Four Roses Single Barrel OBSK (McScrooge’s Hand Selected 2014)

Four Roses Single Barrel

9 Years – 3 Months, 59.2% ABV

I picked up this private selection Four Roses Single Barrel OBSK at McScrooge’s in Knoxville, TN.  It was aged 9 years, 3 months in Barrel QS 88-3D and bottled at 59.2% ABV on March 13, 2014.  If you don’t know the different recipes of Four Roses, then this is their high rye mash bill (60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley) fermented using their K strain of yeast (full-bodied flavor with light spiciness).  For comparison, their regular Single Barrel uses their OBSV recipe, which employs the same mash bill with the V yeast strain (creamy with delicate fruitiness).

I’ve been collecting private barrel selections from different stores in order to gain a wider varied sampling of the Four Roses recipes and, at this point, I’m only missing the OBSO and OESO.  The remaining 8 recipes have been collected from 4 different stores and I’ll eventually plan to review them all, although too late for you (or I) to secure any more. 😉  In any case, here is what I learned of this OBSK.

Rich caramel with light barrel char are the first to greet your nose, followed by sweet tobacco, straw, cocoa and dark cherries.  Water brings out some spiciness, otherwise everything remains the same.

The taste is consistent with the aroma, with rich caramel, light tobacco, marzipan, straw and just a hint of cherries and a light dusting of cocoa.  After a few sips, the cherries become a bit more prominent as the finish becomes long and spicy with lingering bitter caramel, tobacco and the light fruitiness.  Additional spices – ginger, pepper – join in around mid-palate before that long finish arrives.  With water, the spices remain moderately bold, while tobacco is somewhat subdued in favor of the fruit and some candy, specifically lemon drops and red hots appear.  The mouthfeel improves a bit too as the whiskey becomes nice and chewy without the alcohol drying out the palate.  In the end, you’re left with lingering marzipan, cinnamon and dark cherries with a nice, leathery feel that just goes on for a long time.

This is a an excellent whiskey for sure, combining the spiciness of rye with the lightly spicy strain of yeast to create a lively dance of spices across a montage of barrel flavors while the barrel proof ensures that the flavors remain full and the oily texture endures.  I picked up this bottle two years ago for about $60, but I suspect that similar offerings should still be available for a similar price, although Four Roses private selections aren’t as prominent as they were back then.  If you can find some, then I highly recommend exploring at least the OBSV, OBSQ and OBSK.  I can’t wait to try the other eight recipes!

An Old Forester Trio

signatureTonight I’m comparing three bourbon whiskies from Old Forester.  The first is Old Forester Signature, a 100° straight bourbon with no age statement.  Second is Old Forester 1870 Original Batch, a 90° small batch straight bourbon with no age statement commemorating the first bottled bourbon in America (according to Brown-Forman’s claim).  I’ll finish with the 2010 edition of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon (a limited edition, annual release), which is a 12 year old vintage release (all 72 barrels were distilled on the same day) straight bourbon bottled at 95°.  By the way, I’ve presented them in order of increasing price and will be tasting them in the same order.  Here we go….

Old Forester Signature – The nose is rich with caramel, vanilla, cigar box, dark cherries and lemon drops.  On the palate, the tastes are similar with the addition of straw and black pepper.  The finish lingers with a peppery and leathery mingling of barrel char and caramel. It starts out with a burst of flavors and an initial sweetness, then transitions to an oily and peppery heat before finishing with that leathery mix.

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch – While I still smell the cigar box and some barrel char, this one offers a less rich mixture of butter, candy corn and a whiff of menthol.  The taste is light and balanced, with a mild peppery bite that lingers through to the finish accompanied by barrel char and straw.  In the middle of the palate, there’s a grassy taste that throws things off a bit, but not too much.  The mouthfeel is lacking here and the finish is only moderately long.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2010 – A mild aroma of caramel, barrel char, menthol and mint with hints of grass and honey, this is not the typical rich, beautiful aroma that I’ve found in other Birthday Bourbon offerings, which are some of my favorite bourbons to nose.  Lots of barrel char greets the palate along with black pepper, caramel, honey, menthol and a hint of grass that throws things off a bit, although not as much as 1870.  The finish is long and peppery and the mouthfeel is somewhat oily, but laced with grass through to the finish.  In other words, you feel the oiliness but taste the grass where you just felt it.

