Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel delivers single barrel bourbon at full cask strength, poured exactly as it leaves the barrel with no cutting and no chill filtering. Every bottle comes from one barrel and carries that barrel’s own proof, so the strength runs high and shifts from bottle to bottle. Blanton’s draws on Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #2, the higher-rye recipe behind the original single barrel. The nose leans into dark chocolate, caramel, and toasted walnut; the palate turns to warm vanilla, oak, and a honeyed, spicy heat. Built mainly for export markets, it moves quickly on the rare occasions it reaches US shelves. Add a few drops of water to open it, then drink it neat and slow.