The 104.3 proof expression of the Black Ledger Founders Series earned a 3.0. Strong palate, short finish, and a nail polish note on the nose that could not be ignored. A different single barrel from the same 60/36/4 high rye Indiana mashbill at 110.8 proof is now in the glass. The nail polish is gone. The finish is longer. And a single drop of water opened this barrel up in a way that earns the half star the first expression could not reach. This is what barrel selection variance looks like in practice - same grain, same age, same distillery, meaningfully different result.

Black Ledger Spirits out of Bloomington, Indiana built the Founders Series around three individual single barrels of the same 60/36/4 high rye Indiana mashbill at three distinct proof points. Each expression is its own barrel - not the same cask pulled at different dilutions but three separate wood-aging stories told through the same grain character at 104.3, 110.8, and 131.3 proof. The first review established the baseline and its limitations. This review establishes whether the series can improve on that baseline. The answer is yes - and the margin of improvement is meaningful enough to push the score from 3.0 to 3.5 and make the 131.3 proof finale a genuinely compelling prospect.

The 110.8 proof sits in a compelling sweet spot for this particular mashbill. High enough to carry the dark caramel, rye spice, toasted oak, cocoa, and leather notes that defined the palate of the first expression with more force and definition. High enough that a single drop of water produces a dramatic and immediate opening of the aromatic and flavor profile. But controlled enough that the spirit does not require water to be enjoyed - neat is a legitimate and satisfying way to drink this barrel. That flexibility is a meaningful upgrade from the 104.3.

Distillery	MGP Ingredients - Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Bottler	Black Ledger Spirits - Bloomington, Indiana
Series	Founders Series - Single Barrel · Part 2 of 3
Mashbill	60% Corn · 36% Rye · 4% Malted Barley
Age	11 Years - New Charred American White Oak
Proof	110.8 (55.4% ABV) - Single Barrel
Release	Very Limited - Single Barrel · Part of Three Expression Founders Series
Water Note	A single drop opens the profile considerably - highly recommended

Deep amber with warm mahogany undertones - identical in character to the 104.3 proof expression, as you would expect from the same mashbill and age at a closely related proof point. Eleven years in new charred American white oak producing a color that has genuine depth and concentration. The legs at 110.8 proof are slightly slower and more viscous than the 104.3 - the additional proof weight adding a touch more body to the pour in the glass. The color tells the same story as the first expression before the nose arrives to tell a different one.

The improvement over the 104.3 proof expression begins immediately on the nose and it is meaningful. The nail polish note - the ethyl acetate character that distracted from the first barrel - is gone. Clean fruit leads the opening instead: stone fruit and orchard notes arriving without interference, brighter and more inviting than the first expression managed. This is a better barrel on the nose. The difference is barrel-specific rather than proof-specific, and it matters from the very first sniff.

Oak and vanilla arrive behind the fruit, grounding the nose with the classic barrel contributions that eleven years of new charred white oak reliably produces. The 36% rye grain makes its presence known with a light herbal and peppery quality threading through the mid-nose - still present and still signaling what the palate has in store but not dominating the aromatic profile the way a younger or lower-quality barrel might allow. Dark caramel develops as the nose opens further, adding a rich sweetness that connects the fruit and the grain into a more cohesive aromatic profile than the 104.3 delivered.

Add a single drop of water. Watch what happens. The fruit notes open considerably - fuller, rounder, and more expressive than neat. The rye herbal quality becomes more defined and more pleasant. The caramel moves forward. This is the nose this barrel was always capable of producing, and the water reveals it cleanly and immediately.

The palate carries the same core character established by the 104.3 proof expression - this is the same mashbill and the same distillery, and the dark caramel, rye spice, toasted oak, cocoa, and leather notes that defined the first review are all present and accounted for here. What the additional proof delivers is more force and more definition behind each element. The dark caramel on entry hits with more concentration. The rye spice through the mid-palate is more assertive and more structured. The toasted oak builds with more authority. The cocoa and leather on the back palate arrive with more presence.

The 110.8 proof carries the flavor further across the palate than the 104.3 managed. The individual elements that spent the first expression competing for dominance find slightly more room to breathe here - the additional ethanol acting as a more effective delivery mechanism for the grain and barrel character that eleven years of aging has built into this mashbill. It is not a dramatically different palate profile. It is the same profile with more confidence and more definition behind every note.

Add a drop of water mid-palate and the transformation is the same as the nose - the fruit notes open, the rye spice becomes more defined and less aggressive, and the dark caramel sweetness moves forward to balance the wood and grain character more effectively. This barrel responds to water better than most at this proof level, and that responsiveness is a mark of quality that the 104.3 expression did not demonstrate as convincingly.

The finish is longer than the 104.3. Not dramatically longer - this is not a finish that runs two-plus minutes like the Casey Jones Revere Barrel Proof reviewed earlier on this blog - but meaningfully longer. The rye spice exit is more sustained, holding on through the mid-finish rather than dissipating immediately as it did in the first expression. Toasted oak follows with more presence and more persistence, adding a dry woody depth that extends the finish past the initial spice burst. The cocoa note from the palate registers briefly on the way out before the finish closes down cleanly.

The finish is still the weakest element of this expression relative to its age and proof - eleven years in a single barrel at 110.8 proof should ideally deliver more length and persistence than this barrel produces even at its best. But the improvement over the 104.3 is real and measurable. The rye spice stays longer. The oak contributes more. The overall exit is more satisfying and more complete. Add water and the finish softens and extends slightly further, the fruit character from the palate cycling back briefly before the whole experience closes down.

The 3.5 reflects a bottle that improves meaningfully on the 104.3 proof expression in the two areas that held the first review back. The nail polish note that distracted from the nose of the first barrel is absent here - the nose opens cleanly with fruit, oak, vanilla, and dark caramel without interference. The finish, while still shorter than eleven years in a single barrel ideally delivers, holds on noticeably longer than the first expression managed. The core palate profile - dark caramel, rye spice, toasted oak, cocoa, leather - carries the same genuine character across both expressions with more force and definition at 110.8 proof.

The water note is the single most compelling reason to seek out the 110.8 over the 104.3. A single drop produces a dramatic and immediate transformation of both the nose and palate - one of the more responsive barrel reactions to water addition I have encountered at this proof level. The flexibility to drink it neat or with water and get meaningfully different and rewarding experiences from the same pour is a mark of quality that adds real value to the bottle.

The 131.3 proof finale is the next pour. Two expressions reviewed, two scores recorded, one still to come. The trajectory from 3.0 to 3.5 makes the 131.3 a genuinely interesting proposition.

3.5 out of 5. A better barrel. One drop of water earns it. The 131.3 is next. Live the Life. ♠