The Story

Late last year, there was a fair amount of excitement over Barrell Craft Spirits’ release of Seagrass Whiskey. Everyone was pretty well smitten by the wide array of flavors that each sip imparted. This was because of the expert level blending of the folks at Barrell, but also the very unique profile that came with finishing the barrels in Martinique Rhum, Madeira & apricot brandy barrels. Put simply, it was a winner. We even gave it a very solid score of 8.7.

So when our local store said they had gotten in a few bottles of Barrell’s Seagrass 16 Year Gray Label, we were definitely interested. We wondered if there was much in common with the OG Seagrass expression. Or was it totally different? Having 16 year rye as the foundation surely must change things to a good degree.

We headed off to the store, and thankfully we had gotten one of only two remaining. When we saw the price tag however, we somewhat cringed. Sure, we know great whiskey is something you’ll have to shell out for, but $250 was definitely a steep price for us. We hemmed and hawed over the bottle for a bit, then ultimately put the money down. And crossed our fingers.

This bottle is matured for 16 years and distilled in Canada. It’s a rye whiskey finished in Martinique Rhum, Madeira and apricot brandy casks. It’s aged both in the US and Canada then crafted and bottled in Kentucky.

According to the distillery’s website, Seagrass 16’s foundation begins with two groups of 16-year-old 100% Canadian Rye barrels. The first group of barrels was finished in the Martinique Rhum barrels and a blend of both groups were finished in Malmsey Madeira barrels. 

This 16 year blend comes in at a whopping 130.82 proof.

Alright, let’s give it a shot.

Nose

On the nose it has fruity aromas – mostly green apple and apricot but also a rye and earthy note. We noticed that when you nosed with your mouth open, you get sweetness on your tongue.

Palate

The palate is fruit forward with those green apple and apricot notes showing up, but is just as sweet as it is spicy. That 16 year rye imparts those pepper spice notes which hang on throughout the palate, as well as some dill and earthy, grassy notes like we observed in their regular Seagrass expression.

Finish

The finish maintains that prominent pepper spice with some raw green apple notes, general vegetal notes and some baking spice.

Verdict

Our bottle of Seagrass 16 was purchased at the standard retail price of $249.99. At that price point it wasn’t an easy decision, but ultimately we decided on a ‘buy’ rating for this bottle. It’s a 16 year aged expression that is very well blended with a lot of character. It’s in that premium whiskey category and if you’re willing to put down the cash, the flavors will not disappoint. This is a bonus if you’re a rye drinker because you’ll get the great flavors of Seagrass but with an enhanced rye profile.

You might be asking yourself: Why would this guy rate Seagrass 16 Year lower than he rated regular Seagrass if this one is supposedly so good? That’s a great question. We decided that we prefer the sweeter fruit notes in regular Seagrass that tend to be the more dominant aspect of that expression. This one imparts much more spice with that 16 year rye. So we liked it just a touch less, but kept it at a very high rating. We can see rye lovers putting this in the high 8’s or even at a 9.

If you see this bottle on the shelf in your area, consider the purchase at $250 even. While we really do like it, we think it’s priced right at the value it provides and not a cent above.

Overall, for us, it had excellent flavor and we very much enjoyed the more rye-forward profile. Because of this, we put it just below standard Seagrass at 8.5 out of 10, but very, very close. We’re not at all upset that we have this bottle as our rye loving friends will always want some and when we’re in the mood for a very unique and flavorful rye, it’ll always be just an arm’s reach away on the shelf.

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Cheers friends!