Blanton’s Line-Up Head to Head
Many moons ago (7 years ago I believe) I had my first Blanton’s taste while sitting at a conference in Montana. A fellow conference goer who lived in Kentucky, now a friend, saw me sipping on a Bulleit and recommended Blanton’s. To his surprise they happened to have it behind the bar. We enjoyed our pours and chatted about bourbon in general and I was hooked. When I got home from the conference I pursued my first bottle of Blanton’s and it was easy to find. It was stacked on the shelf at the MSRP of $53. I bought one and moved on with my life. It become a tradition to have one pour of Blanton’s a week while I watched the new episode of Game of Thrones. I went through many bottles, but then as the years passed it became harder and harder to find. Looking back today, I’m OK with that. 6 years ago I was a Bourbon novice and rarely ventured out and sampled new offerings. Instead of settling with what I thought was my favorite. I have since branched out and found through my bourbon journey that Blanton’s is fun to sample from time to time, but I have no problem passing it on a shelf.
That was my Blanton’s origin story. Today I’m in many Facebook (I refuse to call it Meta) groups and within the last couple years I realized that Blanton’s is a plenty overseas. They not only get more than they can handle, but they also get other options regarding proof. Blanton’s traditionally in the US is always offered at 93 proof. That’s all I ever have known. Recently after 2020 they also expanded the Blanton’s offering in the US to include Blanton’s Gold (103 Proof) and Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel (proof varies, but usually around 128-132). It is next to impossible to get these new rare offerings here in the US. Regardless, I set my sights on the 7 most popular Blanton’s offerings and I wanted to put them in a showdown. It took me a while to get my hands on these, especially since 3 of them came from Japan, but here we are. I procured 6 bottles and “borrowed” one to complete the taste off. The Borrowed bottle was Blanton’s Takara Gold. Below is a list of the 7 that were compared. There are more out there, but they are much more rare (example Blanton’s Polish – Blue Label). In this general article I’ll discuss the results and overall experience, but for more information on a individual bottle, click on the links below.
– Japan – Blanton’s Gold – 103 Proof (Aged 8 Years)
– Europe– Blanton’s Special Reserve – 80 Proof (Aged 6 Years)
– United States – Blanton’s – 93 Proof
– Japan – Blanton’s Black – 80 Proof (Aged 8 years)
– Europe – Blanton’s Gold – 103 Proof (Aged 6 Years)
– United States – Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel – 129.2 Proof (Aged 6 Years)
– Japan – Blanton’s “Red” (Label looks cream color, but the box is red) – 93 Proof (Aged 8 Years)
There they are in all of their glory. For Blanton’s enthusiasts its a sight to behold. Needless to say for the head to head showdown I was excited. First, here’s how I conducted the showdown. I had 7 empty glasses numbered 1 – 7. The wife then randomly poured 1oz into a numbered glass and put that bottle on the corresponding number in another room. After all 7 were randomly filled I got to work. It was truly blind. The only thing that I knew prior to tasting was that they were all 7 Blanton’s and I also knew the 7 bottles in the sampling. No idea which number was which. I started with number 1 and took my tasting notes and ratings and moved my way through them all to number 7. I had them all reviewed and ranked and only then was it revealed which numbers were which. After the showdown I would resample the bottle for each individual posted review just to make sure I didn’t miss anything, but all of the tasting notes and rankings remained the same from the blind showdown.
Here’s some information that I have gathered prior to revealing the rankings. In the US prior to 2020 you could only acquire the 6 year 93 proof Blanton’s. The other options were shipped overseas to Europe and Japan. Why!? I wondered. What my research has shown me is that Ancient Age owns the mashbill for Blanton’s and Blanton’s in general was originally marketed to be sold overseas. Bourbon was appreciated more overseas than it was in the US many decades ago. It’s also important to note that Blanton’s started in 1984 as the first production single barrel bourbon. Single barrel production was almost unheard of because barrel to barrel there’s a variance. When batches are blended you get much more consistency. All Blanton’s barrels are aged in Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace.
