What does single barrel mean?

A single barrel, as the name implies, means that the whiskey in the bottle came out of one barrel. I know, very surprising; however, when I first got into whiskey, I assumed like many others that every bottle came out of one barrel. However, this is not true. Major brands like Jim Beam, use a ton of barrels depending on the bottle to achieve a consistent taste. When we think about this it makes a lot of sense. There are so many factors that can change how a barrel tastes, such as weather conditions in the aging process, how often the barrel was rotated, etc. So when we look at buying a single barrel, we are essentially rolling the dice that we are getting a good bottle. Some barrels may be a once-in-a-lifetime great pick, others may be a little better than average or just slightly different than average and some may not turn out how we like if you enjoy subtle differences in taste (you can rate them on NEAT!) then a single barrel could be a great pick for you if you’re a novice whiskey taster though, it honestly may not be worth the money because you won’t pick up on all the subtleties.

If you’re looking for a reasonably consistent taste but also want to learn how to expand your pallet a small batch is a great option, because as in plus it’s a smaller batch of barrels that are used in that bottle. This gives you some differences in taste but not as drastic in single barrel

If you are looking for an inexpensive single barrel to try, Jim Beam is a great option, for mid-level, I recommend Four Roses single barrel and for the higher end, I love the private select options from Makers Mark.

Next time you're in the store and want to risk it for the biscuit on a single barrel, let us know what you think by rating it in the best whiskey app ever, NEAT: Whiskey Finder!.