Blanton's Single Barrel Gold Edition (Takara Gold) (75cl, 51.5%)

Blanton's Single Barrel Gold Edition is a Kentucky straight bourbon from Buffalo Trace, bottled from a single barrel at 51.5% ABV in a 75cl bottle. This is the Japanese market version, also known as Takara Gold. It comes in a gold box with a red wax seal and a red velvet bag. Each stopper is topped with a thoroughbred horse figurine, in one of eight poses, and the label is hand-written with the bottle and barrel numbers. The nose shows vanilla, pear, plum, osmanthus, caramel and toasted nuts. The palate has honey, caramel and orange peel against dark chocolate and oak spice. The finish is long, with spice and vanilla.