Up next in 10
Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel + Six-Year Surprises from New Riff, Castle & Key, & Garrison B...
May 4, 2026
This week on Bourbon Bytes, Clifton is diving deep into high-proof territory with a first-time review of Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel — the most elusive (and explosive) bottle in the Blanton’s lineup. How does it hold up to the hype, and is it worth chasing down? Also on the table: three six-year bourbons you need to know — a Single Barrel Selection from New Riff, Castle & Key’s Small Batch Six-Year Bourbon, and Garrison Brother's 2025 Guadalupe Bourbon supporting Texas conservation. Whether you’re all about barrel strength or on the hunt for value, this episode’s got you covered. 0:00 Teaser: The Power of Sixes & Blanton’s SFTB 0:28 July 4th Recap & Kelly Clarkson Las Vegas Misfire 4:57 New Riff 6-Year Single Barrel Pick — 120 Proof Heat 6:55 Castle & Key Small Batch Bourbon — Aged Six Years, Big Vibes 9:38 Garrison Brothers 2025 Guadalupe Bourbon Supporting Texas Wildlife 12:46 Byte-Sized Review: Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel — Worth the Chase? 21:09 Wrap-Up + Community Shoutouts
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, it's sixes all around with a new six-year-old single barrel selection choice from New Riff
0:07
a six-year small batch bourbon from Castle & Key, and a special review for the first time ever of Lantons Straight from the Barrel
0:15
You don't want to miss this. hello everyone and welcome back to the bourbon bites podcast i'm your host clifton and today is
0:33
thursday july 10th 2025 i hope you all had an amazing july 4th weekend if you're in the u.s
0:40
celebrating independence day or wherever you are hope you just had an amazing weekend
0:45
like I mentioned last week we made a trip to Las Vegas ended up not seeing the concert that we were
0:51
planning to see we had tickets to the opening night of Kelly Clarkson's residency unfortunately
0:56
she canceled about an hour before showtime which was super disappointing and I told myself I wasn't
1:03
going to rant about this but I'll take a little second you know we got some time at the top of
1:07
the podcast to kind of just chill out get in the mood hopefully you guys are settling into
1:12
wherever you're listening and hear me out. Listen, I live in Los Angeles. There's concerts all the
1:18
time. But when I see an artist is launching a brand new residency in a city that I love visiting
1:24
on July 4th weekend, I can't help but buy tickets to go. I've always been a huge fan of Kelly Clarkson
1:31
and her music. I think she's an amazing, inspirational person. I think her voice is one of the best in
1:36
our generation and I gotta say I'm a little more than let down about the last minute cancellation
1:42
and I get it right things happen but to like post two hours before your live saying like can't wait
1:49
for tonight and then post photos from rehearsal to be like releasing a statement about why you're
1:54
postponing your first few set of concerts I don't know I'll read the statement here just so you guys
1:59
have a little bit more context so literally an hour before the doors open she made a post saying
2:05
that they've been working hard to make the studio sessions tour the most intimate and extraordinary
2:10
experience with and for my incredible fans. The preps and rehearsals have taken a toll on my voice
2:17
I want the shows to be perfect for y'all and I need to protect myself from doing serious damage
2:22
So I'm taking this weekend and next week to rest up so that we can deliver what you all deserve
2:28
And listen, again, I know that artists that do concerts, they do have to put their voice because
2:33
a lot of time performing night after night after night can take a huge toll on her voice and we saw
2:37
what happened with people like Adele I mean having to cancel her shows because of it it was you know
2:42
but but when that happened people were kind of outraged that it was like a last minute cancellation
2:46
so I feel like history is repeating itself a little bit here I don't know I mean again I don't know
2:50
the full details of the situation it feels a little bit like diva behavior I would have much
2:54
preferred a more stripped down version of the concert if she did hurt her voice or if she was
2:58
