1792 Full Proof (California Food Mart Barrel Select)

• DISTILLERY – 1792 Barton
• REGION – Bourbon, Kentucky, USA
• AGE – 7-8 years in virgin American white oak
• STRENGTH – 62.5% (125 Proof)
• MASH BILL – 74% corn, 18% rye, 8% barley
• MSRP – $50 – 55
• Note – I let the pour in the glencairn open up for 15 mins before nosing and tasting it.

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GLANCE

It came of as polished mahogany wood color with medium to long legs, and high viscosity.

NOSE

Here I got a lot baking spices, toffee, rich caramel and vanilla, with fruit jam notes. Throughout the nosing, I got lots of dense oak notes as well. As it opened up, I got more pronounced fruit jam and toffee notes. I was also able to pick up more earthy and flower bouquet tones.

Drop of H₂O (4-Drops) – Most of the initial main notes I was getting were mostly muted. But then I started getting sea salt caramel coffee and caramel/vanilla became more pronounced

TASTE

Here you have to hold on to your seat! It starts with a creamy honey, roasted peanuts and oaky notes in the front with caramel coating your tongue. Then right away you get a rolling baking spice bomb (its intense and for me ECBPs go down smooth haha). In the front of the palate as it opens up you get honey roasted peanuts with oak in the front and notes of caramel.

Drop of H₂O (4-Drops) – More caramel and creamy with confection sugar notes along with more baking spices and oaky.

FINISH

It’s a long finish with a lot of pepper corn and baking spices with hints of confection sugar notes.

Drop of H₂O (4-Drops)- Substantially disappears leaving only reminiscence of the flavors.

CLOSING REMARKS

This one you really have to take your time with. Though technically this isn’t a barrel proof, it is still a fair comparison to ECBPs. At those high proofs, the Elijah Craig opened up faster and I could pick up on the notes quicker. This one you really had to stay with it and stay patient. Regardless, 1792 Full Proof (California Food Mart, Barrel Select) was a fun complex drink for teasing the notes out. The drink technically wasn’t balanced as the baking spice and heat, really overtook the whole palate towards the end. But when looking at the profile of this bourbon and what the distillers were going for, it’s perfectly fine that it’s not balanced. This presentation shows the raw product and shows of their distillation prowess. The balancing of the flavor profile usually comes with finished bourbons, that are diluted as needed to hit that balance.

The beauty is in how the oak tannins, and huge spice notes also push forward the sweet corn and spicy rye flavors. This creates that raw but delicious bourbon, which requires you to pay attention and give it ample time. By adding a few drops of water it helped tease out any lurking notes and it did improve the drinkability. Overall if you can get a store pick of the 1792 full proof, go for it! You won’t be disappointed. Just carve out an extra hour or so for your drinking session ;). Cheers!

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