Lets get into the difference between the bottles being reviewed. If a bottle comes from Europe it comes in a slightly smaller Blanton’s bottle and it’s 700ml. Japan and US versions come in your standard (fifth) 750ml. US and European versions are said to have been aged at least 6 years although I have never seen an age statement on a Blanton’s bottle. It’s rumored that the Blanton’s that’s shipped to Japan, named “Takara” – meaning Treasure, is extra special and is aged at least 8 years. I have to point out that this is just a rumor and I can’t find anything that verifies the 6 vs 8 year claim. I can say in my head to head tasting you could not distinguish any sort of 2 year difference.
As my current boss would say “Don’t bury the headline within the story”. Too late I guess. Without further ado. The Results are listed below.
- 7th Place – Blanton’s Takara Black (Overall Rating – 5.2) – While it wasn’t terrible, I could go the rest of my life without trying this pour again. It was noticeably watered down (80 Proof) and tasted like flat coke. If it spent 2 extra years in the barrel you certainly couldn’t tell. Disappointed because I believe the Black bottle looks the coolest.
- 6th Place – Blanton’s – Special Reserve – Euro Green (Overall Rating – 5.7) – Finding this one through back channels was difficult. Because this bottle appeared in a John Wick movie people want it more so naturally sellers charge more. Once again the 80 proof was evident. There was absolutely nothing special about this bottle. It was just ok. If someone handed it to me I wouldn’t pour it out, but there’s nothing to Oooo and Ahhh over.
- 5th Place – Blanton’s Takara Red (Overall Rating – 6.3) – This one surprised me. I thought this one would be in the top 3. Standard proof, but with 2 extra years in the barrel. I was excited to try it. No extra years stood out in the tasting and this particular barrel seemed out of balance and rough around the edges.
- 4th Place – Blanton’s Takara Gold (Overall Rating – 6.7) – Another surprise. I really enjoy a dram that’s 100-110 proof. I figured this one had a chance to be the winner. This one had much more going on, but I did pick up wet cardboard that was off-putting. Overall not bad, but this particular bottle fetches upwards of $400 on secondary. I will HARD PASS on that all day long. Maybe this wasn’t the best barrel or something, but that price is insane for what this delivered. If I added the value factor into the overall score this might have plummeted to the bottom.
- 3rd Place – Blanton’s US 93 Proof (Overall Rating – 6.7) – Yeah I get it same score as 4th place. These scored similar for different reasons, but I put this bottle above the Takara Gold because it didn’t have any misses and I enjoyed the Floral aspect of this bottle. Just to be 100% transparent, I had another open bottle of Standard US Blanton’s and I pulled that one off the shelf to compare it to this one. This bottle being reviewed here would be top 2 US Blanton’s I’ve had since day 1. Most US Blanton’s would not score as high as this one did. This was a good barrel.
- 2nd Place – Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel (Overall Rating – 7.3) – Sometimes high octane pours are hit or miss. This one delivered. The closest proof to this in the head to head was 103. 26 proof lower. I figured it would be obvious to pick it out of the line-up but it was more challenging than I thought. I did get it right, but the 103 proofs punched up while this one punched down. If value was factored in this would be number one, but on Nose, Palate, and Finish alone it got edged out by Euro Gold.
- 1st Place – Blanton’s Euro Gold (Overall Rating 7.5) – In the head to head I had this and the Straight from the Barrel tied. I had to have another blind taste-off to determine first place. This one took the crown due to a great balance from start to finish and appealing characteristics.
In Summary: To get a good basis of comparison I put these up against some heavy weights. Following the blind tasting and during the individual review write ups I would put each particular pour up against a high rated comparable pour. Straight from the Barrel vs Stagg Jr. Blanton’s Gold vs Remus Repeal V and Weller 107. Blanton’s Black and Green vs Weller Special Reserve and a solid Buffalo Trace Store Pick. Blanton’s did not win any of these matchups for me. I can confirm 100% that Blanton’s is NOT a top pour. The Gold and Straight from the Barrel are fun, but they are not unicorns. People just pay for them like they are. I’m guilty for spending more than I should to get this head to head review done, but this experiment was solid confirmation for me that Blanton’s is fun and a good pour from time to time, but by no means is it worth paying over MSRP. I have even stumbled across some a couple bottles that I didn’t care for at all and ended up giving away as a “opened gift”. But… As long as there’s car crotch-shots and shelf trophy bottles I don’t see this cooling down anytime soon. You won’t catch me camping out to grab any of these in the future. Blanton’s at MSRP is usually “worth it”, but not a dime over that.
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Average. Not bad, but not special.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
David S
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