Rum - the other brown spirit

 As I’ve noted in previous posts, my spirits journey started with Bourbon.  At 18 I was enjoying Wild Turkey 12 year, drinking it neat or mixing it with coke.  It was plentiful and cheap back in the early 80’s. 

Fast forward (quite a bit forward) and today my spirits pursuit includes Rum.  What I knew about rum over the years was limited to sugary shelf offerings like Bacardi or Pyrat.  The nuances of rum were a mystery until I started to pay attention and dig a little deeper into this wonderful spirit.  This is a story of my own quick education of rum and the impact it has had on my drinking rotation.

First, lets start from the beginning, the origin of rum itself.  Rum as most anyone knows, comes from sugarcane.  The three styles of base product are either cane juice (Agricole), cane syrup or molasses.  Sugarcane itself is grown the world over but go back a quite a few thousand years and Sugarcane was indigenous to New Guinea.  While there are several strains of Sugarcane, one in particular, Saccharum officinarum is the stain most widely used among cane producing countries. 

When we think of rum, the Caribbean immediately comes to mind but cane as a commodity has traveled the world over throughout history; India, Japan, Persia, Portugal to name just a few.  Sugarcane found on the Island inhabited by Dominican Republic and Haiti (formerly Hispaniola) was introduced by Columbus during his second voyage to the America’s. 

The first introduction of rum in history is up for debate (much like bourbon) but British and French rums were noted around the 17^th century.  Rum has a deep and storied history, too much to articulate in this short post so I will advance the story to the beginnings of my own understanding of rum.  It’s also been noted that the first distilled spirit in American was rum.

At the time I was mixing bourbon and coke, I was also mixing rum and coke and typically some off the shelf Bacardi offering of the time.  Once I grew out of the overly sweet cocktails and began to focus more on the quality of the drink and eventually enjoying spirits neat, rum fell by the wayside and ignored for a few decades except for the occasional rummy drink on a cruise. 

Unbeknownst to me, rum is pretty unregulated, unlike say bourbon or scotch.  Rum producers or NDP that purchase sourced rum, can pretty much do what they want when it comes to adulteration.  In fact, Richard Seale from Foursquare has been quite vocal over the years promoting full transparency among producers.  Additives such as sugar, caramel coloring, or flavor packets are used post distillation.  As an example, and I’ll pick on Bacardi again, their 8-year offering contains 20 grams of sugar per liter or about 1.6 Tbsp of sugar.  I’ll pick on another one, Diplomatico Exclusiva, which has 44 grams per liter.  Every wonder why rum at times is so sugary sweet?  Well, now you know.  On top of that, to make the rum cosmetically appealing, producers may add caramel coloring to give it that extra aged look.  Let me caveat by saying, if this is what you like, then you'll get no judgement from me as I advocate to drink what you like and the way you like it. 

For me, I don’t care for rum that is overly sweet.  My first rum epiphany came about 6 or 7 years ago when I was introduced to a Demerara Distillers Diamond SVW 15 year Velier.  I can only say, I was blown away by this rum.  It was viscous, balanced and very un-rum like.  Blind I think some would assume it was a sweeter bourbon. 

That Diamond SVW triggered the thought process of rum exploration.  What else was out there that was as good as that or at least offered a drinking experience that did not include a follow up visit to the dentist?  This also triggered my curiosity of rum in general. 

Base Product:

Rhum Agricole: base product is cane juice.  The name comes from the French which loosely translate to “farm rum”.  The cane is pressed through mills to extract the juice. This style of rum typically produces an earthier profile, maybe grassy and less sweet.  This style is also less efficient in distillation than the other two.

Cane Syrup: Simply, it’s cane juice reduced down to a thicker concentration of syrup. 

Molasses: The byproduct of sugar extraction.  This sticky gooey brown stuff is what is left over and is used my most rum distilleries. 

Distillation: 

As expected, two forms of distillation are employed: pot still and column still.  Pot still is the older practice but that’s not to say that column distillation is “new” because it’s been around since about 1830.  The in-between of these two approaches is the hybrid which employs a combination of both pot and column. 

Aging: 

Rum aging in oak is well known.  What started as a practice to store product, turned in to an aging element.  The very nature of oak as a vessel means air and vapor, or angels share, can move freely through the barrel which as most know, is part of the aging process.  Like scotch, rum is aged primarily in spent bourbon casks.  Other casks are used of course that previously contained sherry, or brandy (e.g. Cognac or Armagnac).  Because rum is aged in used cooperage, much of the heavy wood influence has been spent, thus, rum maturation takes a more nuanced aging trajectory.  Like anything, older does not translate to better, so active management of the barrels is required to ensure a well balanced produced.  Last, aging location is not just the Caribbean.  There is quite a bit of rum aging in Scotland which provides a totally different environment resulting in different outcomes. 

One style to be aware of is Jamaican which uses Muck and Dunder, Hampden uses this process, Worthy Park does not.  If you have explored rum and had one whose profile exhibited rubber or petrol, welcome to Muck and Dunder.  I won’t say any more about it but wanted to mention it as it can be as polarizing as a well peated scotch.

My own experience is fairly recent and like bourbon, I jumped in with both feet.  As a group, we have extended our barrel selections to include rum which I’ll touch on briefly. 

Two distilleries we have engaged with are Privateer in Ipswich MA, and Richland Rum in Richland GA.  Both of these domestic producers follow distillation practices that pretty much mirrors bourbon distillation, meaning, no funny business to alter the flavor of the rum.  They distill, barrel and age.  That’s it. 

