Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series Mizunara Review

Barrell Craft Spirits has been one of the most innovative companies in the whiskey world for the last several years. Popular blends like its Vantage and Armida releases are well-known to bourbon lovers, and its Seagrass never fails to excite those who favor rye whiskeys.

Today, we’ll be reviewing one of the brand’s latest releases, the Barrell Cask Finish Series: Mizunara. This bourbon, made up of 6-14 year old spirit from distilleries in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, spends 1.5 years in rare Japanese Mizunara casks to impart the wood’s unique flavors to the finished product. The mash bill for this whiskey works out to 76 percent corn, 20 percent rye and 4 percent malted barley, a fact which promises some interesting rye spices as well. Bottled at 116.42 proof, this whiskey is also quite potent.

(Note: The bottle used for this review is from the 001 edition of the release. Future editions may be slightly different).

Color

This Barrell bourbon has a very nice chestnut color in the glass. A bit on the light side, but still quite attractive.

Nose

Up front, the nose of the Barrell Mizunara leads with honey and cherries. As the whiskey sits in the glass and begins to open up, a delightfully sweet note of vanilla frosting becomes quite apparent. There’s also a bit of pepper and some fairly potent herbal qualities here, a bit like a good seasoning blend. Here and there, a bit of brown or demerara sugar manages to come out. For all of this, the nose is a little tight and can be tricky to discern until you’ve given it some time to open up in the glass.

Palate

The thing that strikes me most about this bourbon is how bright is as. At six years old and over 116 proof, I would’ve expected this to be quite a heavy, assertive drink. However, quite the opposite is the case. Herbal tones and pepper come out first, most notably a sandalwood spiciness that almost has to be contributed by the Japanese oak barrels. A touch of mint and perhaps a bit of leather are also showing up, with a nice bit of that honey sweetness from the nose backing the whole thing up.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the Barrell Mizunara finish is the interplay between the wood influence and the rye spice. Remember, the overall mash bill for this whiskey is about 20 percent rye, meaning that plenty of herbs and spices are already coming through. Add to that the distinct sandalwood layer that’s characteristic of Mizunara, and you get some extremely interesting effects.

The one area where the bourbon really shows its age is in the oak tannins that arise in the mid-palate. These are chewy and moderately dense, exactly what you’d expect out of a 6-year bourbon. However, there’s so much else going on around the tannic flavor that you really have to work to find it behind all of the other flavors that present themselves.

Finish

The longer this bourbon sits on my tongue, the more I begin to get the notes I might have expected from the nose. Vanilla and brown sugar, two classics in pretty much any bourbon, start to build as that initial spice dwindles off. I’m also left with a nice raisin/cherry tone and more of those chewy, visceral oak tannins. Toward the very end, a touch of citrus also makes it into the mix, a note I would best describe as fresh orange zest. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the whiskey has a long and graceful finish.

Barrell Mizunara Review and Closing Thoughts

Flavor

The Barrell Mizunara cask finished bourbon is both extremely enjoyable and, perhaps even more importantly, really interesting. I have to admit, this one didn’t come across quite the way I expected, and I genuinely enjoyed the surprise. Managing to make a bourbon this bright at this proof and age statement is quite the trick, and I have to say it was fun getting to know it. While I can certainly still think of bourbons I like better, Barrell did a great job with this and I know I’ll be more than happy to dip back into this bottle in the future.

Value

I paid about $80 for this bottle, and at that price I think it’s more or less spot on for fair value. Much less and I’d call it a bargain, much more and I’d wonder if I was paying for the hype. This bourbon isn’t exactly cheap, but there’s plenty of value for the money, particularly when you consider the high proof.

Cigar Pairing Recommendations

This bourbon cries out for bold, spicy and leathery cigars to be paired with it. If you’re comfortable with something on the stronger end of the spectrum (probably the best fits for this one), a Roma Craft Neanderthal or a Cohiba Royale would be very appropriate. For something closer to a medium or medium-full selection, consider the AJ Fernandez New World Dorado, My Father El Centurion or La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor.

Final Verdict

7.5/10

All told, I came away from this Barrel Mizunara review with a very positive impression of the whiskey. In case you’re wondering about the extra half-point tacked on in the final score, it was awarded for complexity and uniqueness. There just aren’t that many bourbons like this out there, and I think it’s very difficult in today’s bourbon market to make something that stands out from the pack. As per usual, Barrell’s blenders did a masterful job with this. If you find a bottle, I would strongly recommend giving it a try, as I think this is one of the more interesting new whiskey releases I’ve tried so far this year.