The easy winner is the 100° Signature at around $22-25.  Old Forester Signature is a great value for those who enjoy this flavor profile of sweet dark fruit with tobacco and candy, although the sweetness gives way quickly to a solid finish.  I would pass on the 1870 Original Batch, unless it’s significantly reduced from its typical $40 price.  I’ve long known that the 2010 Birthday Bourbon was a disappointment, so if you happen upon a bottle on the secondary market at the current $250 price, I would recommend not taking a second look.  If by chance you spot it on a shelf for $25 as I did, then you might want to check it out just to see what the woody Birthday Bourbon profile is like.

Michters Tasting

US1-lineup3Spec’s hosted a tasting of Michter’s US♦1 product line with Trent Roberts of Chatham Imports/Michter’s Distillery available to tell us about the history of Michter’s and some details about the production of their whiskey.  Here’s what we tasted:

Michter’s US♦1 Sour Mash ($43) – Lots of sweet corn on the nose with caramel, vanilla, cherries, lemon drops, straw and sweet tobacco. The taste is similarly caramel, vanilla, ginger, straw, sweet corn and green pepper with a mildly charred, oily leather finish with notes of spice, sweet corn and pine sap.  If you like a sweet corn whiskey, then this is your stuff.  It’s bolder on the nose than on the palate and has a lot to offer, but the green notes detract from the overall balance a bit.  Still a solid, if not overpriced offering.

Michter’s US♦1 Bourbon ($42) – Very similar to the Sour Mash, but less sweet on the palate; however, the sweet notes carry through to the finish better than with the Sour Mash.  Some milk chocolate and mild spice on the nose with lemon drops, tart cherries and pepper on the palate that I didn’t detect with the Sour Mash.  Overall, I like this a bit better, but it’s still overpriced compared to some Evan Williams offerings.

Michter’s US♦1 Rye ($42) – A milder rye than I’m used to with a tendency more toward sweet fruits and candies than the bold spices.  The spices are still there, but the sweet flavors dominate with notes of dark cherries, dark chocolate, candied fruit and a bit of corn, caramel and vanilla.  Like the bourbon, the sweetness carries through to the finish quite well. It’s the same theme here as above… a nice whiskey that’s a bit overpriced.

Michter’s US♦1 American ($40)- The standout of the evening, but not necessarily the best whiskey.  It’s different than the others, being a 4-grain whiskey, and uniquely flavored as compared to most whiskey that I’ve tasted.  There’s lots of rich chocolate with marshmallow to accompany the typical caramel, corn and dark fruits of a bourbon or rye with great balance and a long finish.  It’s fun to drink, pares amazingly well with good chocolate (and we did this tonight) and offers good complexity as well.  It’s got a good chewy feel to it, yet the sweetness probably relegates it to a dessert whiskey.  That’s okay with me as I would prefer that to an overly sweet liqueur.  I highly recommend this one if the chocolate profile appeals to you.

Michter’s US♦1 Barrel-Strength Rye ($70) – This rye is bolder in flavor than the normal rye offering with more complexity and more interesting, longer finish.  Although not the most interesting whiskey of the evening, it’s the best crafted one with a nice aroma, plenty of fruit, spice, candy and grain flavors in nice balance and a moderately long finish with notes of chocolate, tobacco and spice.  Still, we return to the overall theme and hurts Michter’s product line… price.  There are better barrel strength rye whiskeys out there at the same price or less, like Willet 2-5 Year Single Barrels and Smooth Ambler Old Scout 6-8 Year offerings.  I’d check those out instead.

Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon

Single Barrel Bourbon, No Age Statement, 40% ABV, $38

Single Barrel Bourbon,
No Age Statement,
40% ABV, $38

I picked up this bottle on a trip to Breckinridge, Colorado a couple of years ago and have been working on it slowly and sharing it with others who have never heard of it.  Today, I decided to jot down some notes and actively work to empty the bottle in order to make room for more stuff.  Cedar Ridge claims that this is the first bourbon to be produced in Iowa and it’s even distilled there, not sourced like Breckinridge Bourbon (and so many others).  It’s a single barrel offering and this is bottle 267 from barrel 189 (can’t find a bottling date or age).