Privateer is making some really fantastic domestic rum.  They use grade A molasses that to my last understanding and conversation with Privateer was sourced from a family farm in Venezuela.  Distillation is both Pot and Column or hybrid depending on the style they want to produce.  Many of their rums are aged in New Oak and some in used casks that can include bourbon, rye and brandy (there may be others).  To date, our group has selected 6 barrels from Privateer and each one has been fantastic.  The selections have a range of 2.5 – 4 years old and while this may seem young, it’s not with rum as you don’t get that new make off note like you do with a grain-based distillation.  The aging trajectory seems to be much shorter.  We also provided a Weller cask to them late 2019 which they filled with 3 year old rum.  We let it ride for 6 months and bottled.  The barrels arch of influence is about 3 months so at 6 months we really liked the fact that the rum had not fully integrated with the barrel so the profile exhibited a combination rum from new oak but then that bourbon influence from the wet bourbon cask.  It was a huge success with the group.  Andrew Cabot, Privateers CEO/COO sent me a bottle of rum they aged in a Cognac cask called L’Alliance.  The added fruit character combined with the rum was very compelling.  So much so, I bought 6 more bottles. 

Richland Rum in GA is a family run business and is considered an Estate rum meaning everything that goes into producing that rum is done on premise. The big distinction being they grow their own cane, harvest it, and then extract the cane juice which they reduce to a syrup.  The syrup is used in the distillation process.  They use copper pot stills and age their rum in new oak.  We selected two barrels from them a couple years back.  My opinion is they are also making really great domestic rum.  Worth a look.

As I noted in a recent post, it’s been about 3.5 years since my last post but I have not been dormant.  I’ve been plenty busy exploring, buying, drinking and sharing various spirits and that won’t stop.  For me, I like to keep my consumption eclectic.  Drinking bourbon continuously can get a bit boring (at least to me) so having rum or even Armagnac (another post for a later date) keeps things interesting and fresh.  If you love bourbon, maybe explore the world of rum.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

As a parting gift, here are a couple suggestions in the event you want to explore, assuming your retailer carries some of these labels:

Mount Gay Black Barrel

Flor de Cana 7 or 12 year

Appleton Estate 12 year

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate

Privateer Navy Yard or Queens Share

Richland Single Estate Rum

The Real McCoy 5 or 12 year (Foursquare)

Doorly’s 5 or 12 year (also Foursquare but I’ve found these to be less expensive than McCoy)

 

KY Spring 2015 - Day 3

Yup, sorry for the lag in posting but recent life events have taken priority.  I wanted to finish up the spring pickings which ended on Friday with a visit to Four Roses and Jim Beam.

We headed out from the hotel and arrived at Four Roses about 9:30 to their new tasting room.  In years past we've tasted through barrels at the back of the bottling warehouse but now they have this fancy new tasting room set up to handle large groups like ours.  As usual, Jim Rutledge selected 10 barrels for us to taste through.  I think we had around 40 or more tasters and this is the first year we didn't have to double up at a tasting station; everyone had their own 10 glasses to sample from.

Jim selected 10 barrels representing 9 of the 10 Four Roses recipes with OESQ missing from the lineup.  In its place, we had two barrels representing the OBSO recipe.  As a group, the tasting is done pretty much in silence with the idea being to analyze the bourbon and write down thoughts and scores in order to avoid undue group influence.  We also requested Jim not have the barrel heads facing forward in order to avoid any pre-knowledge of the recipes selected in order to taste all selections in the blind.  Most of us conduct at least two passes on each sample so after about 30-40 mins we wrapped up and collected each tasters top 4 selections.  The vitals on the top four are as follow:

1. OBSO 11 years 7 months
2. OESK 9 years 7 months
3. OBSK 10 years 7 months
4. OBSV 10 year 3 months

My number one pick was number four, the OBSV.  My notes reflected a creamy, sweet caramel bourbon with a long finish.  As a group we only picked the top two.  In the end, individual members made commitments for an additional 4 barrels.  I chose to pick up barrel four with one other person.

I've received the first two Four Roses and am waiting on my barrel which should arrive sometime in October.  This was another great tasting but was also a little bittersweet as this was the last one with Jim as Master Distiller.  He's retiring come September 1st.  The new Master Distiller, Brent Elliot, has already announced changes to the barrel program where they will roll out younger barrels.  Additionally, Four Roses is running low on three recipes so those most likely will not be included, at least for a time, in the barrel program.  Finally, Four Roses will no longer ship samples to retailers wishing to purchase a store barrel.  If you want to purchase one, you'll need to buy a ticket to KY and visit the distillery in person.

Now on to Jim Beam.  The afternoon brought us to Jim Beam's American Stillhouse facility where we met up with Craig Weiter, Beams barrel program manager.  Our group was much smaller as we limited the number of people attending this tasting due to room limitations in the rickhouse.  Craig loaded us on a bus and off we went to WHSE K.  Last year we picked three barrels from Jim Beam so I was stoked about leading this group for another tasting with Beam.  On arrival we saw four barrels were pulled to taste from.  I have to admit, I had some disappointment as I was hoping we would have at least 6-8 barrels to select from.  Having only four barrels limits the potential of finding something we would want to buy.  Fortunately, Craig did a nice job pulling the barrels and had tasting notes from his perspective already formulated.

We tasted through the four and found one we felt met our groups benchmark for purchase.  This barrel was pulled from WHSE P and was distilled on Nov 13, 2003, making this a little over 11 years old.  The proof was 129 at cask which meant there would be a small dilution to get it down to 120 for the Knob Creek 120 bottle.  Many of our barrel picks are of course bottled at cask (Four Roses, Willett, Smooth Ambler) and we asked Craig if Jim Beam had any plans to offer a cask single barrel offering.  He indicated that come 2016, Knob Creek will begin offering a 130 proof bottling which will be included in the barrel program.  Good news for us.

On a side note, we paired up with a large retailer we've done a lot of business with over the years to pick barrels from Wild Turkey.  While the retailer was there to pick barrels for the store shelves, we were able to finagle a single barrel Russells Reserve for our group.  I have it in and boy is it fantastic.  It's almost reminiscent of old style Turkey.  I'll review the bourbons in a separate post. 

