Blanton's Single Barrel

You can tell a lot about a person by what's in their glass. Sometimes it says, "I appreciate true craftsmanship," and sometimes it says, "I will definitely try to explain cryptocurrency to you at this party." I'm Tim Fulton, and this is Character Proof.

Every episode, we pour a different whiskey, break down the actual tasting notes, and then vividly imagine the exact type of person who drinks it on purpose. So grab a glass, pull up a chair, and get ready for some tasting notes and a whole lot of character flaws. Let's get pouring.

Alright, let's get into the next pour. Ah, I know that bottle shape anywhere. The holy hand grenade itself: Blanton's Single Barrel. Let's get a nose on this. Oh yeah, that's pure classic bourbon.

You've got the vanilla, the caramel, a nice little hit of citrus peel, and that sweet, sweet oak. It goes down so smooth it's almost dangerous. It's a fantastic pour, really. But as I'm sitting here looking at this little brass horse and jockey on the cork, I know exactly who is drinking this.

The guy drinking this is named Marcus. Marcus is 41, and he's the regional director of sales for a mid-sized software company. He drives a pristine slate-gray Audi Q7, and his entire casual wardrobe consists of quarter-zip pullovers from Peter Millar and untucked button-downs.

Marcus didn't care about bourbon five years ago. Five years ago, Marcus was drinking vodka sodas with a splash of cranberry. But then Marcus closed the biggest account of his career, and now Marcus doesn't just drink bourbon — Marcus hunts bourbon.

Every Tuesday and Thursday at exactly ten, Marcus takes a client call in his car. But he's not on a call. He's parked outside of Tony's Fine Spirits in a strip mall, waiting to see if the delivery truck dropped off anything allocated. He knows Tony's kids' names. He brings Tony donuts.

Tony still only sells him one bottle a month, and Marcus accepts this dynamic completely. If you go to Marcus's house, you will not miss his bourbon collection. It is the focal point of his finished basement, which he calls the Lounge. The bottles are backlit with LED strips that he controls from an app on his

phone, and dead center is a custom-made wooden display made from a reclaimed bourbon barrel stave. What's on the stave? The stoppers. The famous Blanton's stoppers. Each cork has a tiny letter on it,

and if you collect them all, it spells B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S, with the horses in different stages of a gallop. Marcus has B, L, A, N, T, O, and S. He does not have the second N. The second N is Marcus's white whale. He lies awake at night thinking about the second N.

He's joined four different local Facebook groups with names like Bourbon Brotherhood and Whiskey Ninjas just to try and trade for it. A guy named PappySteve69 offered him the second N for a bottle of Weller, and Marcus seriously considered driving three hours into the next state to

make the swap in a Wendy's parking lot. Here's the beautiful irony of Marcus, though. When you go over to his house to watch the game and you look at that beautiful bottle on his shelf, you might think, oh, awesome, we're having Blanton's.

You are not having Blanton's. Marcus will pour you a very generous glass of Buffalo Trace, or maybe Woodford Reserve. He will then point to the Blanton's. He will tell you the story of how he found that specific bottle behind a glass case at a grocery store in Kentucky. He will let you hold the bottle. He will let you admire the little horse.

But the juice inside? That's reserved for a Tuesday night when the house is totally quiet, the kids are asleep, and Marcus is sitting in his leather recliner, taking a tiny sip and plotting his strategy to finally find that second N. Well, the glass is empty, and the verdict is officially in.

That's going to do it for this episode of Character Proof. If you enjoyed the show, please hit subscribe, leave us a five-star review, and share it with that one friend whose whiskey shelf costs more than their car. You know exactly who I'm talking about.

Want us to put your go-to bottle to the test? Drop your favorite pour in the reviews or hit us up on socials, and we might just profile you next. Until next time, drink responsibly, pour generously, and always check your character flaws. Cheers.