Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A break in the heat.....

Two things happened this week that made living a little unbearable. Washington DC heat was hitting some pretty high temps and with the addition of humidity, the heat index was surpassing 100 degrees. The second thing that happened, my AC decided to stop working. Oh joy.

A call to my AC company got me a scheduled appointment for this Friday, the 29th. A call yesterday begging them to come earlier yielded an appointment for this evening. Low coolant was the culprit and since the unit is new in the last two years, the service call was free.

This evening, the heat isn't overbearing and it's actually very comfortable outside. In celebration of a working AC and a pleasant evening, I poured a 1981 Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond. This particular bourbon I believe is a byproduct of glut whiskey since it's 9 years old (according to the dated tax strip). This particular bourbon is one of those bottles I never want to see empty.

The nose is all brown sugar, vanilla and mild oak. The entry is a burst of bourbon perfection with toasted wood, caramel, and burnt cream. To me, perfection that is not found in many other bottles. I've written extensively about dusty hunting so for those of you that hunt, look for older OGD BIB's that are bottled around 1992 and before as they will contain juice from National Distiller vice Jim Beam who purchased the OGD label in 1989.

14 comments:

  1. Gotta love OGD in its ND prime. (Never had it in a BIB that old though -- wow!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Greg,

    Just discovered your blog. Interesting reading! I'm not a bourbon aficionado, but I'm trying to branch out from my love of the clear liquors.

    Virginia ABC stores suck. Just thought I'd add that.

    Cheers,
    David
    Sterling, VA

    ReplyDelete
  3. David - thanks for stopping by. VA ABC's are actually better than they were 5 years ago. Prices are still high though. If you have any questions, drop me a note.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kevin - OGD and Old Forester have turned out to be some of my favorite "older" bourbons. The BIB is fantastic but the 86pf is no slouch either. The tops for me is a 1980 OGD 114....fond memories.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I drove out to the Montgomery County Liquor Store in Cabin John yesterday and bought a bunch of stuff that was on sale. I got a bottle of Knob Creek 9yr for $21. (For my brother when he visits. I'll try it when he's here.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mont Cnty still has the cheapest prices around. Not a bad price the KC.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Do you drink rye as well as bourbon? Is Sazerac any good?

    ReplyDelete
  8. David - I do drink Rye also. The Sazerac Rye (also known as baby Saz) is a good whiskey. Another one to look for is the Rittenhouse Bonded.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Greg -- If you were going to recommend one bottle of rye for a newbie, taking into consider both taste and price, would it be:

    Sazerac Rye
    Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond Rye
    Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve Rye

    I would probably drink it in a Sazerac or Manhattan.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hmmm.....it's really a toss up to me as I like both Baby Saz and Rittenhouse BIB. If I had to choose, it would be Rittenhouse as it's 100 proof over the Saz at 90. I have a little more flexibility with the higher proof.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fellas, i have a 1.75 od Old Grand Dad, bottled in bond 100 proof... any hints on the label that would help me know that the bourbon is pre or post Beam?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Baxter - the label should denote the DSP number on the label. You will be looking for DSP-KY-14. Another indicator will be a two digit number on the bottom of the bottle; most times, when oriented correctly, the middle or lower right portion of the bottom. There should also be a green tax strip over the bottle cap, sometimes, the distillation/bottling season and year are printed on the label itself. Let me know what you find.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Greg,

    Love your blog. I recently found a dusty bottle of faux-tax stamped OGB BIB with an 8-year age statement bottled in 1989. It is absolutely exquisite bourbon and I know exactly what you mean about never wanting to see this bottle empty. (The problem being that I can't stop sipping the stuff.) I'm somewhat new to the world of dusty hunting but I've come across some good finds lately, my favorites being the aforementioned BIB OGD and an 86-proof OGD circa 1978. Just so much butterscotch going on, which suits my palate perfectly. This dusty hunting stuff is addictive and I've enjoyed your many posts on the subject. I hope I'll have some more finds to report soon. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by and for the kind feedback. You're drinking one of my favorite out of production brands. Just last night I was sipping on an '89 ODG 86 and it was very tasty. If you like butterscotch, find some Old Taylor from ND....those are butterscotch bombs....another favorite of mine. Hope you have good success hunting....it's getting harder to find stuff as time goes by.

      Delete