Barrell Craft Spirits has built a serious reputation for blending and finishing whiskeys that punch well above their weight, and the Gray Label Seagrass Rye is one of the more ambitious releases in their lineup. This is a limited release rye finished in a combination of Martinique rum, apricot brandy, and Madeira casks — the same triple-finish concept as the standard Seagrass, but with hand-selected barrels that earned the Gray Label designation. At 66.67% ABV, this is not a casual pour. It's a statement bottle, and it demands your attention.
What makes the Seagrass line interesting from an educational standpoint is how it challenges conventional thinking about rye whiskey. Traditionally, rye is appreciated for its spice-forward, dry character — think caraway, black pepper, and dried herbs. The Seagrass approach layers tropical and stone fruit influence from those finishing casks on top of that rye backbone, creating something that shouldn't work on paper but absolutely does in practice. The Gray Label takes this further by selecting barrels where those finishing notes integrated most completely with the base spirit.
At nearly 67% ABV, this is cask strength in the truest sense. I'd recommend spending real time with this one. A few drops of water open it up considerably, and the character shifts as the proof comes down. That's one of the joys of a cask-strength release — you get to find your own sweet spot rather than having the distiller decide for you.
Tasting Notes
I'm not going to fabricate specific notes here — this is a whiskey that genuinely changes character depending on how much water you add and how long it's been sitting in the glass. What I will say is that the triple-cask finishing approach gives it a layered complexity that rewards patience. The rye spice is there, but it's woven into something richer and more rounded than a straight rye typically delivers. Expect warmth, depth, and a long finish that keeps evolving.
The Verdict
At £175, the Gray Label Seagrass sits in competitive territory. You're paying a premium over the standard Seagrass release, and the question is whether those hand-selected barrels justify the jump. In my experience, they do. The integration of the finishing influences feels more seamless here, and the cask-strength presentation gives you control over the experience in a way that a proofed-down version simply can't. This is a 7.8 out of 10 for me — a genuinely well-crafted whiskey that earns its price through complexity and character rather than marketing. It loses a point or two purely because, at this proof, it can be a bit of a challenge for newer drinkers. But if you're comfortable with high-proof spirits and you enjoy rye whiskey that pushes boundaries, this is well worth seeking out.
Best Served
Start this neat with a few drops of water and give it ten minutes to breathe. Once you've explored it on its own terms, try it in a Manhattan — the rye spice and those rum and brandy finishing notes play beautifully against sweet vermouth. Use a 2:1 ratio with a quality Italian sweet vermouth like Cocchi di Torino, and garnish with a Luxardo cherry. The cask strength means it'll stand up to the vermouth without getting lost, and those layered finishing notes add a dimension that a standard rye simply can't match. It's one of the more interesting Manhattan bases I've worked with.