sake, I totally understand, but to be like, no, I need to protect my voice, so I'm just going to
3:03
delay it a week and a half and see what happens. I don't know, maybe I'm just taking it a little
3:07
personally because I was excited for the show, which, I mean, can you blame me? But it feels a
3:11
little, you know, suspicious, especially on a holiday weekend. It makes me feel like maybe she
3:15
got invited to a party or something. It's just like, well, my voice, you know, it's not the best
3:19
it could be, so. But don't want to make any accusations. I just, I was pretty bummed by that
3:24
I had the choice to keep my tickets for a rescheduled date or to request a refund
3:28
I requested a refund. I'm not willing to kind of take that risk again
3:31
And I'm a big fan of her, but it definitely brought me the wrong way
3:35
And I don't think I'll be clamoring to see her again anytime soon. Again, not doubting her talent
3:40
And there probably is more to the story than what I'm seeing. I'm just saying the statement was a little tone deaf to release that an hour before the
3:47
doors open. Have, you know, hundreds, if not thousands of us lined up at the door to go into the
3:52
concert and be like yeah I just I don't want to hurt my voice so I'm not going to perform
3:57
Anyways that's not what you guys are here for y'all are here for a bourbon podcast don't worry
4:01
we got lots of bourbon and whiskey news to give you as well as a review of a whiskey. It's my first
4:06
time owning a bottle of this and I'm really really excited because I've had samples of it before
4:10
but never have I owned a bottle of it until now. Now if you saw the thumbnail for this podcast or
4:17
the description you know I'm talking about Blanton straight from the barrel. I just got a bottle
4:21
as part of a bundle for my local store, K&L Wine and Spirits. It was a very decent price for that
4:26
and the Blanton's Gold. Having never had the chance to own it, I figured why not buy the bundle? I'm
4:31
going to definitely use them for a stream in the near future. But today I'm going to give you a
4:34
first impression of my bottle of Blanton's straight from the barrel. But we got some news to get into
4:39
before that. And funny enough, I was looking through these stories that I had bookmarked
4:43
throughout the week and they all have a common theme, which is a little ominous. I'll just say it
4:48
As I was preparing to record this, I was like, wait a minute. These are all six-year-old bourbons
4:53
That's pretty cool. Or ominous. I don't know. You guys decide. But the first of which comes to us
4:58
from New Riff Distilling. One of my favorite, I guess I would consider it craft distilleries. It
5:04
feels like New Riff doesn't even qualify as craft because it's been around for so long. But when you
5:08
look at their story, you look at their facility, you look at, you know, really how specialized they
5:13
are at what they do. I would still consider New Riff a craft distillery. And they just announced
5:17
this week that they are going to be offering a six-year-old bourbon barrel for barrel selection
5:24
So when you're doing a barrel pick and New Rift, you can now choose between four to six-year-old
5:28
bourbons to pick up as well as a six-year-old rye whiskey. So being someone that's followed
5:34
New Rift since the very, very early days, this is so exciting to see. You know, I've tried some of
5:39
their eight product It been fantastic but I been drinking their stuff since it was four years old So seeing that their single barrel pick program lets you now pick a six bourbon and a six rye is really really exciting
5:53
You know, I've looked into doing a barrel pick at New Rift. They're one of the few that kind of lets you pick
5:58
between like a half barrel, a quarter barrel, split it with a store or a different, you know
6:02
whiskey influence or whatever. So they definitely are one that have caught my eye
6:06
Unfortunately, living in Southern California, that makes it very, very difficult to do a barrel pick and be able to get it back to California and
6:14
then get it out to you guys. It's a whole thing. I unfortunately don't have those connections yet to
6:18
make that happen. But New Riff is absolutely one of the brands that I've always wanted to do a pick
6:23
at. I just think their whiskey is so unique. It's one that kind of went viral for a minute and I
6:28
