Buffalo Trace Antique Collection - 2011

Well, it's official, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) for 2011 is on its way. Now it its twelfth year of release, BT today provided some details about this years collection in the following press release:

"FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY (August 30, 2011) The long wait is over! Buffalo Trace Distillery will release its 2011 Antique Collection in September. The much anticipated collection will once again feature five limited-release whiskeys of various ages, recipes and proofs. Here’s what ardent fans can expect:

Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old
Last year’s release was given a liquid gold award and a 97.5 rating in Jim Murray’s 2011 Whisky Bible. This 2011 rye whiskey release is described as “intense spice with underlying sweetness and dry finish.” Hopefully critics agree this batch is just as good, or better!

Eagle Rare 17 Year Old
The previous edition of this bourbon was honored with a Gold Medal at the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The 2011 edition was distilled in the Spring of 1993 and has been aging on the 2nd, 3rd and 6th floors of Warehouses I and K. After 18 years and 7 months of aging under its belt, it brings to the table notes of leather, vanilla and tobacco.

George T. Stagg
The 2010 release of this long-time favorite was named “Spirit of the Year” by F. Paul Pacult in the 2011 Spirit Journal. The 2011 George T. Stagg was found in Warehouses H, I, and K. This uncut, unfiltered bourbon was distilled back in the winter of 1993 and weighs in at 142.6 proof—some bold stuff! This whiskey tastes of espresso, chocolate and vanilla.

William Larue Weller
William Larue Weller is the Antique Collection’s uncut, unfiltered, wheated recipe bourbon. The previous edition was named “Bourbon of the Year” in Jim Murray’s 2011 Whisky Bible. The 2011 offering was distilled in the summer of 1998 and aged on the fourth and fifth floors of Warehouses N, O, and P. This William Larue Weller release registers in at 133.5 proof – a lot stronger than last year! It tastes of honey, caramel, light toffee and pipe tobacco.

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye is an uncut and unfiltered straight rye whiskey. The 2010 edition was named “Rye Whiskey of the Year” by Jim Murray in his 2011 Whisky Bible. This year’s Handy was distilled in the spring of 2005, aged on the sixth floor of Warehouse K and weighs in at 128.6 proof. The flavor has been described as “Christmas cake and allspice. Bold and yummy.”

In case you didn't notice, I'll point out to you that the Sazerac 18 is the only one that doesn't give a barrel date. That wasn't an oversight as BT has had this 18 year Rye tanked for a number of years. For enthusiasts, this is an exciting time as they wait in anticipation for allocations to reach their respective markets.

In the past, I've collected (and enjoyed) the BTAC releases but as I mentioned elsewhere in this blog, I skipped last year and will most likely do the same this year. For the most part, these whiskies are top shelf with the only caveat being the Eagle Rare 17 which I've found to have wide swings in taste and quality. Collectors typically snatch up GTS and WLW first which is why many times you can still find the Sazerac 18 and the Eagle Rare 17 still on the shelves for a while after release. Now, I may change my mind and pick up a bottle or two, but that would be it. Not purchasing for me has more to do with a saturated bunker of previous years BTAC that I have yet to open and the fact that the taste profile stays fairly consistent year over year for these various offerings (with the exception being ER17).

So, anyone waiting with baited breath for the release? Have you called in your order? Let me know what you plan to do.

Exam-o-dram - High West 12 year Rye

As a lover of whiskey that would also include Rye. As I mentioned here in the pages of this blog, I have a penchant for wheated bourbons like Old Weller Antique (the age stated one), Pappy Van Winkle and Stitzel Weller Old Fitzgerald Bonded. There are times though that I like a good rye whiskey. There are two predominant rye offerings; American and Canadian. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm focused on good 'ole American Rye.

For American rye the mashbill must be at least 51% rye. The remaining percentage will be corn and malted barley and distilled to not more than 160pf and put into a new charred oak barrel at not more than 125pf. To be called Straight Rye, it must be aged at least two years. Prior to prohibition, rye whiskey was abundant in the Northeast U.S. as there were distilleries in Pennsylvania and Maryland but after Prohibition, those distillery disappeared. Today, rye whiskey is made by the large distillers that includes Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill and various micro distilleries scattered throughout the U.S. Another large producer of rye whiskey that's far off the radar and one you've probably never heard of is Lawrenceburg Distillery Indiana (LDI) who also produces many other spirits such as bourbon, gin and grain neutral spirits (GNS).