KY Spring 2015 - Day 2

Thursday had us on the road early in order to get to Buffalo Trace by 9:00 a.m.  We arrived and I let the gift shop folks know that we were there to see the BT Barrel Program Manager, Beau.  About 10 minutes later Beau shows up and apologizes stating that he mistakenly put us down for the following day and needed some time to set up since they were not prepared.  No big deal so we checked out the expansion construction going on in the gift shop to kill time.  About 9:40 we headed to Warehouse H where BT conducts the barrel picks.  Going in my concern was the quality of the barrels since they had to rush to pull samples and cut them down to 107pf.

On entering, there were 12 samples lined up ready for our fine tuned palates.  As we made our way through the samples it was clear, at least to me, that picking our top four was going to be a chore because once again, Beau's team pulled some mighty fine bourbon.  Unfortunately, I misplaced my tasting notes so I can't provide any details except to say they were excellent samples.  In all we picked four barrels.  We don't have bottling data yet as we are waiting on yield counts.

After the tasting there wasn't any standing around as we had to make our way back to Bardstown for a visit to Willett (KBD).  Drew Kulsveen was waiting on us and we arrived right about on time.  He took us on the tour which many of us had been on before but he walked us through the upgrade and repairs they will be doing this year to include breaking down some of the distillation components to fix some nasty leaks.  The end of the tour found us in one of the Rick houses and Drew pulled two samples of his own distillate for us to try; a 2 year old wheat bourbon and a 3 year old rye.  I think without exception, the group was quite impressed with both samples.  The wheat bourbon had no hint of new make or aggressive youthfulness.  It was rich, creamy, sweet and very delicious. The 3 year rye was also outstanding and I told Drew if he were to bottling it today, I would buy it.  Both samples were very impressive which hopefully translates to exceptional whiskey when bottled. 


That evening Jim Rutledge joined us for dinner and spent the evening hanging out with the group.  We had planned well ahead of the trip to pull together as many Four Roses Single Barrel bottles as we've picked as a group or just single barrel expressions that members have picked up over the years.  These bottles as you can see in the picture were lined up on the table for Jim to try at his leisure. We ended up with 50 bottles with about half of those single barrels we had picked over the last 5 years.  Jim was quite surprised by the lineup and enjoyed sipping on those and visiting with the group until close to midnight. It was an exhausting but great kick off to the first day of picking.

Kentucky - Spring 2015

I've just returned from Kentucky where this last week we conducted the annual barrel picking endeavor.  Visits to Four Roses, Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam and Wild Turkey yielded multiple barrel picks that I'm very excited about. 

The week started off with a full day at an outdoor gun range shooting everything from vintage 1911's to AR-15's.  During the week we had some downtime with Jim Rutledge, Four Roses Master Distiller who joined us for dinner and an evening of just hanging out.  We also had a nice visit with Marianne Barnes, the new Master Distiller at the soon to be named distillery at the former E.H. Taylor Castle site and Saturday we had a sit down discussion with Jimmy Russell at Wild Turkey.  The week ended with a pig roast, tomahawk throwing competition and a whole lot of whiskey and cigars. 

I'll post details in the coming weeks.  The year's trip was the best to date, but now back to the real world.

Spring Picking 2015

Two weeks from today I'll be headed down to Kentucky for the annual barrel pick festivities.  I recognize that I neglected to write much about last years picks and hope to remedy that this year.

We moved the arrival date a number of weeks to May in order to take advantage of better weather.  In previous years we attended during the Spring sampler held in and around Bardstown and in April the weather can still be somewhat wet and cold.

Last year we picked multiple barrels from each distillery we visited.  Jim Beam was a first for us and they really treated us well along with rolling out some very good barrels.  So much so that we ended up purchasing three of them.  I liked all three very much but one was a real stand out and I couldn't put the bottle down.  This year we'll visit Jim Beam again and have high hopes of finding great barrels once again.

Buffalo Trace has been a real great experience for us over the last couple of years as we've pulled some really great barrels of Old Weller Antique plus they are a great value to boot.  Beau, their barrel program manager, is a great host and we always enjoy spending time with him plus he pulls great barrels for us to taste through. 

Four Roses was one of the first distilleries we visited back about 5 years ago.  Jim Rutledge is  more than a host but a good friend of the group.  We always have a fantastic time with Jim and have purchased some top notch barrels from Four Roses.  Last year Jim rolled out ten barrels and the quality was so good, we had a hard time picking our top three, in fact, we ended up picking six of the ten barrels.

I'm very much looking forward to this years trip.  Better weather, great bourbon and good friends should make this years trip a great experience.

Road Trip: Bardstown KY 2014 - Wednesday

Kicking off this years Bardstown trip with an early morning departure of around 7:30 and arrived Bardstown around 6:00 pm.  Couple stops along the way with special mention to Hillbilly Hot Dog in Lesage, WV.  Awesome dogs and awesome staff.

First night was an open table to bring whatever interests you. Some notables this evening were:

Dusty Early Times
Dusty Yellowstore 90 pf
OWA SB 9 yr non chill
WT 17 year
Willett 18 year wheater
Old Saint Nick 17 year
Balcones Rumble Cask Reserve

There were also some world whiskies that showed up on the table that included:

Karuizawa 13 year NOH
Green Spot
Balvenie TUN 1401 B9
Powers Johns Lane

Tomorrow morning it will be an early start as we head out to Buffalo Trace and then on to Jim Beam after lunch.  Beautiful weather is forecast as we spend the next couple of days barrel picking.

Spring on the Horizon

I hate winter....seriously......hate as in loathe.  This winter has been exceptionally harsh for the D.C. area.  I know, what we experience is nothing like upstate NY or other areas to the north but here in the mid Atlantic, this winter has dumped higher than average snow and the temperatures much colder than normal.  This morning as I left for work it was 5 degrees and that's just too cold.

