Saint Cloud 7 Year Single Barrel Bourbon

A little background

Saint Cloud is a relative newcomer to the world of whiskey that was founded by Ray Walker, a seasoned producer of Grand Cru wines in Burgundy, France. Walker started Saint Cloud to honor his family’s roots in Kentucky dating back to the early 19th century by producing micro-batch whiskey with two goals in mind: quality and refinement. Saint Cloud sources whiskey from various Kentucky distilleries at various stages to create unique experiences through each release. This is a review of Saint Cloud’s 7-year cask strength Single Barrel “blue label” bourbon. Bottle no. 73 from barrel “Icarus” was used for this review. Saint Cloud 7 Year Single Barrel Bourbon is barreled at 122 proof and has a suggested retail price of $150 USD.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Dark Gold

Nose

Dried orange and cherries, popery, spice, custard, nutmeg, pine, and caramel. After sitting for a bit, a buttered popcorn note came through.

Palate

Creamsicle all the way through. Candied caramel, orange cream, buttered toast, and Cinnamon Crème brûlée. This bourbon has a wonderful mouthfeel and burst of flavor.

Finish

Pleasantly long finish. The buttered toast from the palate carries through to the finish, along with more cinnamon, spice, orange popery, pine, and chocolate fudge on the peak of the finish.

In closing

Quite impressive! The nose is full of spice, immediately revealing the high-rye mash bill. The palate hits hard with a wonderful explosion of flavor and a very enjoyable viscosity. Although a touch drying a hot, the finish is long-lasting and chalked full of spice, chocolate, and a super unique buttered toast note. At $150, Saint Cloud 7 Year Single Barrel Bourbon is on the high end of price for a bottle in its class. However, the whole presentation here is nothing short of top-notch. This truly is a unique bottle of bourbon, and in my opinion, the best release from Saint Cloud to date. If high rye bourbon is your thing and you’re looking for something special, absolutely check out Saint Cloud 7 Year Single Barrel Bourbon!

NOTE: The sample used for this review was provided at no cost courtesy of Saint Cloud. We thank them for the sample and for allowing us to review it with no strings attached.