feel like people have been sleeping on it lately. But when they do that, it just continues to get
6:31
older and older and older, which is why I think we now have access to these four to six year old
6:36
bourbons and a six-year-old rye let me know if you guys are starting to see some of these older
6:40
bourbon picks hitting your area it sounds like the rye pick may have been out a little bit longer
6:44
but the six-year bourbon is brand new as of this week so if you have a pick coming up at new ref
6:49
let me know if they start rolling out those six-year-old barrels love to hear how they are
6:53
and continuing with our roll of sixes with our news stories castle and key actually just announced
7:00
a six-year-old small batch bourbon and it's interesting because Castle & Key just came up
7:06
in my last podcast talking a little bit of some of their contract distilled product like Penhook
7:10
which I reviewed recently but I've not had a Castle & Key labeled bourbon but now that I'm seeing
7:16
that they're coming of six years old really makes me interested in trying some of their own distillate
7:21
now they announced their four-year-old expression back in 2022 I always am hesitant to try a
7:27
distillery at their first release and I know saying that right after talking about New Riff
7:31
is kind of contradictory but I do think that Castle and Key was a lot harder to get your hands on out
7:36
here. I just don't think they had the distribution that New Riff had at the time. I saw it but it was
7:41
often inflated in price and I kind of heard mixed things so I decided to hold off on it. But now
7:47
that I see they have a six-year release this one's coming in at 101 proof which is an interesting
7:52
proof choice. Refer to my recent live stream where I did a bunch of 101 proof whiskeys all from
7:57
wild turkey, blinded them, and found out my favorite. But this uses the same mash bill of
8:01
their four-year expression, 73% white corn, 10% rye, and 17% malted barley. Of course
8:08
they go through all the tasty notes here, but I like to skip those until I've had a chance to try
8:12
a whiskey. Right now, this is only available in three locations, one of which being the distillery
8:17
of course, in Frankfurt, Kentucky. They also have a Castle & Key 502 retail store in Louisville
8:23
Kentucky and you can buy it online at castleandkey.com for $39.99. Now you can check out their
8:30
website to see if they're able to ship to your area. They have a select number of states that
8:34
they can ship to. I see that California actually is a state that they can ship to so I would
8:40
definitely be considering buying from there if it doesn't hit my area soon but being a brand that
8:45
I've kind of fell in and out of love with over the past couple years you know I did a distillery
8:50
tour back in 2018 and fell in love with the grounds of course i knew the previous story of
8:54
you know mary and eve's and all that i know the brand has evolved significantly since then pinhook
8:59
releases have been kind of hit or miss for me but i've not tried anything under their um castle and
9:03
key brand in terms of bourbon so i'd love to get a bottle of that maybe do a stream with that and
9:08
their rye again the rye i know kind of has mixed opinions as well but i hope some of you would be
9:14
interested in hearing my thoughts on it so if you are leave a comment on this podcast or message me
9:19
on any social media platform at bourbon bites would love to know if you guys are interested in
9:23
hearing my thoughts on this new six-year-old castle and key release or any of the castle
9:28
and key releases i'm always up for new content and suggestions from you guys well on the topic
9:33
of new we do have one new six ish year old release to talk about this is the new garrison brothers
9:40
2025 guadalupe bourbon now this was actually announced last month but this is a re-release
9:47
of a brand that's kind of had some popularity amongst Garrison Brothers fans. Now it's named
9:52
after one of the most beautiful rivers in Texas apparently, but it is a multi-award winning bourbon
9:59
whiskey finished in port wine barrels. They're only releasing 8,600 bottles of this and the first
10:05
1,000 have to be claimed on release day at the distillery. So this one's going to go quick. So
10:10
this is actually the fifth annual release of Guadalupe, but this one is a four-year-old bourbon
10:16