We're now in to March which means spring is about 2 weeks away.  Spring also means the annual visit to Bardstown KY for barrel picking.  That's right....the time has come once again to taste through wonderful barrels of bourbon.  The schedule is pretty much the same as previous years with the exception of skipping KBD as their barrel program is suspended for a spell until they get caught
up on their bottling backlog.  Next year.

The schedule of events is firming up that includes a 35 bottle Wild Turkey tasting that pretty much encompasses every variant of Wild Turkey released over the last couple of decades.  We're visiting Four Rose, Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill as well as hosting the
owner/distiller from Smooth Ambler while in KY to conduct a little barrel sample tasting one evening.  Speaking of Smooth Ambler, the group conducted a barrel tasting at the distillery in December and selected 3 barrels; 7 year, 8 year and a 10 year.  Those will be ordered this week and I should have them in hand next.  I'll post tasting notes once I get them.

As of today, we're at 49 days until picking time.......spring can't come soon enough.  

Willett - Spring 2013

I can't believe it's December 1st and I'm writing about the spring Willett pick.  In defense, the bottles only arrived about a month ago.

Our little group has been picking from KBD since March of 2009 and we've pulled some truly phenomenal whiskies from KBD's rickhouse's.  Drew Kulsveen has always been a gracious host and gone out of his way to make sure we have access to great bourbon.  This last pick in April was no exception.  In all, we ended up with six barrels this go around.  It's no secret that KBD sources their  whiskey although they are distilling, that whiskey won't be ready for another couple of years at least.

All the bourbons are cask strength and range in age from 8 to 11 years old.

Willett Barrel #1422 - From the taste of it, this bourbon is a wheat mashbill.  This is the second barrel of this series we've picked with last years at 8 years old making this one 9.  Bottled at 129.4 proof, this is another candy shop winner.  When I describe a bourbon having candy shop qualities that includes dark sugars, fudge, caramel, nuts, etc.  This one has all that with a nice oak backbone.  Heat pops up mid palate but then subsides allowing an oaky chocolaty finish to slowly fade.  I really like these cask strength wheaters.

Willett Barrel #824 - This selection is one of a long line of a series of barrels we've picked from since 2009 when our first Willett was 6 years old.  This one and its sister #813, come in at 10 years old.  The proof on this is 127.2 but as typical with our picks, the heat is totally in check to almost non-existent.  This one is spicier than previous iterations with cinnamon, clove up front on entry that transitions to stewed dark fruits and gooey pudding.  Sweetness is limited but flavor abounds on this one.  I noticed this one, even though from the same series as previous picks, really changed from 9 to 10 years as I don't pick up similarities as I did before.

Willett Barrel #810 - This selection is the same mashbill and barrel date as #824 and comes in at 126.9 proof.  This profile is more in line with the previous picks but exhibits a bit more creaminess on the mouthfeel.  Sweet entry that turns to oak barrel notes and finishes slightly drying.  The finish is quite nice and long on this one.

Willett Barrel #6472 - When sitting in the tasting room at KBD last April, we were asked if we were interested in tasting a 9 year containing a mashbill we had not selected previously.  My answer would be "does the Pope wear a funny hat?"  This one at first blush, was not as well received as the 11 year olds we were also tasting (more on that).  I liked it out of the gate and now that I have bottles in the bunker, I like it even more.  First impression on tasting was juicy fruit gum.  Big sweet mouth watering flavor of fruit and vanilla.  Flavor profile develops around mid palate to include honey and tobacco which then transitions to yet another long, warming finish.  This bourbon was bottled at 121.4 proof and is 8 years old

Willett Barrels #1586 and #1595 - I'm combining these two since they are the same mashbill and barreled on the same date.  They are similar in profile and for me, the jury is out on which one I like better.  Both are great selections that exhibits nice barrel notes, spice and eucalyptus. These have dark chocolate on the palate; first impression was chocolate mint. Sweet and spice on the entry migrating to a creamy sweetness mid palate. Finish is moderate to long. #1586 is an excellent bourbon fresh out of the bottle. As the bourbon sat in the glass over the course of an hour, the sweetness became more pronounced. Barrel #1595 while similar, has more caramel and chocolate on the profile and softer eucalyptus on the palate.  Crazy to think but both of these barrels came in at 123.4 proof and are 11 years old.

All in all, this years picks are really fantastic.  Each year we say we can't imagine picking better barrels the following year yet we manage to meet or beat previous selections. 

For 2014, we'll of course visit the normal distilleries as we've done in the past but we're working on branching outside the envelope and see if we can add some unique small craft offerings to our collective bunkers.

Four Roses - Spring 2013

I know I'm being repetitious but Four Roses whiskey is the bourbon bomb.  This isn't to say that BT or KBD or any of the other distilleries in the area don't turn out fine bourbon but under Jim Rutledge, Four Roses is turning out some of the best bourbon on the market.

I've mentioned in previous posts that I was not a fan of FR back when they started re-distribution in the US of their KSBW (right around 2005 or 2006) but since then, I'm hooked.  This is due in  part to getting access to single barrels picked by Jim or the FR warehouse manager, Cory (she knows where all the honey barrels sit).

This last round of barrel picks were again top shelf....I know I sound like a broken record but this is some seriously good drinking.

Our intention for this round of picks was two barrels.  As luck would have it, we liked more than just two barrels.  After picking the two top barrels, an animated discussion broke out with one member cheerleading the group to purchase a third.  Our expectation coming in was two so it took some time to warm up to the idea of committing to a third.  Not that the barrel wasn't stellar but we pre-commit every purchase so the group knows how many each has committed to buying.  Purchasing a third ad hoc took some time to discuss.  I won't go into the lengthy discussion and phone calls that ensued but we did in fact purchase a third barrel.

We selected three different recipes at barrel strength:

OESO 75% Corn - Fruity (Red Berries), Med Body - 10.6 YO – 113.4 PF
Warming as it enters the palate.  Barrel notes, sweet baking spice and burnt cream.  The low proof means no heat and all flavor.  Long finish that ends with a bit of spice tingling on the tongue.

