Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass 19 Year Review
“Seagrass Gray Label”
The “Seagrass” Barrell Craft Sprit’s label consists of two product lines. Both are blended cask strength rye whiskeys that have been finished in Martinique Rhum, Madeira, and Apricot Brandy Casks. The “aqua label” is the more standard line, and the “gray label” is the “limited & rare” release with an impressive age statement. The 2024 batch is the 3rd release since the gray label was introduced, this one is 19 years old! Batch 1 was released in 2022 with an age statement of 16 years old and 130.82 proof. Batch 2, released in 2023, was also 16 years old, with a proof of 133.34. They also have a gray label bourbon line, which is also called their “limited & rare” release. So, let’s grab a pour and start on this Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass 19 year review!
Series: Seagrass Gray Label Rye
Classification: Blended Whiskey
Finished in: Rye finished in Martinique Rhum, Madeira, and Apricot Brandy Casks
Age: 19 years
Proof: 128.3
Proof Designation: Cask Strength
Non-Chill Filtered? Yes
Mash bill: 100% Rye
Distillery: Undisclosed Canadian Distillery
Company: Barrell Craft Spirits
Bottled By: Barrell Craft Spirits, Louisville, KY
Distilled/Aging Location: Undisclosed
Master Blender: Nic Christiansen
Release Date: October 2024
MSRP: $199
Availability: Low/Rare
Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass 19 Year Review
April 30, 2025
My tasting reviews are unique in that I include the notes of several well-known whiskey critics. The hope is that this format will help me and others to explore and expand their tasting experience.
For this tasting: Opened Bottle (about 1 week), Glencairn Glass, Neat, Room Temp, Breathe: 5 minutes.
Legs
Beads begin to form on the crown at 10 seconds, the legs begin to form at about 36 seconds, and the first legs reach the bowl at around 70 seconds.
Nose
A complex and balanced nose with brown sugar, vanilla bean, a pleasant bready aroma, poached pear, hints of banana and roasted pineapple, brandy-soaked tobacco, definitely some rum.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Breaking Bourbon: Peach | Sweet apple | Vanilla cream | Brown butter crumble | Light honey | Dough | Light aged oak | Rye bread | Cigar box | Pine tree | Full of interesting scents
Bottle Raiders: Pungent vanilla bean is first out of the gate, woven through with goldenrod as you just approach the glass. They add lift to a treacly nose that ranges from dark brown sugar to woodsy sugarcane. The original grain character is well preserved, but advanced age has evolved it into tres leches cake, granola, and macadamia nut. Sage, tonka bean, and menthol play the herbal register here. Plump raisins and fig newtons round it out.
Folsom Wine Spirits: Tropical fruits like mango and pineapple mingle with notes of spiced caramel, honey, and a touch of sea breeze.
Palate
Like the nose, this is equally complex on the palate with rich caramel, vanilla extract, apricot, a touch of banana, brown sugar baking spices like cinnamon, toasted cloves, pepper, a hint of candied ginger, orange zest, tobacco, and rum.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Breaking Bourbon: Bold rye spice | Black peppercorn | Dry aged oak | Cinnamon stick | Undertone of summer fruits | Lemon essence | Tree bark | Sweet cream | Hot & spicy
Bottle Raiders: S’mores, amoretti, and oatmeal raisin cookie depict a palate balanced between biscuit-y and sweet. A marked spiciness shoulders its way in with notes of crystallized ginger, peppermint, and black peppercorn. Oak tannins give a bit of chew to a body that’s oily and rich with sugars. Meanwhile gentian root, sesame seeds, and apple peels comprise the humus layer.
Folsom Wine Spirits: The palate is a dazzling display of complexity, offering layers of candied orange zest, ripe apricot, toasted coconut, and vanilla, balanced by a hint of rye spice and briny minerality.
Finish
It has an exceptionally long and satisfying finish with some good fruit and sweetness with a solid backbone of baking spice, toasted fennel seed, rum, and apricot.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Breaking Bourbon: Rush of rye spice | Dry oak | Green peppercorn | Cinnamon spice | Banana | Prickly heat | Lingering heat
Bottle Raiders: Fresh ginger, fennel seed, and cardamom rush up through the exhale. The tongue is left with a pronounced bitterness that inspires thoughts of cocoa powder and grapefruit peel. Gradually, a gentle sweet vermouth takes over; later joined by a grainy signature of skillet cornbread.
Folsom Wine Spirits: The finish is endlessly satisfying, with lingering flavors of sweet stone fruit, spiced oak, and a whisper of salted toffee.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel of the Seagrass 19 year Gray Label is rich and full and nicely balances out the spiciness and fruit in the pour.
Mouthfeel Rating Guide: Thin = Watery | Silken = smooth & slippery, but not mouth coating | Creamy = coats the tongue like heavy cream does. | Rich or Unctuous = coats the entire palate like quality olive oil
The Burn
4 out of 5. This means that the burn from the alcohol is about what I would expect it to be. I would guess this to be around 120 proof, not 128.3 proof.
Tasting Summary
The Barrel Gray Label Seagrass 19 year is a very complex pour. It is fruit forward but is quickly followed with a variety of sweetness and spiciness and a mild backbone of complimentary astringency. Brandied apricots, ripe banana, a strong (pleasant) rum influence, white pepper, toasted fennel, brown sugar, cinnamon and more!
For my palate, the 2022 16 year Seagrass (130.82 proof) is a little better than the 19 year. I find it more fruity and light while the 19 year is a little less fruity and more spicy. But I still love the 19 year.
My Rating
The higher the score the better the whiskey is in my opinion. For reference, my best rated bottle so far is the George T. Stagg 2022 (138.7p) with a score of 9.7.
| Score Type | Score | Examples |
| Likability Score | 8.8 | 1.0 – 10.0 |
| Availability Score | 2 | 1-Rare, 2-Hard to Find, 3-A Little Hunting, 4-Easy to Find |
Pass, Bar, Buy, or Bunker?
Rating: BUY – I would buy this again and be happy about it. For the price, I think I’d bunker the 16 year before the 19 year for the reason mentioned in the Summary.
Rating Scale:
PASS – I wish that I had never put this in my mouth!
BAR – I don’t love it or hate it…I suggest trying this in a bar before purchasing it.
BUY – I would buy it once…maybe more.
BUNKER – Love this! I want a back-up bottle…or 3.
My Tasting Notes
A blank version of this tasting notes wheel is available in both a color and a black & white version in the member’s area.
Notes and History
Barrell Craft Spirits was launched in Louisville, Kentucky by Joe Beatrice in 2013. Instead of building a distillery and making his own distillate, Joe challenged conventional wisdom and took a different approach. At that time, “blended whiskey” was considered to be cheap or substandard to “straight whiskey” due to the “average” distillate used and generally low proof of blended whiskeys. But Joe sourced and blended bourbon & whiskey from exceptional casks produced by reputable producers, bottled his whiskeys at cask strength, and sold them with as much transparency as possible.
This approach quickly became an influencing force in the American whiskey scene, as Barrell Craft Spirits picked up awards from the world’s most prestigious spirits competitions, and has effectively elevated the perception of “blended whiskey”.
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