Just in!!

Our second barrel from Rare Character showcases the Mission flagship store in Pasadena on the label, with the iconic vertical tobacco sign front and center and the towering San Gabriel mountains against a rather Van Gogh-esque California sky. This five year old single cask Bourbon, distilled at MGP in Indiana, was bottled at 59.56% ABV and features one of the richest, woodiest noses you'll find on this side of the Mississippi. Every aroma that emanates from the glass is soaked in oak, moving lithely between polish and pencil shavings. The richness from all that oak tempers the heat on the palate, somehow giving one the impression the whiskey isn't a beastly 119.12 proof, but rather somewhat sippable neat, straight out of the bottle. This isn't a sweet whiskey, however. While the oak is bold, the vanilla notes are dry and lean, allowing for secondary fruit and floral notes with a spiciness that finishes like leather. If it's complexity you're after, this is a very fun whiskey to dissect. It's not just a delicious ride, it moves across the entire flavor spectrum and back, the product of one unique single barrel, itself a diamond in the rough.

-David Driscoll