OBSO 60% Corn - Slightly Fruity, Spicy, Med Body - 9.5 YO - 127.0 PF
Caramel and cream, no heat, moderate cinnamon spice mid palate.  Add a drop of water the the flavor pops.  The finish is quite long and satisfying.

OESV 75% Corn - Delicate Fruity, Fresh, Creamy - 9.0 YO – 122 PF
This is one sweet bourbon.  In fact, probably the sweetest FR we've picked.  This drinks way too easy and has nice red fruits mid palate with butter and honey mixing in toward the finish. I wish I had 10 more bottles of this one.  Superb.

All three of these bourbons handle water exceptionally well....one of our picking criteria.

Whatever Jim is doing at Four Roses I hope he keeps it up and lives a long healthy life cranking out great bourbon.  Thank you Jim.

Old Weller Antique - Spring 2013

It's hard to beat OWA.  The quality and price point make this expression a real bargain.  The upside of course is getting a single barrel to boot with the private barrel picks at the same retail price.  I mentioned in a previous post that Buffalo Trace contacted us prior to our arrival in April informing that the barrels would be about 6 1/2 years old; in previous years we were able to pick barrels that ranged from 7 1/2 to 8 years old.  I actually didn't mind the change as I saw this as an opportunity to pick up a run of OWA with significant age difference.

We picked two barrels; each with a profile different from the other.  The reduced age didn't hurt the drinking experience one bit.  In fact, many commented at the full flavor of the bourbon noting it did not present any youthfulness.

At bottling we were advised that one was short only yielding 72 bottles which was a real letdown.  The other barrel gave up 204 bottles.

OWA#17 (short barrel) - During the tasting I commented the bourbon was like velvet on the palate and so it was when cracking open the bottle and taking that first pour.  Smooth entry with flavor profile of brown sugar and loads of caramel.  Finish is moderate to long

OWA#18 - This pick was such an easy drinker that when shared with others, it disappears really quick.  Brown sugar again on the palate but with vanilla and baking spice that pops up about mid palate.  It's really sweet but not like white sugar; lots of candy shop qualities.  The finish is long with chocolate and a hint of ginger at the end.  Superb.

Rye Influx - Spring 2013

Back in March I posted about some tastings in preparation to our April pilgrimage to Kentucky.  We added a rye whiskey to our selections and we had anticipation of tasting and buying some good rye whiskey.

Back on June 5th, the first of our barrels picks showed up; Jefferson Rye 10 year. I was pretty excited to get this bottle as I don't have many ryes in the bunker so this was a nice addition.

First, it's a little odd that the packaging for the Jeff Rye shows a silhouette of Jefferson, a great American icon...but in the bottle is good 'ole Canadian Rye.  Who cares.....what's it taste like?

First off, lots of flavor for a 94 proof whiskey.  Christmas spices, sweet rye, and maybe a touch of mint.  Nice mouthfeel....not overly coating but enough body to carry the finish quite nicely.  This rye is right in my wheelhouse; it's an easy drinker with lots of flavor.  Now I wish I had asked for a higher allocation cause the bottle I have open is about 2/3 gone with three remaining in the bunker.

I'm expecting our Old Weller Antique picks to arrive early next week. 

Road Trip: Bardstown KY 2013 - Friday

Back in February I wrote a piece on the soap opera called Old Weller Antique.  This past Friday our group settled in at 10:00 a.m. to taste through 12 samples of OWA.  As I mentioned in previous posts, our group was offered a younger OWA for this tasting which turned out to be 6 year 4 months old.  My feeling was that this was an opportunity to try the BT wheated mashbill at a younger age and and see how it compares to our

previous picks that were older by as much as 18 months.  BT again accommodated our request for samples to be pullled and proofed at 107 so we could sample at bottling strength....so, thank you Beau Beckman.

As we began tasting the samples, it was clear, at least to me at the time that we were afforded another set of very nice samples.  I tuned in on three specific samples that really stood head and shoulders above the others.  Other samples exhibited short finishes, thin mouthfeel or dry and tannic entries and those were quickly dismissed on my list.  The top three I identified exhibited great noses, big sweet entries of rich caramel, candied fruit, creamy mouthfeel and long lingering finish.  After all were done tasting we tallied up the votes (again, silent voting so there would be no undue influence) and my top pick, barrel #12 was the #1 pick of the group so it clearly was a favorite. 

My hat is off to Buffalo Trace for again taking the time to host our group and also provide some great bourbon for sampling.

We spent the afternoon grabbing a bite to eat and then visiting the Getz Museum.  If you have been to Bardstown or have plans to visit at some point, I would encourage a visit to the Museum.  It has some great examples of old bourbon, bourbon history and some very nice displays.  I ended up buying their book "Whiskey; An American Pictorial Book".  If you do visit, please make sure you give a small donation as the museum is free.

Road Trip: Bardstown KY Spring 2013 - Thursday

It's a brisk morning with a high of 41 and we're milling around outside the gate of Cox Creek.  After a few moments the security guard opens the gate and asks if we know where to go and of course we do.

We head to the bottling house and upon entering see the tasting stations set up with 8 glasses at each station.  Because of the size of our group, we have to double up so we can't be too concerned with cooties.  Next to the tasting stations are 8 barrels lined up bungs facing upwards ready for sampling.

Master Distiller Jim Rutledge arrives and we waste no time popping the bungs off the barrels and using the whiskey thief, begin pulling samples from the barrels.  As we start nosing the samples it

quickly becomes apparent that these barrels show great promise with some profiles showing fruit and cream.  We take our time rotating through each sample making notes as we go along attempting to narrow down the top three.  We're supposed to keep our impressions to ourselves as this is a secret ballot and which ones each person likes but looking around the tables quickly tells who likes what by facial expressions and the fill level of some glasses.

