Blind Barrels Craft Whiskey Tasting Kit Review
Disclosure: Blind Barrels sent this tasting kit for review purposes. All opinions are my own.*
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Blind tasting whiskey at home is basically impossible to do on your own. You bought the bottles. You know what they are. Blind Barrels fixes that.
Every quarter they ship a box with four 50mL mystery samples labeled A, B, C, and D. No names, no hints. You also get a tasting table to help guide you through each pour and a QR code that reveals everything once you're done: the distillery, mashbill, ABV, age statement, tasting notes, and the full backstory.
I kept waiting to enjoy this with a friend on game night but it never lined up, so I ended up going solo. That actually turned out to be a good thing. It let me slow down and really focus on the learning side without any distractions. Just me, four mystery pours, and my own biases getting put to the test. I’ve done my fair share of blind tastings and I’ve done pretty well with my guesses but this threw me for a loop. Normally in a blind tasting you have somewhat of an idea what you are tasting. Often the are category or brand specific. If you are doing a bourbon blind tasting you know you’ll be tasting bourbon. This one threw me for a loop as it had me tasting things I’ve never tried before. Rice whiskey anyone? Yeah that one had me very confused 😂.
That's what I love most about this. They've gamified whiskey tasting in a way that actually teaches you something. You guess the age, proof, and whiskey type for each sample and get scored on your accuracy. It's humbling and it's fun. It forces you to pay attention to what's in the glass instead of what a label tells you to think.
The craft distillery focus is a big deal too. These aren't the usual bottles sitting on every shelf. Blind Barrels curates from American craft producers. If you end up loving a sample, they offer member pricing on full bottles through their shop.
Scanning the QR code after tasting was quick and easy. Detailed notes, distillery history, and even a video tasting to follow along with. Everything you want to know is right there.
The design and packaging are on point. It works just as well for a quiet solo session as it does for game nights or hanging out with friends.
Quarterly subscriptions run $59.99 per box and annual plans are $199.99 for four shipments. At roughly $12-15 per pour, you're paying about what you'd spend at a bar for whiskeys you'd never actually find at one. First box ships immediately.
Blind Barrels nails it. Thoughtful curation, fun gamification, and a craft focus that opens doors to whiskeys you wouldn't discover on your own. Worth checking out at blindbarrels.com.