Reviews #123 & #124: A Comparison of Two Barton BiB Expressions

Reviews #123 & #124: 1792 Bottled-in-Bond vs Kirkland Signature Bottled-in-Bond

It’s been stated way more times than just here that Kirkland Signature BiB is one of the best value bourbons you can find. You’re getting 1 liter of Barton whiskey with a minimum age of 4 yrs and at 100 proof. The obvious comparison is directly with 1792 BiB, which is what I’m doing with this review. Let’s see how the notorious best in value bourbon compares to it’s bigger brother.

Bourbz Review #123: 1792 Bottled-in-Bond

Previously reviewed here.

COST: $41 for 750mL bottle

AGE: NAS (min 4 yrs)

MASH BILL: Undisclosed (believed to be 74% corn, 18% rye, 8% malted barley)

PROOF: 100

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Tawny copper (1.3), a few quick thin legs, but then a brilliant ring of beads forms creating slow, thick legs.

NOSE: There’s a good amount of mint, sweet cherries, and vanilla. I also get some light notes of chocolate and orange peel. The more I nose this the more the earthy and herbal notes tone down and the sweetness becomes more prominent.

PALATE: For a fraction of a second I get a cherry sweetness then quickly replaced by tannic oak and caramel. Some earthier notes start to appear with tea leaves and barrel char. The cherry note comes back before going into the finish but is a bit more medicinal in profile this time around. This has a nice mouthfeel that coats the palate with ease.

FINISH: Sweet cherry, orange peel, and tannic oak combine for a sweet yet semi-dry finish. There is a mild hug and a tingle in the back of my throat. I get a light pepperiness that closes this out.

RATING: 6.3/10

VALUE: 9.2/10 (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: I feel like the age can’t be anything older than 6 yrears, and probably closer to 4-5 years with how little oak or wood character I pick up. While there is some, it is very faint, leaving the sweetness to run wild. This is still a solid sipper if you get the chance to pick it up for around $40-50 (or better).

Bourbz Review #124: Kirkland Signature Bottled-in-Bond

COST: $30 for 1L bottle

AGE: NAS (min 4 yrs)

MASH BILL: Undisclosed (believed to be 74% corn, 18% rye, 8% malted barley)

PROOF: 100

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Dark honey (1.4), a ring of small beads forms creating slow, thin legs after a very long time.

NOSE: Lots of cherry and red fruit sweetness, some caramel and milk chocolate. This doesn’t have the note of mint I picked up in the 1792 bottle. Vanilla and raisins are mild notes but continue the sweetness of this nose.

PALATE: Sweet cherries, blackberries, light brown sugar simple syrup made with a cinnamon stick in the pot, and dark chocolate. There’s a light orange twist and a touch of clove that start to appear as this fades into the finish. This is more earthy and deep than the fruitiness of the 1792 bottle. The mouthfeel is a little more dry than the 1792 bottle but is still oily.

FINISH: This is a medium finish with notes of tannic oak, caramel, and cherry cola that provide the majority of this finish. There is an occasional note of barrel char that I get as well.

RATING: 6.4/10

VALUE: 10/10 (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: This is noticeably sweeter than the 1792 BiB, and perhaps a little less balanced. As a side by side, this makes me think the 1792 BiB might be a little older than the Kirkland Signature BiB. But I didn’t get that mint note with this bottle like I did in the 1792 BiB, which is a plus for me as I’m not a big mint fan, and it seems a little less astringent than the 1792 BiB. Hands down this is the best value bourbon I know of to date!

In conclusion, Kirkland Signature BiB bourbon is like a complete heist on the bourbon industry. At 100 proof, 4+ years old, and 1L of Barton bourbon for about $30… I mean, I’m sure in the wide world of spirits there’s probably even better value out there, but I would be surprised if it’s anything with as much confidence as you could have behind this bottle knowing that it’s from the Barton distillery. That said, it’s not “better” than 1792 BiB. While I rated it 1/10 of a point higher, they’re extremely similar. There were just subtle differences in the batch that made my Kirkland bottle vs the 1792 bottle that I preferred better. That said, with these being small batch offerings, there can be some variability over time and from batch to batch. At any rate, if you like Barton whiskey, Kirkland Signature BiB is an absolute heist when it comes to value!

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