After the votes are tallied we picked two barrels that were clearly the favorite of the group; an OBSO at 9.5 years old and a OESO at 10.5 years old.  We don't know the proof of either just yet.  The OBSO was a first for us as we've never picked this particular recipe and the OESO is our second.  The third favorite was an OESV at 9 years old.  Quit a bit of discussion was generated around this barrel after we left and it looks like we'll end up picking up that barrel as well.  That OESV was the sweetest Four Roses I've ever tasted.

We leave Four Roses and head to Buffalo Trace up in Frankfort.  After lunch we arrive around 1:00 and head to Warehouse H which has the tasting room.  We walk in and 10 barrels of Elmer T. Lee are

lined up in pretty fashion and BT had already pulled samples into two sets of glasses for each barrel; one glass at barrel strength and one glass at bottling strength.  I'll have to admit that I have not been a fan of Elmer T. Lee over the years finding the flavor profile not to my liking.  Now, since the ETL is a single barrel offering there are going to be variances in drinking experience but my own experience has been more miss than hit.

I don't bother sampling the barrel strength as it won't be a factor in determining what we pick so

focus on the samples cut to bottling proof.  As I make my way through each sample I'm having difficultly finding one that really stands out.  In fact, there were a couple of barrels that were pretty much undrinkable.  In the end, for me, I really didn't find anything that I would want to pull the trigger on but since the process was to vote on your top three, I provided those that I thought were the best of the eight. I will point out that Beau Beckman from BT does a very nice job putting together the tastings and we always enjoy visiting (and purchasing) from BT.

Overall a good day and I think we picked some of the best Four Roses to date.

Road Trip: Bardstown KY 2013 - Wednesday

Does anybody else hate flying?  The process used to be fairly simple and straightforward.  Now it's an exercise in patience.

Visiting the Blue Glove Brigade at Dulles Airport wasn't too bad as I made it through security in about 20 mins.  Since I had an hour to burn, I met up with two flying companions for a beer and light meal before the flight.  Ok, no problem so far.

Flight gets called and we wait........wait.......wait......we finally board and wait......wait.....wait.....we taxi to the runway and wait.....wait.....wait.  Our wheels up time was about the same time we were supposed to be landing in Louisville.  I killed time on the plane reading through every page of  an Imbibe magazine.  My first time reading through this particular periodical and I'm not impressed.  Lots of advo's and not enough content.

We finally arrive at the hotel around 9:00 and check-in.  The hotel has always treated us well and provides a small meeting room for us to set up our bourbon table and have a place to socialize.  It was good seeing familiar faces as well as new members.

Fun kick-off evening with my very enjoyable pours consisting of Elijah Craig Cask Strength; not too sweet, big profile of barrel notes and semi bitter chocolate, moderate heat.  I actually liked this more than I thought I would.  Next up Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve 10 year 101; a favorite of mine....nuff said.  Following the Wild Turkey a dusty Fighting Cock 103; very tasty, viscous and wish I had some of my own.  Fourth pour was a 1970 Old Fitzgerald Prime 7 year; how I wish  they made bourbon like this today....oh well, a highlight of the evening with that classic Stitzel Weller Toffeenut and Cherries.  For the last pour of the evening, we grabbed a dusty ND Old Grand Dad 86 proof and retired to the patio for an evening cigar.  About 8 of us ended up outside in the brisk evening smoking cigars, picking on each other and sipping some good old school bourbon.

Tomorrow 9:00 we'll be at Cox Creek tasting through Four Roses.

Destination: Bardstown

This Wednesday I'll be boarding a flight to Louisville and then driving to Bardstown.  The schedule is set for this years convergence on Bourbon Mecca. 

Besides tasting through a god aweful amount of bourbon at the distilleries, we each also bring a bottle to share in the evenings.  Last years theme was "only damn good bourbon"  and boy did we have some fine bourbons show up.  Old, new, you name it, we had it.  I brought along a Rock Hills Farms that Julio's Liquor did back a number of years ago; it was a big cherry bomb and it got hit pretty hard over the course of 4 days. 

This years theme is a play on last years; "only damn fine malt".  That's right, all of us bourbon dorks are sliding to the dark side.  The list is pretty impressive and I'm excited to hit a number of those bottles as most of the selections are ones I have not tried.  Originally I was going to bring along a Springbank 12 year finished in a Claret cask (and cask strength to boot) but there were already two other Springers on the list so I changed my offering to a 2006 Arran Malt Cask finished in a Gonzalez Byass Cream Sherry cask.  There's no age statement but it's a terrific Scotch with a profile of apples and tropical fruits.  It drinks fantastic at cask strength. 

It will be a busy schedule with the first distillery being Four Roses first thing Thursday morning.  Nothing like drinking bourbon at 9:00 a.m.  That afternoon we hit Buffalo Trace and then BT again most of Friday as we're tasting through a number of various selections.  Saturday we'll be visiting Drew Kulsveen at Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD).  Saturday afternoon we'll converge on a friends house for an afternoon and evening of BBQ, beer, bourbon, malt and cigars. 

I hope to come back home on Sunday with a sense of what we should expect in delivery come this summer.  The two that intrigue me this year is the OWA and Jefferson Rye.  The OWA will be younger than previous years so it will be interesting to see if we find something top shelf.  I've already tasted through the Jefferson Rye samples and there's some winners in the bunch so I confident we'll be picking at least one barrel of the Rye.

I'll try and post short updates as we progress.  Cheers.

Spring is in the air......and so is Bourbon!

Finally....I think the last snow of the season is behind us and warmer weather is moving in.  Spring is an exciting time not just for warmer weather and leisurely episodes on the front porch, but it also means bourbon.

Each April I make my pilgrimage to Kentucky and pay homage to the Master Distillers at various distilleries in and around Bardstown and taste through some fantastic whiskey.  In preparation, advance samples are received to taste through in order to expedite the process.  This last week I had the opportunity to taste through a number of bourbon and rye samples.  Yes, I said rye and the group is pretty stoked about it.  Rye for the most part has been short supply and hard to come by so getting the opportunity to taste through some rye barrels is generating some enthusiasm for next month.

