How do they match the profile?

[Flyfish]

Have had some nice private barrel selections from TPS, LB, and McScrooge's. Got me to wondering how they match the profile of a small batch bourbon when they are only buying a single barrel. Of course, there is no point in matching exactly but does the distillery actually sell the contents of one barrel or do they mingle several barrels to achieve the profile then sell the equivalent of one barrel? (Does this question even make sense or is it just the product of too much of The Breakfast of Champions?)

[VAGentleman]

Everything I've seen is heard is that is one barrel, not a mingling otherwise that would defeat the purpose. Truman Coxe once told me that they had a profile in mind for their John J Single Barrel. When selecting barrels they had leeway on either side of that profile. He explained it like kicking a field goal. Down the middle is perfect but there is plenty of room on either side to make it count.

[sailor22]

Typically a label is composed of whiskey from many barrels from many locations in different warehouses batched in a specific ratio.

A single barrel is just that ... a single barrel. In the case of a single barrel that is a one off from a NDP it could have been distilled anywhere and aged in any number of warehouses over the years. If it is a single barrel that represents a shelf label then it is a barrel from a specific location that falls within the desired profile. Some, like WTKS have a fairly divergent profile when sampled through the years of release, others like ETL are much more similar barrel to barrel. That would suggest that WTKS has been sourced from various aged stocks from different locations in different WT rack houses over the years while ETL has been from a more defined location in the BT rack house and hasn't changed the age it's bottled at very much.

This is a general answer to the question - there are numerous exceptions. ie the release of a 15yr age stated ETL a few years ago.

Edited March 16, 2015 by sailor22

[Renegator]

I once bought a "double barrel" selection of EC12. It was two different barrels mingled together to get an EC18 profile. It was quite tasty. That's the only time I've even seen a specific profile sought out.

[amg]

The WR selections are always mingles of two barrels.

[GaryT]

I think Steve nailed it; they typically select from barrels destined to be a part of that label. In their inventory, they expect barrels of a particular mashbill in a particular location to age and mature into a particular product. Of course it doesn't always work that way, and those that don't fit the profile have to be blended into something else or sold off to NDPs. They don't bring you a huge variety of barrels if you're buying a private barrel of X (not counting NDPs like Willett or SAOS who might let you sample a very diverse number since the label is designed for that sort of thing).

Ironically, I used to shy away from private labels since the contents could be a little unpredictable - and if I loved it, I might never get a chance to pick it up again. Now I look at them as opportunities to get a really great whiskey for a solid value - although unless you know who is picking (and what they like), you could wind up disappointed.