Rye whiskey for many years was the dominant whiskey consumed in the U.S. but then dropped off significantly over time but more recently it's been making a comeback and as a result, we've seen many new labels showing up on the shelves. One such producer is High West Distillery based out of Park City Utah which is where the High West 12 Year Rye comes from. High West offers other whiskies and what's exciting is the variation and quality of the whiskey being distributed.

The 12 Year Rye was tasted blind by 13 participants and they were asked to rate the whiskey based on a 100 point scale and provide tasting comments. My feedback on this particular whiskey is as follows:

Color: Moderate golden hue, medium depth
Nose: More floral profile on this one. Mild yet appealing
Entry: Nice combination of sweet/spice. Reasonably balanced showing a bit of age. Spice kicks in about mid palate. Mouthfeel a little on the thin side.
Finish: Moderately long with spice dominating most of the way and then subsiding giving way to a little sweet rye flavor.
Rating: Compelling and appealing. I like this one. This one gets a 87.

The group ratings were:

95-100 A Classic Whiskey - 1

90-94 Excellent Whiskey - 2

85-89 Very Good, Above Average Whiskey - 7

80-84 Average Whiskey - 4

There were no scores below 80

Additional group comments included:

"A well-balanced rye, probably 5-8yo. The original spirit is still hanging on with the barrel notes add to the experience. Needs a bit more depth though"

"both sweet and bitter, a good combo finish...falls off a little at the end"

"The mint is in check on this one and this strikes me as a good rye, but the taste just falls flat for me and really knocks this one down"

"Hmm… rye and menthol. There is some spice, but it is hidden behind the menthol touches. Not bad juice, just not something I would reach for"

"Nice transition to a long, dry finish. Begs for another sip"

This rye may not be found in many markets but I would at least call your local liquor store or ABC manager and ask them about availability. Bottle is 750ml and priced about $35.

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.

Arran, not Bourbon

I've liked bourbon for a very long time but in the last number of years, I've become distracted by other whiskies and as such, I've begun to dabble in the dark side; Scotch! My bourbon buddies rib me on a regular basis about it but the truth is, whisk(e)y is so diverse that I love to explore new and different selections. A recent acquisition is The Arran Malt, a Single Island Scotch that is finished in cream sherry casks. What's interesting is this bottle is cask strength at 114.8pf. There are only 756 bottles and I managed to snag four of them.

The Arran comes from Isle of Arran Distillery which began production on June 29, 1995. Relatively speaking, this is a very, very young distillery compared to say Bowmore that's been pumping out whisky goodness since 1779. From what I can tell, this particular bottling is from 2006. That may not be exact as there's not much information floating around about these limited edition bottles. What I can tell you is that I think it tastes pretty darn good.

This is not a scotch from Islay filled with heavy doses of peat and smoke but from Island; very honeyed and loaded with ripe red fruits, balance of sherry influence with the "cream" cask coming though at the end of mid palate. A very pleasing toastiness comes through with a buttery taste as it flows to the back of the palate. On the finish, the fruit and honey sweetness diminishes and I'm left with a pleasant oak, sherry and burnt sugar aftertaste.

The Arran Single Malt LE can still be found in some stores and internet vendors, you'll just have to hunt for it. I got a fantastic deal on my bottle paying $30 with free shipping but it typically retails for about $80 a 750ml.

Barrel-o-Manhattan

I'll start right off and say this wasn't my idea. The idea originated from a Master Distiller of a micro-distillery who mentioned it to a friend of mine. Fast forward a number of weeks and I'm sitting on friends back patio commenting on how delicious the Manhattan is. He proceeds to show me his barrel which is full of Manhattan deliciousness.

Ok, so not to assume that everyone knows what a Manhattan is, this is a typical classic recipe:

2 oz Bourbon or Rye.5 oz of

Sweet Vermouth

2 shakes of Bitters

Couple Maraschino cherries with a little of the cherry juice to taste.

Pour into rocks glass filled with ice.

I've blogged about my re-barrel projects and it so happens the barrel was sitting empty. I put the barrel in the kitchen sink and proceeded to fill it with water and of course it leaked like a rusty tuna boat. Water was pouring from the seams. Did I panic you say? Nope. The barrel was dry having sit empty for a while so I expected it to leak. I kept refilling the barrel to keep it full and after a couple of hours, the leaking slowed and then stopped altogether. I let it sit overnight full of water to make sure the barrel was well saturated.

For my Manhattan concoction (and that's what it was) I proceed to pull together the following:

1.75L Tom Moore Bottled in Bond (a Barton product)

275ml of various Rye whisky mini's left over from a recent double blind tasting

500ml of all 10 recipes of Four Roses single barrel also left over from a recent blind tasting

These all went into the barrel. I then added approximately 600ml of Sweet Vermouth, a tablespoon of Blood Orange Bitters and Maraschino cherry liquor to taste (approx. 1oz). The stopper went back into the barrel and I proceeded to gently roll the barrel to get the concoction mixed up.