I tasted the rye samples blind and mixed in a couple shelf offerings.  We had 4 distillery samples plus a Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye, Sazerac Rye (Baby Saz), Dickel Rye and a Jefferson 10 year Rye that the ABC in Montgomery County did last year.  Surprisingly, the Jefferson Rye came out on top for me...even beating out the Van Winkle.  Second on my list was one of the distillery samples (we'll call it B52).  The sample had a nice sweet floral nose, creamy sweet entry and a transition to spice and dark bread mid palate with a finish that was moderate to long.  At 94 proof, it was a solid rye whiskey. 

I also tasted through two different sets of bourbon from two different distilleries.  I won't divulge who the distilleries are just yet but will say one set (3 samples) didn't pique my interest while the second set had some stunners.

A new batch of samples just arrived and I'll be tasting through those next Saturday evening.  Prior to that tasting, I'll be hosting a bourbon tasting at my house for some co-workers who want to try bourbon but now nothing about it.

Welcome Spring....the whiskey is flowing!

OWA - As the Mash Tun Churns!

In this episode of "As the Mash Tun Churns", the dramatic saga of Old Weller Antique continues......

Old Weller Antique get's a curious makeover......

Harlan shares a secret that causes a volatile reaction.......

The BT Brand Representative frantically tries to quash Harlan's contemptible comments......

Rumors abound Old Weller Antique may not live to see seven!

.....tune in next week for the continuing tale of "As the Mash Tun Churns"

Old Weller Antique is a much loved bourbon brand produced by Buffalo Trace.  I have a fondness for this brand....so much so that I and a group of like minded bourbon dorks buy the stuff by the barrel.  The first round of barrel picks we were fortunate to acquire were two 8 year old barrels.  The next run of three barrels 7.5 year and the last 2 barrel picks were also 7.5 years old. 

Our bourbon group is gearing up for another run in April with the expectation we would be picking 7 year plus barrels.  Well, that is not the case.  We've been offered 6 year old barrels and all for the same price.  I've blogged twice about OWA here and here. In summary, 2009 the age statement dropped from OWA.  I made some assumptions about the potential demise of this brand.  Fast forward to March of 2012 and Harlan Wheatley, the BT Master Distiller makes comments about the termination of OWA.  Now, this statement has been poo pooed by BT and others so you can make your own judgement.  But now, BT is saying no more 7 year old wheat bourbon in the Barrel Program.  Zilch.  There has also been comments about saving some of the 7 year stock for Weller 12 "...and other brands".  So, I guess one could come to the conclusion that the currently aging stock is for older expressions like Weller 12 or even Lot B.....and not OWA.  Hey, I'm just speculating....that's all.  But if that turns out to be the case, does that then mean OWA or maybe even Weller Special Reserve (WSR) go by the wayside to maintain stock of older expressions?  

Now, before someone reading this goes all freaky deaky and tells me that his buddy Cletis in Texarkana  just purchase an OWA barrel that was 9 years old let me clue the reader in on how the barrel program works.  BT allocates a certain number of barrels for their Barrel Program and when Group A wants to buy a barrel, they roll out a number of barrels for the tasting.  Group A picks the one they like and BT rolls those rejected barrels right back to the Program racks.  Group B comes in and very possibly, those barrels rejected by Group A end up on the tasting room floor......rinse and repeat for subsequent groups.  See how it works?  So Texarkana Cletis that just purchase that 9 year old barrel of OWA got a barrel that potentially was rejected numerous times by prior purchasers. 

Our process?  We specifically request first pick barrels.....no rejects.  We do the same thing with Four Roses.  Four Roses has a semi trailer behind the bottling house loaded with barrels for their Barrel Program.  We asked them not to pick from the trailer but only pick from the rickhouses to which they graciously submitted.  We have other criteria we submit for consideration to ensure we get great barrels and so far, it's worked great.

While the news was somewhat disappointing, it's an opportunity to try some younger OWA wheat mashbill and see how it stacks up against our previous picks....which will be used as reference during the tasting.  The only downside to the younger whiskey is the price stays the same.  So, in effect, we just got hit with a price increase.  Not surprising since BT has raised their prices on some of their product line (around 10% or so).  In the end, it's all about taste; not age or mashbill or label.  When we pick from Four Roses, we ask Jim Rutledge to roll out the barrels blind....we didn't want to know the mashbill recipe or age.  I think that approach is the most honest you can be when tasting bourbon.

So, just let me now make the point that this deviation in age affects the BT Barrel Program and may or may not have anything to do with the current OWA shelf offering.  I'll post my thoughts after the tasting in April but my hope is we find another stellar OWA barrel even at 6 years old.

Bourbon Influx - Winter 2012

Oops...I did it again.  This time though I didn't travel to KY.  A smaller contingent of our group traveled to KY in October to again pick barrels from Four Roses and Buffalo Trace.

Right around Christmas, all that bourbon flowed in at one time.  The timing could have been better...say, a month or two after the holidays.  Along with the fall barrel picks were three selections of Willett.  These bottles were actually from the Spring 2012 KY barrel picks but KBD took some time getting everything bottled up so they didn't actually make it into my bunker until December.

All these selections are single barrel.

Old Weller Antique 7.8 yrs 107 pf (#14) - Profile of fruit, cream with a mild dose of oak mixed in.  Virtually no heat with a flavor pop about mid palate and then a long soothing finish.  This selection is not as sweet as some of the OWA picks and has a noticeable oakiness producing a nicely balanced bourbon.

Old Weller Antique 7.8 yrs 107 pf (#15) - This one is sweet right up front then transitions to a baking spice profile accented with caramel and a mild presence of cinnamon red hots.  Finish is moderate with a sweetness still noticeable on the palate for a couple minutes after.

