Exam-o-Dram - 1969 Old Crow 86pf 10 year old
This particular bourbon actually came in giant chess pieces about the size of a 5th. Each playing piece had bourbon in it....or at least most of them did. I poured off two pieces and re-bottled. This Old Crow is the darkest bourbon I've ever seen come from a bottle (or in this case a chess decanter). While I can't say with confidence the reasons why this particular bourbon would be so dark compared to another bourbo
n of equal age and equal proof, one guess would be that the age of the bourbon is not actually 10 years old. There may be environmental factors that darkened this bourbon over time but all I can say is that this is one fantastic 10 year old 86 proof whiskey. In fact, I would argue that this is not actually 10 years old but older. As a comparison, I placed one bottle that contains the Old Crow next to another bottle that's the same age and proof (1999 Evan Williams Single Barrel). The contrast is striking as you can see from the picture above. The color of this Old Crow is super dark with traces of orange to amber in hue, it has a great nose that hints of butter. On the palate there's a deep sweetness and creaminess to the flavor that evokes toffee and maple syrup. The legs are slow going down the sides of the glass. One of my favorite qualities of decades old bourbon (e.g. 40's, 60's, etc.) is the antique quality I've found in many of them and the Old Crow has this quality to it on the finish. It'll be a sad day when this stash is gone but for now....I going to enjoy it very slowly. It's sad, they just don't make them like this anymore......
This particular bourbon actually came in giant chess pieces about the size of a 5th. Each playing piece had bourbon in it....or at least most of them did. I poured off two pieces and re-bottled. This Old Crow is the darkest bourbon I've ever seen come from a bottle (or in this case a chess decanter). While I can't say with confidence the reasons why this particular bourbon would be so dark compared to another bourbo
n of equal age and equal proof, one guess would be that the age of the bourbon is not actually 10 years old. There may be environmental factors that darkened this bourbon over time but all I can say is that this is one fantastic 10 year old 86 proof whiskey. In fact, I would argue that this is not actually 10 years old but older. As a comparison, I placed one bottle that contains the Old Crow next to another bottle that's the same age and proof (1999 Evan Williams Single Barrel). The contrast is striking as you can see from the picture above. The color of this Old Crow is super dark with traces of orange to amber in hue, it has a great nose that hints of butter. On the palate there's a deep sweetness and creaminess to the flavor that evokes toffee and maple syrup. The legs are slow going down the sides of the glass. One of my favorite qualities of decades old bourbon (e.g. 40's, 60's, etc.) is the antique quality I've found in many of them and the Old Crow has this quality to it on the finish. It'll be a sad day when this stash is gone but for now....I going to enjoy it very slowly. It's sad, they just don't make them like this anymore......
wat is this set worth got it given to me it is the 1969 set full of bourbon thanks
ReplyDeleteThe honest answer is it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. This particular chess set worked out to about $10 a piece or $320. I've seen them go for more and less (if the decanter is empty). If you can get $300-$350 for the set, that's a fair price (again depending on whether the decanters have bourbon in them or not).
ReplyDeleteNational Distilling never aged an Old Crow product longer than 5 years, and they only did that once. The bourbon in the chess pieces is not Old Crow, the pieces clear stated bottled by W.A. Gaines but not distilled.
ReplyDeleteOld Crow bottled most of their bourbon at 4.25 years, a little at 4.75 years they believed aging long did not improve the product. They also heated their barrel houses w waste steam from the Westinghouse understoker boilers.
Would be curious to know then who distilled that bourbon.
ReplyDelete