The nose is minty with hints of vanilla, caramel, barrel char and sweet corn.  At only 40% ABV, there’s still a good bit of alcohol burn and you’ll have to work to get past that to smell the fresh-cut cedar, but it’s worth it.  It’s different, but I like it.

The whiskey hits the palate with vanilla, sweet corn, wintergreen and develops a spicy bite before finishing with a mildly woody alcohol burn at the back of the throat.  There are further notes of cardboard, powdered lemon drop, bitter honey, white pepper, black pepper and a hint of persimmon.  The finish mostly lingers in the back of the throat with mild tannins, remnants of mint and a good burn.  It’s not a bad drink, but it’s lacking any kind of balance and comes across more like a minty rye whiskey than a bourbon after you get past the brief entrance.

For me it was worth the admission just to try an Iowa bourbon, but I’m done with it.  It doesn’t really stand on its own merit even at $38.  Get a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel instead and you’ll discover how something like this should really be executed.

StraightBourbon D/FW Gathering #3

Jefferson 21 Year RyeThis time the gathering occurred at the beautiful home of one of the SB members in Wylie.  He had a great collection of whiskey (mostly bourbon and rye) and was very generous in allowing us to taste several good whiskies.  Here’s what I sampled:

Four Roses Small Batch:  I’m surprised that I’ve not tasted this before, but I was glad to get a chance today.  It’s fruity, flavorful and a great value at $25-30 here. It made LiquorHound’s list of 10 best bourbons under $30 and it’s easy to see why.

Parker’s Heritage Collection #7, Promise of Hope:  A very solid and interesting bourbon, but nothing stellar.  I don’t think that this one is worth the effort of seeking out (and it’s very rare).

Rittenhouse 25 Year Rye:  This is by far the oldest rye that I’ve ever tasted and I’m quite certain that I’ll never find or be able to afford a bottle, so it was quite exciting to get a sample.  A very minty profile for sure, with good woody flavor, mild burn (50% ABV) and a nice balance of vanilla and caramel as well.  It doesn’t have the fruit flavors that I favor in a rye, but neither does Rittenhouse 100 Bottled-in-Bond, so this must be the profile of their whiskey.  It’s a very solid and well executed aged rye whiskey.

Jefferson 21 Year Rye:  Another heavy hitter, this time with much less mint and much less bold.  This is an easy drink with good complexity and I enjoyed it a lot while watching the fountains in the pool from the back porch.  There’s not a lot of wood as you might expect from the age and it’s nicely balanced and mildly complex.  I’d like to spend more time getting to know this one… especially by the pool.

My contributions for the gathering were: Smooth Ambler Old Scout 8 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon (55.7% ABV), Stagg Jr. Batch #3, Old Forrester Birthday Bourbon 2010, StraightBourbon Blend (60% Old Weller Antique and 40% Weller 12 Year), Copper Fox Rye and Four Roses 9 Year & 3 Month Single Barrel OBSK (59.2% ABV McScrooge’s Selection Barrel QS 88-3D).  I think they were thoroughly enjoyed and you’ll be hearing more about them here as I get to them myself.

Straight Bourbon D/FW Gathering

Heaven Hill Select StockWe held our second gathering of the D/FW contingent of the StraightBourbon forum today in Colleyville and it was a relaxing time with some great whiskey.  Here’s the rundown:

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 8 Year Old Straight Bourbon (1789b) – 61.5% ABV, stone fruit, caramel, vanilla, tobacco, not too hot.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 9 Year Old Straight Bourbon (1789b) – 54.5%, more cherry, less tobacco, sweet, less heat.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 10 Year Old Straight Bourbon (1789b) – 58.5%, good balance of characteristics from 8 & 9, best of bunch.

George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon  2013 – much like old scout with more heat and more flavor, better chocolate and tobacco with dark fruit. Fantastic.

Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 20 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon (around 2008) – mild heat, muted flavors compared to GTS, lots of wood… I was disappointed.

StraightBourbon Blend (dusty) – This was blended at our last gathering from old paper label bottles of Weller 12 Year Old and Old Weller Antique.  It has a similar to profile to the Pappy Van Winkle above, but with more aroma, more flavor, less wood and better balance.  This is fantastic stuff!