Four Roses (OBSF) 10.3 yrs 124.5 pf - Tons of flavor on this one with fudge right up front, very sweet (think brown sugar, cinnamon, butter), maple with a finish that includes some nice barrel notes.  This one is dynamite and quickly topping my list of favorite Four Roses.

Four Roses (OESQ) 8.6 yrs 119.6 pf - This one was described by one member as "buttered popcorn" which I think nails the unique flavor in this bourbon.  Not as sweet as the OBSF but it has a nice viscosity coating the mouth and palate make the finish long and lingering.  The nose on this isn't overly pronounced but first sip puts a smile on your face.  Delicious.

Willett 9 yr 125.4 pf -No heat on the nose and superb entry that's sweet and then transition to some nice barrel notes of dark chocolate, honey and vanilla.  The finish is outstanding leaving a nice zing on the touch as it slowly fades away.

Willett 9 yr 128.4 pf - Zap...this one has some forward spice right out of the gate.  This one is sweet also but more like fudge and toffee sweet, not spun sugar.  Candied fruit and nut appears mid palate as the initial spice and heat takes a back seat.  There's a nice oak undernote that plays all the way through the finish which is moderate to long.

Willett 8 yr 130.5 pf - Caramel, caramel, caramel! This wheat bourbon is a flavor bomb (which is why we picked it).  Very creamy entry, lots of rich caramel, dark brown sugar, some bitter chocolate and slight wood.  I could sip this all night long....a stunning wheater.  Finish is fantastic with just a slight amount of heat popping up toward the end.  Nice transition in this bourbon.

Already the gang is gearing up for April.  I have my flight booked and we're finalizing schedules with the distillery reps for another round of barrel picks.  This next round, we're adding a couple new labels, Elmer T. Lee and Jefferson Rye.  Hope to find some nice barrels with these two new additions.

Bourbon Influx – Spring 2012

Yup….I'm a little late posting the picks of the Spring 2012 barrel picks. Better late than never…..
These bottles rolled in early July and consisted of multiple picks from Four Rose and Buffalo Trace. In all the entire group purchased 13 barrels of bourbon….a rather silly amount of juice but this consisted of the group buy and those in our group that wanted to purchase their own barrel. For this posting, I'll focus on only those that I acquired myself as I didn't go in on any of the private purchases.

Back in June I posted a couple of blogs about the trip to KY here and here .

Old Weller Antique 7.4 years 107 proof (#8) - Loaded up with caramel, burnt brown sugar and cinnamon, this selection was quickly a top favorite. One member described this selection and "liquid candy" and I can't argue with that. This barrel and the following two were all distilled on the same day but the aging certainly took a different turn on each of these. The heat is non-existent and drink way too easy even at 107 proof. 

Old Weller Antique 7.4 year 107 proof (#9) – This one to me has an abundance of ripe fruit. The profile also exhibits spices, toasted nut and a creamy mouthfeel. It's a very intriguing and another one that is too easy to drink and very full of flavor. Another cracker pick.

Old Weller Antique 7.4 year 107 proof (#10) – I didn't get many bottles from this barrel which is my own fault and I'm sorry I didn't acquire more. This one has turned out to be another favorite. I think at first opening, the bourbon was somewhat tight but after getting a little air, it opened up very nicely exhibiting a wonderful array of flavors similar to #9 above but different in some aspects. The fruit isn't as dominant and is more in line with pear or apple, add in caramel, vanilla and buttercream. This bourbon is a bit drier than the previous two selections but that's not a negative in this case. One member commented that they thought it was very similar to Pappy 15. 

Four Roses (OESK) 11 year 124.5 proof – As I mentioned in my previous post about the Four Roses tasting, this barrel was extremely short and Jim Rutledge didn't think we would actually get any bottles from the barrel. Well, we ended up with 48. That was it. Unfortunately, this was the top pick for the group during the tasting. So, allocation went out by lottery. I managed two bottles. This one was described as a bourbon candy bar exhibiting a flavor profile of fruit, nut, caramel and vanilla. I would add in that the finish is long and lingering. Heat's totally in check….another drinkable bottle at barrel strength.

Four Rose (OBSF) 9.9 year 122.7 proof – This one was an interesting pick as I picked up a herbal/mint aroma on the nose with some moderate heat about mid palate. There a nice sweetness to this bourbon that's not overdone but a subtle mix of sweet, barrel char, stone fruit with a finish that's complex and deep. A very compelling bourbon and unlike the other two FR picks. Very tasty.

Four Rose (OESF) 9.9 year 122 proof – The "F" yeast is quickly becoming one of my favorite yeasts of the Four Roses mashbills. I find this to be another complex whiskey with a berry and chocolate profile. Long lingering wood notes and char (which gives the chocolate flavoring). This is a very satisfying bourbon and another great example from Four Roses. The fact that they have 10 mashbills really makes their bourbons so unique and appealing. 

I'm expecting two more barrels selections to show up and both from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers; a Willett 9 year barrel strength and an 8 year barrel strength. Hopefully not too much longer to wait.

Bourbon Influx #2

Just received partial shipment of the barrel picks from last April.  Four boxes arrived Saturday with three different selections of Old Weller Antique; all single barrel. The last OWA we picked had just turned 8 years old a day or two prior to the barrel dump.  This time around they were approx. 7 yr 4 months old.  One of them in particular reminds me of an older Pappy 15. 

The three Four Roses Single Barrels were different recipes; OBSF, OESK and OESF, picked in that order by the group of tasters.  The OESK selection was a very short barrel.  In fact, Jim Rutledge didn't think it would actually yield much of anything.  He was almost right...we managed to pull 48 bottles from the barrel. The "F" yeast recipes are terrific.  I've opened the OESF and it's got a big fruity profile.  

Have not received the selections from KBD and we're still working a possible selection from Heaven Hill that would be a barrel from the Parkers Heritage line of wheaters. 

I haven't opened and tasted everything yet but what I have opened is top shelf.  I'll post tasting notes later.