aged in white American oak casks that has been finished for two years in Tawny port casks. So you
10:22
see what I'm saying about it being kind of six years old. I think legally they have to call it
10:26
a four-year-old bourbon finished for two years. So, but in the scheme of things, if you, if you
10:30
are a true bourbon lover, you know, that basically means it is a six-year-old whiskey. Whether or not
10:36
we can call that officially on the TTB label, that's up to them. But for me, that is a pretty
10:40
old Texas bourbon. And what makes this even more interesting is not only do they mention that
10:46
Texas has wild temperature swings which we all know but this one's actually been proofed down
10:51
with rainwater that was harvested from their 68 acre ranch and they're saying the devotion to
10:57
clean environment is a big part of what makes Garrison Brothers legendary. It's interesting
11:01
because as someone that's kind of followed Garrison Brothers for a while I wouldn't have
11:06
thought that that's one of their focuses but apparently that's what they're highlighting with this Guadalupe release. So the standard release is going to come in at 107 proof
11:14
and be released at $149.99 however 1000 bottles of this whiskey will be
11:21
proofed at cast strength so ranging from 123 to 129 proof and those bottles are going to be 220 but it exciting to see that they going to take 50 from each of those cast strength releases and donate it to gulf trust which is
11:39
affiliated with the texas parks and wildlife foundation and has a big focus on protecting
11:45
texas's coast and gulf and while it's not directly related to the flash floods that just happened i
11:51
think this is a fantastic time to support a cause like this. I love seeing that they're being
11:56
transparent and they don't just say, you know, a portion of the proceeds go to support this
12:00
They're saying $50 from every bottle of their cash strength will go towards it. So yes
12:04
the bottle is $220, but the additional amount on top of the retail is basically going straight to
12:10
a local organization. I think that's amazing. And with everything going on right now in Texas and
12:15
their ecosystem, what a great cause to support. I would love to buy a bottle if I have a chance to
12:20
um it sounds like this is going to go pretty fast at the distillery though so I probably won't
12:24
um but if you get a chance to try or buy a bottle let me know how it is I might have to look for the
12:29
standard release don't think I'll get my hands on the cast strength but you never know all right
12:32
well I think that does it for my news so I think it's time for us to get into my bite-sized review
12:38
all right well as I hinted at earlier on this podcast I got my first bottle of Blanton's
12:52
straight from the barrel and I know that makes me sound full tater but I will say I've had this
12:57
before I've tried samples from friends I've tried a bunch of the Blanton's lineup actually but I've
13:02
never owned a bottle of straight from the barrel so I'm very very excited to get my hands on this
13:07
one. This was part of a bundle like I said but I don't think I overpaid too much for it. It came
13:12
with this and the gold which I'll be doing a live stream on YouTube soon comparing them to the
13:16
standard Blanton's release. If you guys are at all interested in that you can go to youtube.com
13:21
slash bourbon bites. I go live every Thursday almost at 7 p.m pacific 10 p.m eastern with the
13:28
live stream about an hour long comparing different whiskeys, interviewing different distilleries
13:32
lots of fun stuff like that. So if you're not yet subscribed on YouTube definitely consider that
13:36
That's where I put out the majority of my content in addition to the podcast
13:40
So if you want to see more of me or hear more of me, check me out there. If not, just don't even bother
13:46
But yes, this bottle I pre-ordered months and months ago, but it just came in today
13:50
This one was dumped on August 29th of 2024 from barrel number 795, Warehouse H, Rickhouse
13:57
number 105 at 123.8 proof. This isn't one of the highest proof releases of this that I've seen
14:06
but I think, you know, they didn't reveal the proof when I bought it. I was willing to take a gamble with it
14:11
So I'm excited to give it a try. Again, it equated to basically retail for this bottle, at least here in the U.S.