Heaven Hill Select Stock 2013 (StraightBourbon Batch #1) – This is an 8 Year Old wheated bourbon finished in second fill Cognac barrel for 19 months and bottled at 63.8% ABV.  It’s spicy and hot with lots of dark fruit and only mild cognac influence that I can detect… fantastic stuff!

Heaven Hill 6 Year Old Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon – Notes of lemon drop, vanilla, cherry and slightly tannic… a very good whiskey, but not available around here (Kentucky only apparently).

George Dickel Barrel Select 14 Year Old – Mild spice, vanilla, plum, pear, apple, cherry… not as dark as the wheated bourbons. It’s far better than any Jack Daniels that I’ve had, but still not a great whiskey.

Blanton’s Single Barrel #281 Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2014) – Lots of fruit and candy, like lemon drop and cherry, with notes mild tobacco.  Very good!

Blanton’s Single Barrel #244 Kentucky Straight Bourbon (1999) – This one was more woody and slightly medicinal.  I preferred the 2014 with more sweetness and without these characteristics.

Elmer T. Lee Commemorative Edition – Another very good whiskey with a nice balance of dark fruit, candy and wood.  I’m glad I bought a bottle when they were available.

MB Roland Kentucky Apple Pie – This wasn’t at all what I expected… in a good way.  It tasted like liquid Gala or Macintosh apples spiced with cinnamon, allspice and a bit of clove.  It’s not very sweet, but is very rich tasting.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 6 Year Old – Very similar to 8 year old special selection above, but less bold… still very good.

Penderyn Single Malt – Welsh whiskey that is finished in madeira casks.  Reminds me of Stranahan’s without the rustic elements.  For me, the finish mutes the qualities of the malt and leaves the flavor somewhat flat with an overripe black currant flavor dominating the profile.

The highlight for me was the Heaven Hill Select Stock and I’m really looking forward to tasting Batch #2 with 27 months in cognac barrels… it should be even better.  Honorable mentions are George T. Stagg and Old Scout 10 Year Old, which were both excellent whiskies.  I already have a bottle of Stagg (same 2013 vintage) and will be on the lookout for a barrel proof selection of Old Scout.  The surprises of the day were Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old, which was not near as good as I expected, and MB Roland Kentucky Apple Pie, which far exceeded my expectations.

Private Tasting

GlenDronach Cask Strength, Batch 3Another whiskey tasting hosted by a fellow aficionado, which included (brace yourself):

Old Grand Dad 114° 1980 ($18) – Notes of cherry, vanilla, lemon, pear, tobacco, char, anise… somewhat tannic… very good!

Brenne Single Malt ($60) – dark red grape, bubble gum, strawberry, ice cream, black pepper, overripe banana… very interesting and a decent dram.

Linkwood 18 Year Old Sherry Butt 1988 (Cadenhead’s Cask Ends) – 58.7% ABV with notes of gunpowder, sulphur, ginger, cherry, white pepper, apple, grass… spicy and tangy with too much sulphur

Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel Sherry Cask #4449 ($90) – bright fruits, ginger, lemon, woody finish, clove, bitter honey… sounds better than it is…. not impressed

Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel Sherry Cask #4443 ($90) – milder nose than #4449… same notes, but sweeter with additional clove… better balance than #4449 and the winner of the two, but neither of these is as good as the now discontinued 15 Year Old Single Barrel (Bourbon Cask), which is excellent

Amrut Single Cask August 2012, Batch 10 ($74) – 61.8% ABV with notes of cardamom, clove, lemon, ginger, truffle, pear, honey, black pepper… distinct earthiness about this one… very good

Amrut Intermediate Sherry ($119) – 57.1% ABV and has a mild earthy sweet nose with a woody finish… notes of cinnamon and cherry… very good

Balvenie 42 Year Old 1971 Cask #5034 Sample #130613031 – We were quite fortunate to have 1 of only 3 bottles in the world present for this tasting tonight.  This is one of the components of Tun 1401, Batch #9… 52.4% ABV and mildly earthy with notes of truffles, straw, fresh cut grass, apple, pear, mild honey and white pepper with a mildly woody finish… it just got better and better as I let my pour linger for the rest of the evening… outstanding!

