Review #140: Boulder Spirits, Denver Bourbon Hunters Private Barrel, Barrel #1333

Review #140: Boulder Spirits, Denver Bourbon Hunters Private Barrel

COST: $72 for 750mL bottle

AGE: 6 yrs

MASH BILL: 100% malted barley

PROOF: 138.4

Welp…it’s snowing its ass off here in upstate South Carolina, so figured I’d pour up a dram of this to warm up and review it. Seemed fitting since Boulder, CO gets a lot more snow than we ever do (though, if I’m not mistaken, that’s not been the case this winter so far and I think the 5 inches we’re projected to get today might even be more than Boulder has received all winter so far).

At any rate, this is an American Single Malt private barrel pick from Boulder Spirits by the Denver Bourbon Hunters group. I was fortunate enough to meet up with u/TheBourbonBranch a few months back and he hooked me up with one of these bottles. If I did an end of year ranking of everything I tried in 2024, this would undoubtedly be in the top 10. Let’s get to it!

This bottle is from barrel #1333. Reviewed neat in a Glencairn (unless otherwise noted).

APPEARANCE: An ambered, mahogany color (1.6); SHE THICC! Fat, stupid slow, teardrop legs. Looks syrupy and decadent!

NOSE: There’s a blend of fruits and sugars that lead off right away: caramelized banana slices, chocolate covered raspberries, creamed butter and brown sugar, and baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg. First nose and this thing smells like a dessert pour if there ever was one! Going back in for another whiff, I try and look past the sweeter notes and find some spicy oak, a nice bed of baking spice, a very faint grain profile, and some charred maple. Based on the nose alone, I would never have guessed this is an ASM! This smells like a decadent bourbon. (With a splash of water in a 2oz pour, this gets a little astringent (wasn’t expecting that) and I get an orange peel note. Caramel is still prominent, but the rest of the dessert notes are a little tamped down.)

PALATE: Tons of caramel on the palate. That’s the first note I get, and when I give this a good chew, it just explodes with warm caramel sauce. That banana note from the nose is also very prominent, very similar to the banana notes I get in most Jack Daniel’s products. I get glimpses of cherry, chocolate, and tobacco as they weave in and out of the sip. Spicy oak, big nutmeg, and light cinnamon show up halfway through the sip, and transition into the finish. The mouthfeel is thick, oily, and that 138+ proof does bring some astringent tones, bust they mostly show up after the swallow and going into the finish. It carries itself extremely well neat for 138+ proof and 6-7 years old, drinking way below its proof and way above its age! (With a splash of water in a 2oz pour, the spice is tamped down a good bit, chocolate and raspberries show up more, banana and caramel notes are a bit more prominent.)

FINISH: The finish is long and rather sweet. The spice from the palate rolls over to the finish but bringing along sweet oak, vanilla, and muffin batter. There’s a light cinnamon note that shows up briefly along with a touch of chocolate. As this fades away, the sweet oak persists, along with a dark chocolate to bring this to a close. (With a splash of water in a 2oz pour, the finish is a bit shorter with more sweetness throughout. The spice notes are still ever present, but burnt white sugar and crème Brule join the fun.)

RATING: 8.8/10

VALUE: 9.0/10 (This is an attempt to take into account price, tasting rating, age, and proof. See my spreadsheet for more details.)

OVERALL: This is a bourbon lovers American Single Malt! If you like bourbon but don’t enjoy single malts, this is your gateway! While I appreciate the typical earthy, grainy profile of American Single Malt, this had nearly none of that. This was largely just a big, fat dessert bourbon as far as the notes I was getting. Additionally, 6-7 years old, 138 proof…I would have never guess that based on how this drank. It drinks an easy 15 proof points lower and is choc full of layers and notes that you would expect to find from a double-digit age statement. I’m not sure what the folks at Boulder Spirits is doing, but they’re wizards of their craft!

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