14:17
right around $150. As part of the combo, it actually was a little bit cheaper, closer to $120, $125
14:23
But I couldn't resist the opportunity to get it so easily and to pre-order it
14:27
and know that it's guaranteed for me to receive. So shout out to the folks at K&L Wine and Spirits who made that possible
14:33
Thank you for the opportunity. And I know we're on the theme of sixes. Actually, Blanton's is aged between six to eight years on average
14:41
So I think this kind of counts towards our rule of sixes that's happening on this week's episode
14:45
Again, not planned. I am not affiliated with the devil. But if I was, I would be drinking this whiskey
14:52
So, you know, we'll see. We'll see where this whiskey takes me. Let's go ahead and give it a crack
14:56
and if you're curious which horsey I got this is the B so um if you're looking for a B horsey hit
15:03
me up just kidding I don't really collect them I do have a collection of all my Blanton's toppers
15:08
but it's because I keep cool looking toppers in general I have like a crown royal bag at the
15:12
bottom of my um sample drawer where I keep them mostly to replace corks that get um broken or
15:18
cracked or anything like that but I do keep certain uh toppers that uh look really cool so
15:24
I'll be glad to add a bee to my collection. Let's go ahead and pop that cork. Nice. All right let's
15:31
get this blends straight from the barrel poured and let's see what we think of it. If you've been
15:35
listening to the podcast I recently did a review of Rock Hill Farms which is another mash bill from
15:41
Buffalo Trace that's the same mash bill as this and it's one that I've consistently said is my
15:45
favorite product of mash bill number two from the distillery but we'll see if this one changes my
15:51
mind let's give it a nose oh interesting you know even though it does present those typical
15:56
you know kind of honey notes that I get from Buffalo Trace Mashable number two it's a lot
16:01
darker and I've heard rumors that sometimes these straight from the barrel picks are a little bit
16:05
older than the standard Blanton's releases again Buffalo Trace doesn't reveal any of this info it's
16:09
not on the bottle everything says it's from six to eight years old so I'm gonna have to believe that
16:14
I will say though on the nose there's definitely quite a bit more oak than what I'm used to from
16:18
other blends and other releases from that mash bill now if you're unfamiliar with the different
16:23
mash bills of buffalo trace they basically have two main ones mash bill number one which is a lower
16:27
rye and mash bill number two which is a higher rye some estimate that it's between 12 to 15 percent
16:32
rye in the bourbon mash bill um but yeah that's kind of their their shtick i guess i would say
16:39
but yeah really um dark and deep notes on the nose i mean it kind of reminds me of a uh i've used this
16:46
note quite a few times on the channel like a cow tail candy or like one of those caramel candies
16:51
with the cream in the center that you used to get from your grandma that's a note that I've often
16:56
got on Mashable number two and this is no exception but it does know it's quite a bit
17:00
richer than what I expect from a note like that it's definitely those darker richer roasty deep
17:08
caramel notes almost to like a molasses level I wouldn say so much on the nose it still sweeter than I think like a molasses would do molasses goes really dark and not savory but molasses has like an
17:19
extremely dark a little bit of a bitter quality to it this is still in the the caramel territory
17:24
not bitter just very very sweet up front creamy and uh a little bit of oak on the back end man
17:30
this smells delicious I can't wait to give it a try so let's go for it cheers y'all wow okay
17:37
yep that is that is cast strength for sure let me check the proof of that what i say it was
17:41
123.8 so coming in at 61.9 abv so not you know low proof by any means about on par with
17:49
a lot of a ledger cut barrel proof releases or you know more than a knob creek single barrel pick so
17:55
it's up there in proof probably one of the higher proof bourbons i have in my collection at the
17:58
moment so definitely comes through with that proof but what i find interesting is there's a lot more
18:04
fruitiness on this than I've gotten on any other Mashable No. 2 products. Sometimes with those I
18:09
get a little bit of like a pear or like a peach. I think on the Rocco Farms I reviewed a few weeks
18:14
back it kind of came across as like a pear cobbler, like a peach cobbler. This one is a little darker
18:20
a little bit more in the red fruit territory which is something I usually associate with
18:24
Mashable No. 1. So I'm throwing off a little bit here. Alright hold on there is a little bit of a
18:28
difference. With Mashable No. 1 things like Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace or Stag I get a
18:34
dark black cherry note like a very rich deep cherry flavor this one's giving me cherry but
18:40