Bruichladdich 22 Year Old October 9, 1991 (Exclusive Casks) – 50.6% ABV with a briny, spicy sweetness of honey, ginger, white pepper, black pepper, vanilla and  cereal… very good stuff!

Probably Speyside’s Finest Distillery 22 Year Old June 1991 Single Cask Refill Hogshead ($120) – This was a Binny’s selection that is probably from Glenfarclas at 50% ABV… notes of honey, white pepper, ginger, apple and pear with a great mouth feel… excellent!

Yamazaki 18 Year Old ($200) – nice balance with great mouthfeel… notes of dark fruit, honey, pear, mild spice, mild wood… excellent!

Glendronach Cask Strength 2013, Batch #3 – 54.9% ABV with earthy notes as well as caramel, vanilla, tobacco, truffle, ginger and pear… outstanding!

Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch #45 ($70) – 60.2% ABV with notes of ginger, bright fruits and pepper… another very good batch.

MacAllan Cask Strength ($80) – 60.1% ABV from a sherry cask… notes of ginger, pepper, honey and cocoa… pretty good.

Brora 30 Year Old 2007 6th Edition – fantastic as when I had it before… farmy, earthy, fruity, spicy… outstanding!

Strathclyde 29 Year Old Single Grain 1980 (Duncan Taylor Cask #1497) ($180) – 56.7% ABV best Scotch grain whiskey I’ve tasted… fruity, mild spice… very nice.

JJ Neukomm Single Barrel Missouri Malt Whiskey – cherry wood, tannic, green apple, herbal, anise… not bad, but nothing great.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan L9 2009 – less peated than any Ardbeg I’ve had… fruity, sweet, slightly medicinal… typical Ardbeg and very good.

There were 4 others after this that I missed:  Ardbeg Auriverdes, Glen Mhor 26 Year Old 1978 (Scott’s Selection), KaVaLan Single Malt 2013, KaVaLan Single Malt Port Cask Finish 2012.  I was just too tired to continue at this point.  I did get a quick taste of Auriverdes in order to decide whether I wanted a bottle on hold for me… it was pretty good, but I passed at $82.

These private tastings have been the most rewarding and interesting, if not the most grueling.  For tonight, the highlight for me was the Glendronach Cask Strength, with the Balvenie 42 Year Old Cask Sample as a close second.  Of course, I was delighted to have another go at Brora 30, which is one of the best whiskies that I’ve tasted.  Honorable mentions go to Probably Speyside’s Finest Distillery 22 Year Old, Yamazaki 18 Year Old and Strathclyde 29 Year Old Single Grain.

Cleveland Black Reserve Bourbon

Bourbon, 6 Months + 6 Days, 50% ABV, $30

Bourbon, 6 Months + 6 Days,
50% ABV, $30

I was connected up with Tom Lix at Cleveland Whiskey by my good friend, Cap’n Jimbo, who provided a sample of his Black Reserve Bourbon, which is produced using his patented Pressure Aging® process. This process simulates each day of the distillate’s interaction with the wood by varying the pressure so that the it is forced into and then out of the wood. In this way, the claim is that aging is simulated in a fraction of the time and that the equivalent of a much older whiskey is produced in a fraction of the time.

I took it very slowly with this whisky, giving it much more of a look than I typically do, because I believe that:

  • I would be naturally skeptical, but I want to be completely objective,
  • Tom would be sensitive to any negative comments, so I wanted to be sure of what I was saying,
  • this is an important review and not just a tasting of another whiskey… there’s more at stake here because of the claims.

To this end, I avoided reading any reviews and received very little information from Tom or any other source.  I also spent a good couple of weeks and several hours getting experience with Black Reserve.  I allowed time for the whiskey to “breathe” over a couple of weeks while drinking samples and looking for changes.  Of course, I also experimented with water to determine how the whiskey reacted.  In short, I treated this whisky with much more care than normal.

My initial reaction was that this whiskey smells and tastes like bourbon… that’s a good start.  There’s the typical caramel and vanilla with fruits and spices as you would expect.  At 100º, there was an expected burn on the nose along with notes of cherry, wet grass and apple.  The taste was vanilla, lemon, tart cherry, underripe pear, green apple, white pepper and raw ginger.  The finish arrived with a tannic, dry, bitter taste of onion powder and pepper without much mouth feel as it arrived.  While the basic bourbon flavors were there, the young, greener notes were apparent.  Despite the aging claims, this whiskey tasted young… very young.  Adding water just washed out all of the flavors and ruined the experience, so I would not recommend any dilution.

