A friend of mine locally here in Central Louisiana probably enjoys bourbon more than I do. And that says something. Chad Luke has an enviable collection of bourbon and also has a group of friends across a few different states that buy barrels together, affectionately known as Lafitte’s Krew. Chad has allowed me to sample their bourbon picks from Nashville Barrel Company and Willett – yes, this group did their own purple label pick of Willett. Their latest pick was from Rare Character Whiskey Company in Lexington, Kentucky. Typically, because this group is pretty big, there aren’t a lot of leftovers from the barrel. But, their Rare Character pick had some excess bottles and Chad gave me a bottle and I gladly gifted him $150, which represented the group’s cost per bottle and which will be reinvested in the group’s next barrel pick.

Rare Character Whiskey Company was started in 2021 by two spirits industry veterans who wants to build something a little different in the American Whiskey category; sort of like an American Cadenheads but smaller and not really for the mass market. Over two decades the founder of Rare Character have been sourcing barrels for their own bars and restaurants, and have forged connections with various distilleries that give them access to unique barrels of American Whiskey. Seelbach’s and some other online retailers are carrying it; some retailers have sourced barrels, and based on the traffic I am seeing on the internet, this seems to the latest cool thing in American Whiskey. In any event, I was pretty excited to get a hold of a bottle to see what Rare Character is about, and I appreciate Chad letting me have a bottle.

As with all sourced American whiskies, the sourced distillery is never disclosed on the label. However, when the non-distiller producers gives you clues such as the mashbill, you can often determine where a whiskey came from. The Lafitte’s Krew pick is 8 years and 9 months old at bottling, which is not just important as an age statement, but also as to where this bourbon came from. The mashbill, 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley, is an unusual mashbill, that I have traced to only two distilleries – Bardstown Bourbon Company and 1792 Barton. However, the age says it has to be Barton, as Bardstown Bourbon Company started distilling in the fall of 2016, whereas this bourbon was distilled Janaury 12, 2016. This bottled at cask strength, 122.7 proof. This tells me that, given that Barton generally barrels bourbon at 125 proof, this lost a little alcohol to evaporation, but not much. The part of the warehouse this barrel was in and the seasons were probably a bit humid and cool, which explains the proof and why Lafitte’s Krew got more than they bargained for as far as barrel yield in bottles.

The color is a nice amber but lighter than I would expect. I attribute this to this barrel being aged in a cooler environment as discussed above, and this whiskey probably could have withstood some more aging without becoming terrible. However, that it could be aged more is no indication as to whether this bourbon was bottled at its prime. On the swirl though is an incredibly thick film, legs, and gravity defying droplets. On the nose, this whiskey reminds me of an American Light whiskey combined with bourbon, in that there are wonderful citrus and peach notes, vanilla, caramel, and a hint of oak. On the palate, the fruit notes of oranges, lemons, and peaches (in a really big way!) really come to the fore, along with vanilla and clove, with caramel chews in the background. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied. On the finish, the peach continues (when it really ought to fade) and mixes with red hot candies and drying oak. A day after opening and the bourbon opens up a bit, I get more of the traditional bourbon flavors of vanilla and caramel on the palate, but the peaches are still there in a big way, and the red hots have moderated more into clove. From nose to finish, this bourbon is super-complex and really really different from any other straight bourbon I have tried.

This barrel represents an interesting phenomenon about distilleries and certain barrels. The distilleries, based on prior tradition, were aiming for uniformity it what they produced – a consistent product people could count on as far as flavor profile. But all of them seem to have unique barrels as far as flavor profile. These aren’t the so called “honey barrels” that represent an amped up or better version of a distillery’s standard release, but something altogether different. Wild Turkey often uses these type barrels in Master’s Keep releases (where you often find green apples, lemons, and other interesting fruits) and in the Russell’s Reserve 2002 release (where the prominent note was grapefruit). Sometimes, a standard mashbill and method of distilling goes into a certain barrel and something altogether different results. I have had all manner of 1792 Barton bourbons over the years, both directly from Sazerac and from various non-distiller producers who have sourced from there. This Rare Character barrel is unlike anything I have had from 1792 Barton. Given that Barton really hasn’t developed limited release whiskies, Rare Character was really able to grab a truly unique barrel from a great distillery and bottle it. Had this barrel happened at Wild Turkey or Buffalo Trace, this would have been bottled as an ultra-rare release but likely blended with other barrels.

And can I just say I am really glad Lafitte’s Krew got more than they bargained for with this barrel…