How did it taste? Well, I'm sippin a glass right now as I type and I must say it turned out pretty darn tasty. I think the Maraschino liquor and Blood Orange Bitters gives it a unique taste from the classic Manhattan recipe. The barrel contains about 3L of mix so I'll be enjoying this for a while and also enjoy the benefit of a little barrel aging as I go along.

I'm not content to just sip my whiskey, now I'm playing mad scientist.

Fathers Day – Beer and Whiskey….what else?

I consider myself exceptionally blessed to have many family members that live close by and as such it makes family events such as Fathers Day a fulfilling event. My dad turned 72 this year but he's slowing down although he will never admit that as he's the first to jump into any project to show he still has "true grit". Yesterday was a day of relaxation and enjoying each other's company. I enjoyed the day with my oldest son, my father, brother and two brother in-laws. There was lots of dead animal flesh cooking away on two grills as well as beer galore. I brought along some Allagash Black, Port City Porter and Optimal Wit as well as a mix of whiskies that included; Bushmills 21 year, Midleton Very Rare Irish, Old Weller Antique (a single barrel done back in 2009), Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye, 1982 Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond, Knob Creek Single Barrel and a recently purchased 18 year Willett which is a wheat bourbon that I cut down to 107 pf. My wife asked me what I wanted for Father's Day and I told her sandals. Tomorrow I celebrate 25 years of marriage to my lovely bride and we'll be heading out on a cruise to celebrate and I wanted some new sandals. God bless her, she didn't get me sandals, instead I received a 32" HDTV for my man cave.

Life is good....

4 days in Bourbon Mecca - Thursday

I made sure I didn't stay up too late on Wednesday as we had an early start to Four Roses on Thursday morning. We were due at Cox Creek, the warehousing facility at 9:00 a.m. The drive to Cox Creek was short from the hotel and we arrived shortly before 9:00. The guard waved us on through and we proceeded to the bottling house. I'll tell you that Four Roses does a magnificent job putting together tastings. They are very attentive to detail and the presentation is very nice. Due to the size of our group, we had to double up and share tasting stations which wasn't a problem; unless you're next to the guy with a fever blister.

In attendance from Four Roses was the warehouse manager, brand ambassador and master distiller Jim Rutledge. Jim did an awesome job hosting the tasting and sampled while he talked to the folks as we worked our way through 9 samples. Three of each recipe was brought out; OBSV, OBSQ and OESK. The three recipes break down as follows:

OBSV – 60% Corn – Delicate, fruity, spicey, medium body

OBSQ – 60% Corn – Floral (rose petal), spicey, medium body

OESK – 75% Corn – Spicy, full body

Tasting through these samples at 9:00 in the morning is an interesting venture. To be honest, probably the best time to taste would be early morning as the palate is at its best, unadulterated condition (I'm not suggesting this become a normal routine). We took our time and after about an hour began to collect the tasting notes and scores in order to rank the 9 barrels.

I think I've mentioned before that Four Roses is not a favorite of mine although a small group of us selected a barrel last year that turned out to be one of my favorites. The standard Four Roses Single Barrel offering is the OBSV recipe and surprisingly, this ended up the being the group pick at 70% of the tasters preferring barrel #3, OBSV recipe. This barrel yielded 126 bottles and came out of the barrel at 116.7 proof. The one thing I do like about Four Roses is the low slung warehouses which allows the whiskey to age at a more graceful pace which many times yields a bourbon at a lower proof.

After we finished up the tasting, we all piled back into our respective rides for the 50 mile trip to the Distillery in Lawrenceburg. It should have been an uneventful ride with the exception of one wiseacre feeling the need to offer the obligatory mooning on the Blue Grass Parkway….nuff said about that.

We arrived at Four Roses and gathered at the Gazebo which overlooks the Distillery and gift shop. The fine folks at Four Roses set up a nice boxed lunch as well as a well stocked bar of various Four Roses products. While the group munched and sipped away, Jim Rutledge provided an oral history of Four Roses and took questions as needed. After lunch, we broke up and the group headed out on a distillery tour….except for a couple of us that cornered Jim for additional conversation. We asked some follow up questions which Jim was more than happy to answer.

All in all, it was a great time and my hat is off to Jim and the fine folks at Four Roses for their graciousness and generosity in spending a whole day with a group of folks who are nothing more than enthusiasts of all things bourbon.