I continued to sample Black Reserve for a couple of weeks and noticed the addition of sap and mild turpentine on the palate (no changes detected by the nose).  The finish was still very tannic with a lingering burn against a backdrop of sap, mild stinkbug (no kidding) and a hint of soap.  While the flavors did develop a bit (not for the better), the whiskey still had a very light mouthfeel and young, green flavors.

I had a friend of mine and fellow whiskey connoisseur offer his tasting notes as well and here are some highlights:

“Nose seems very alcoholic & woody [with] some nuttiness (almond?). Definitely smells like bourbon.”

“Hot, tannic, woody, a hint of nuttiness, slight caramel, no vanilla to speak of, continues to burn without water added.  It’s actually better than I expected. Nuttiness is morphing into turpentine.”

“Adding water… little more sweetness on the palate now.  Don’t care for the finish… not balanced… flavors I don’t like linger.  Just got a hint of cinnamon on the nose [and] some pepperiness now.”

“I think it tastes like a below average aged bourbon.  I don’t hate it, but I’ll let you enjoy the rest of the bottle”

Obviously, the aging claims are bogus from my perspective as this whiskey doesn’t taste like aged bourbon at all; however, the patented process and what it’s able to produce really intrigues me.  Also, I have to say that Tom Lix has been a nice guy to deal with… providing a free bottle for review and interacting throughout the process without anything but gracious responses and an interest in providing my feedback to the production team.  In no way was he overly sensitive to my reaction to his whisky… he just took it in stride and I really appreciated that.  His process has produced some good results as well as some unfortunate side affects (based on my tasting experience) that I’m sure he’ll continue to work feverishly to improve.  Do I think that his objective of fast aging will ever be met?  Of course not!  No matter what this process accomplishes, it cannot turn forward time and produce age… that’s just not possible.  I do think that it has some promise and might produce some interesting whiskey, but it won’t be aged whiskey.  I encourage Tom to continue to develop his process to see what it can produce… you never know what he might discover.

The point of interest with this whiskey is rooted in the technology as compared to the artisan craftsmanship employed in the making of the most revered whiskeys.  I have a great respect for those pioneers who have developed the methods that today’s artisans employ, for the skills that the artisans of today have developed and for the continuous, innovative tweaks to the craft that many of these same artisans discover.  Technology does play a complementary role in the development of fine whiskey even today and these artisans benefit from technology that didn’t exist years ago.  In my opinion, these artisans should not be the target of the Pressure Aging® process because it just can’t compete with the real thing.  Cleveland Whiskey should be creating new types of whiskey and competing with other mass produced spirits.  The objective of the process is obviously to produce something faster and that relates directly to cost.  If they can produce a whiskey very cheaply, then they could undercut the price on every whiskey out there and create a new standard for low cost.  While I’m not interested in that stuff, I’m sure that lots of people would be… not the least of which would be the corporate marketeers.

Today, Cleveland Whiskey compares their Black Reserve with Knob Creek 9 Year Old Small Batch (another 100º bourbon).  They conduct their own taste tests and claim that 1,644 out of 3,010 participants have chosen their Black Reserve over Knob Creek so far. That’s almost 55%!  Personally, it’s hard for me to imagine a single participant choosing Black Reserve and I’ve tasted both, but tastes do vary and I want to respect both the participants choices and Tom’s tasting events.  Knob Creek is just one bourbon though and it’s not a great one anyway (their Single Barrel is!).  At a cost of $30, Black Reserve would have to compare to Evan Williams Vintage Single Barrel, Eagle Rare 10 Year, Old Grand Dad (less than $10), Old Grand Dad 114 (less than $20), Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (less than $15), Old Forester Signature, Henry McKenna Bottled-in-Bond Single Barrel, Elijah Craig 12 Year, etc…. and there are some great whiskies in that list.  It’s just not a battle that can be won, in my opinion, and that goes directly to the claims of producing an aged whiskey without actual aging.

Unless you want to experience the product of this unique process, I would skip this whiskey altogether.  The only interesting aspect is the process and not the flavor.

