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3 categories
Barell Dovetail (Blue Label)
Company: Barrell Craft Spirits
Distillery: Undisclosed
Mash Bill: Undisclosed
Age: NAS
Style: Blend
Finish: Cabernet barrels, Black Strap Rum barrels, Late Bottled Vintage Port Pipes.
ABV: 62.35% (124.7 proof)
Price: $80
Distribution: National, widely available.
Overall: Barrell Craft Spirits Dovetail is a layered, complex whiskey thoughtfully constructed for a rich depth of flavor experience. At $80, Dovetail is perfectly priced and a great whiskey blend to add to the collection.
Background: Barrell Craft Spirits is an independent blender of unique whiskey products founded by Joe and Jan Beatrice in 2012. The company sources all of its whiskies from distilleries in Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky to create unique blends and flavor profiles. While whiskey blending has started to catch on in the U.S. in recent years, Barrell was one of the first and has mastered the process.
Dovetail’s name originates from carpentry. Woodworkers spend years perfecting the art of creating dovetail joint, often cut by hand, and designed to seamlessly fit together — like the blended flavors in the Dovetail whiskey. Dovetail has won numerous awards, such as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold, and the John Barleycorn Awards Best Whiskey of 2021. Dovetail also comes in a Grey Label and Gold Label version, which include older stock of the same component whiskies -- and are priced accordingly at $250 and $500 respectively. As much as this is a reflection of the Barrell's maturity as a brand, it is also indicative of the premiumization of the whiskey market as sales continue to soar.
Nose: Sweet, medium nose of brown sugar, citrus peel, bananas, and creme brûlée.
Palate: Creamy palate with fresh herbs and basil, some rye spice, hazelnut, cocoa, and cinnamon candy. The whiskey is hot, but has a well-balanced feel.
Finish: Warm (but not overly so) tapering finish with notes of toffee, caramel, oak, and a hint of cola.
Conclusion: This is a thoughtful, layered, complex whiskey that provides a rich depth of experience. The combination the cabernet, rum, and port finishes creates some interesting flavors, which all come together well (like a dovetail joint, as the name suggests). Barrell Craft Spirits clearly put a lot of thought and energy into this expression, which has become a cornerstone of the brand. While some thumb their noses at Barrell’s business model build on sourcing and blending, this is a great whiskey at a great price. While some purists still thumb their nose at blended whiskey, Dovetail should have appeal to a wide range of drinkers, and is a bottle worth adding to the collection.
