I'm totally a Barton lover. There's something about this old-school distillery that really speaks to me. It's not just the majestic water source flowing from the limestone cliff behind the distillery or the obvious choice of location at the base of a holler - a perfect place for moonshining. It's also the contrast between their extremely old, beautiful equipment and the very young, energetic distilling team. The last time we selected barrels at the distillery, they set me up in the warehouse with one of the ops managers. They're always happy to take a moment out of their busy day to sell bourbon, and I'm always happy to have an ops guy willing to answer my endless questions. Many seemingly secret details of this special plant were shared in those moments, but I won't expose them here out of respect for my collaborators. Needless to say, it was endearing. What makes me love Barton most of all, though, is the way the bourbon (and rye) tastes. It's just damned delicious, delivering its character in such an unpretentious and approachable way. This fun project - taking two nearly identical casks and bottling them at different proofs - is exactly the sort of thing that makes me love what they do. Very few other distillers will let you do something this playful, and we love the ones that do. So let's dive into the 100-proof Bottled-in-Bond, which is really Barton’s sweet spot. The color is a mellow deep copper (1.0). The nose is boisterous and fun, it's truly one of those happy bourbons rather than that angry, brooding style. Beautiful aromas of banana bread, pistachio cake, caramel-cinnamon frosting, baked apples, and blackberry jam rise from the glass. The palate is soft and round, bursting with sugar candies, orange oil, and caramel sauce up front, then lifting into a spicier character toward the finish. The texture is oily and full, with notes of cherry jam and plummy cola on the surprisingly long descent. This is just really good bourbon to drink - it won’t smack you around too hard, but it’s not so straightforward that it loses interest. A very nice barrel, and if I must pat myself on the back for selecting it, I gladly will.