Stagg, Jr. Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Straight Bourbon, No Age Statement, 67.2% ABV, $48

At 134.4°, this is a whiskey that you just don’t inhale deeply without a good shock to the system. No, this is a whiskey that demands some respect. Giving it a careful whiff reveals a rich aroma of dark cherry, vanilla, caramel, red apple, straw, sweet tobacco, overripe pear and a good burn, if you’re not careful. Nose it delicately and it’s very rewarding.

At full proof, its a bold, flavorful whiskey with a robust burning sensation that fades fairly quickly, leaving behind a sweet, leathery mix of vanilla, tobacco and dark fruit. That initial burst of flavor is full of honey, cherry, tobacco, hay, lemon drop, molasses, ginger, black pepper and vanilla.

Adding a few drops of water tones down the burn just a bit, allowing me to smell everything a bit better without losing any aromatic intensity. Similarly, the burn in my mouth is slightly subdued, but the flavors burst forth more quickly before fading to make way for the finish, which is still long, mildly tannic, peppery, slightly leathery and accented with the same sweet tobacco, dark fruit and vanilla.

I still haven’t tasted George T. Stagg, but I really like this whiskey. I prefer the darker fruit emphasis without water, but it is a bit hot like that… not to the point of being objectionable for me. I do add a few drops on occasion just to change things up. It reminds me of a bolder version of Eagle Rare 10 with more dark fruit and candy. It is bursting with flavor! Even at twice the price, I think this is worth it. It’s my favorite bourbon to date aside from the immensely better Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year, and that’s just too expensive and hard to find. I highly recommend Stagg, Jr. if you’re not averse to a bit more hot alcohol burn than normal. By the way, this is bottling B1319607:27M (July 15, 2013 7:27am).

StraightBourbon D/FW Meet-Up

20140322-184540.jpgThanks to the generous hosting of Eskwar, seven of us were able to gather for an afternoon of sharing and tasting.  I’d have to say that the highlight of the day was a tasting of some dusty (paper label) Weller 12 Year and Old Weller Antique and the subsequent blending into a 50/50 StraightBourbon Blend.  We were also able to do a side-by-side comparison with current bottles of each as well as the blend.  Unfortunately, this demonstrates how superior the old products were and how much better they blended.  On the positive side, StraightBourbon Blend is quite competent with the current stock and I must put these on my list to buy and blend.

Here’s the list of what I tasted for the first time:

  • Four Roses Single Barrel Private Selection OESO Barrel Proof – woody with some mild heat
  • Four Roses Single Barrel Private Selection OESF Barrel Proof – more caramel and vanilla than OESF, still the same wood with mild heat
  • High West 21 Year Rocky Mountain Rye – mild spice, mild wood, mild flavor, not much here for a rye
  • Jefferson 10 Year Rye – not much flavor or spice for a rye, more dry than sweet
  • Yamasaki 12 Year  – woody with honey, grass, bitter through to finish
  • Hookers House Bourbon – Pinot noir finished and its noticeable on the finish especially, tobacco, plum, raisin without sweetness, menthol, reminds me of wine finished ER10
  • Evan Williams Vintage Single Barrel 1998 – caramel, cherry, nice sweetness, tobacco, short finish but very good
  • Black Maple Hill Bourbon – sweet, menthol, tobacco, dark fruit, cocoa
  • StraightBourbon Blend  – definitely better than either Weller 12 or Old Weller Antique, tends more to OWA
  • StraightBourbon Dusty (Paper Label) Blend – less sweet and bit more wood than the newer blend with a longer finish
  • Tom Moore Bottled-in-Bond – really solid bourbon at around $20 for a handle

My pick of the day was Hooker’s House Bourbon because of it’s unique flavor profile.  The wine finishing really worked better than I expected it to.  This is only available in California as far as I know, so I’ll have to be on the lookout on my travels.  The other standouts were the StraightBourbon blends, Black Maple Hill and the old Evan Williams Single Barrel.  I did come home with a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel OESF, thanks to a generous fellow StraightBourbon forum member, so that’s worth mentioning, too.  Oh, I almost forgot about my final pour of the day, Tom Moore BIB, which was very good.  I plan on looking for a bottle of this one so that I can study it a bit more, but I was very impressed with my quick introduction and the price makes it a bargain.