: 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley

PROOF: 120.22

Nashville Barrel Company has a bit of a unique story in that their notoriety and success is squarely based on their ability to pick exceptional barrels. Most of what they’re known for is their single barrels, because for their first few years of operation, that’s all you could get from them. As they continued to grow they started releasing small batches of bourbon and rye whiskey. Their small batch bourbon made it onto the Fred Minnick Top 100 of 2023. (Coming in at #4, but take that with a grain of salt. I still think it’s notable just for the fact it made it in the top 100.)

Now, this small batch is not that small batch. But one could assume that NBC has tried to make similar profile small batches after that one as I’m sure demand went up of people seeking that specific experience. The batch that made it to Fred’s top 100 of 2023 was a Heaven Hill 78/10/12 bourbon as well, with a 6 year age statement and coming in at 123.7 proof. So, this is extremely similar, and I would add that there’s a strong chance the barrels for this batch are sister barrels to the barrels used last year seeing as these have a 7yr age statement 1 year later.

This is batch 424. Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Auburn (1.5), fat, viscous legs.

NOSE: My mother makes this pound cake that uses orange extract, lemon extract, and almond extract in the batter. (It’s delicious!) I’m getting vibes of that. This does have a notable amount of vanilla as well though. There is a slightly spiced, charred oak note that I pick up as well, and a minty notes that I pick up later in the dram after a few sips. If a nose can be described as “creamy,” this would have that. It’s also almost like this wants to be astringent, bringing my nose to the edge of burning, but never sending it over no matter how deeply I inhale it.

PALATE: Thick mouthfeel, with orange extract, toasted vanilla, and seasoned oak that dominate the palate. More subtle notes of marzipan and mint make an appearance towards the end of the sip (a good bit of chewing may be necessary).

FINISH: Darker, earthy notes show up in the finish with burnt brown sugar, spiced oak, toasted nuts, and a sprinkle of white pepper. There’s a decent warming hug that hits a bit high in the chest. The finish is fairly long and reminiscent of some ECBP offerings.

RATING: 6.0/10

VALUE: 7.7/10 (this value is based on a ratio of the $/mL to the rating above compared to this same ratio for all other r/Bourbon reviews I’ve made and normalized to 10)

OVERALL: It’s a pretty good bourbon! I feel like the overall experience was fun in how it transitions from sweet orange and vanilla dominating the nose to earthy notes dominating the finish. But that said, it wasn’t very complex throughout. I was somewhat expecting more similarities to ECBP, but I didn’t get that deep red fruit that I often find in ECBP and the spice was a little weak. I’m taking a guess that that could be due to the younger age statement and the barrels not having enough time to deepen the overall profile.

At any rate, this wouldn’t be anywhere near #4 out of a top 100 for me. (On the other hand, this would be in my top 100 though…by default…because I don’t drink 100 unique whiskeys in a year…) But it’s none the less a very good bourbon. I also really appreciate the price point. If you go into NBC, you’ll quickly find they’re not cheap and quite proud of their single barrels, but if you want to take home a little something without breaking the bank, this is definitely a good option!

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, WhistlePig PiggyBack SiB, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, JD SiB BiB, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Barrel Bourbon Batch T8ke, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08