it's a little bit more in the artificial cherry category of cherry it's very subtle like it's not
18:45
the point where it's overpowering where it tastes like cough syrup or anything like that but when
18:48
I'm trying to dissect that cherry note it's definitely more in the sweeter more candied
18:52
cherry note like when someone makes you an old-fashioned with a maraschino cherry compared
18:57
to a luxardo cherry there's a big difference and this is this is about the same amount of difference
19:02
that I get between those two. Not to say that it's not good but when I'm looking for that sweeter
19:06
red fruit note it's definitely more of a sugary sugar soaked red fruit and interestingly enough
19:13
at that higher proof the rye does show itself. I mean they're giving a little bit of that like
19:17
minty kind of sweetness. Again when you're combining mint with sweet I always think peppermint
19:22
It's kind of in that realm where it's like not quite like minty like herbal or herbaceous or
19:27
anything like that but a little bit more like a candy that has a little bit of like a menthol kind
19:31
of note to it. Mouthfeel wise, it's pretty coating, especially at the front end of the palette
19:35
It kind of lingers and falls off a little bit towards the finish. Honestly, I was expecting a
19:40
little bit longer of a finish with this release. This one really does excel at the mid palette
19:45
but once it goes into the finish, it kind of lingers with a little bit of that like peppermint note and kind of goes down your throat like you just swallowed a sweet piece of candy
19:54
It doesn't linger with the heat, but it lingers with kind of like the sweeter menthol kind of
19:57
characteristics to it. Let me let me take another sip just to focus on the finish. Yeah I mean I
20:03
even want to go a little bit toasty with that finish as well. It kind of leads into like a bit of a pie crust but very very sweet like a sweet glazed pie crust on the finish. Not bad by any
20:13
means I just think it feels a little bit light of a finish at least this particular straight from
20:18
the barrel release. Now a lot of people consider Blanton straight from the barrel equivalent to
20:22
some of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection releases. I think with this particular bottle
20:26
right here. I wouldn't put it on par with that. I think it's great. I think it's one of the best
20:31
expressions from Mashable number two that I've had that wasn't VTAC. I'm not disappointed at all
20:37
about having a chance to try a bottle. I'm excited to see if it opens up quite a bit and I'm also
20:41
excited to share with other folks that are curious to try this. Like I said I kind of want to do a
20:45
Blanton stream where I taste this, the gold, the regular Blanton's, a store pick of Blanton's
20:51
We'll do the whole thing. We might throw in another random Mashable number two product in there as
20:55
well so you guys make sure to subscribe because not only do I go live on Thursdays I also do a
20:59
surprise Saturday night live stream every now and then so check it out but yeah I'm not mad about
21:04
that I I would love to try it next to the gold but I'm gonna wait till I do that stream for that
21:08
so stay tuned all right well before I go I just want to give a quick shout out to all of my
21:13
supporters over on bourbonvites.com which is my home on the internet it's where you can join the
21:18
bite club if you know you know you get access to some fun things like our movie nights which are
21:23
happening this week, our after parties, which happen after every Thursday night live stream
21:28
and our monthly sample tasting at the higher tiers. Can't speak too much about this on the
21:34
podcast, but if you go to bourbonbites.com, you can find out all the details there, but you can
21:39
also support the channel for as little as $2 a month, however you feel comfortable supporting
21:44
the channel. Now, if you don't want to go to bourbonbites.com, you can also go to patreon.com
21:48
slash bourbonbites. Same thing there, just bourbonbites.com not only supports me, the creator
21:54
more, more of the percent goes to me from your monthly contribution, but you get access to fun
21:59
things like discounts on merch. So lots of advantages to join at bourbonbites.com. But if
22:05
that's not your jam, feel free to get me a follow on your favorite social media platforms. I'm at
22:10
bourbonbites on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, wherever you want to find me, you can find me
22:16
If you have any questions or comments about the show, you can reach me at contact at bourbonbites.com
22:22
Most of all, feel free to leave a rating on your favorite podcast platform
22:26
letting folks know why you enjoy the show or what suggestions you have to improve the show
22:31
because I'll be back every week. All right. Cheers, y'all. Thank you so much for listening
22:35
Until next time, this has been the Bourbon Bites podcast, a whiskey podcast with an 80s twist
22:41
I'm your host, Clifton, and I'll talk to you guys next episode
#Food & Drink
#food