It's Alive! Pappy!

Pappy is alive! A local liquor store called me yesterday evening to inform me that they have......(drum roll please).......one bottle with my name on it. Yes, I'm thankful but really? One bottle? Ok, guess they have to make sure everyone on the list gets one. I dropped in last fall and asked to be put on the waiting list so kudos to the store for following through and giving me a call. Now if I can just get the same call from the 6 other stores that have my name.

There's another store that has a small allotment of Van Winkle Family Reserve 12 year (Lot B). This is another wheat bourbon expression but the price is silly; $47. I would like to add a couple bottles to the bunker but for that price, I'm getting slightly younger barrel strength offerings. Guess I'll be passing on those.

Oskar Blues Old Chub....good beer in a can

I've found a sweet spot in beers and it resides on Scottish Ales such as Founders Dirty Bastard, Bells Scotch Ale and Oskar Blues Old Chub.

From the OB website "This jaw-dropping Scottish strong ale (8% ABV) is brewed with bodacious amounts of malted barley and specialty grains, and a dash of beechwood-smoked malt. Old Chub features a skim-milk mouthfeel, semi-sweet flavors of cocoa and coffee, and a kiss of smoke. A head-turning treat for malt heads and folks who think they don’t dig dark beer."

To me the smoked malt comes through giving it a distinctive character. Color has a dark rudy color similar to a Porter. The flavor profile definitely coincides with the description from the website and includes bittersweet chocolate, dark roast coffee bean and a creamy caramel sweetness and no hops that I can detect. The mouthfeel is a little thin side but that's about the only negative. This is an outstanding Scottish Ale and it comes in a can no less. If you like malty beers leaning toward a dessert profile, check out Old Chub.

Green Spot comes home

My love of bourbon is no secret but I also love other whisk(e)y including Irish. I've slowly been collecting various offerings over the last year or so and find Irish whiskies to be very inviting to my palate. Last night my wonderful mother-in-law produced a bottle of Green Spot (in a canister no less) and placed it gingerly in my hands. Oh baby! I love this expression.

MIL traveled to Ireland last week and she made the mistake of asking "is there anything you want me to pick up for you?" Well, as a matter of fact....yes. Green Spot. For the first half of the week she looked high and low as they toured various towns and came up empty. Finally, after conversing with a bar manager she asked if he had ever heard of Green Spot. "Best Irish whiskey there is" was his response. He pointed her in the right direction to a local store where she found said bottle. The price was a whopping $67 which has been reimbursed but that's not all it will cost me. She had to walk in the pouring down rain a number of blocks to get the whisky. I know I'm not going to hear the end of it nor will re-payment for her wet adventure be quick and easy.

I'm ok with paybacks as she did me a solid and picked up the one bottle I wanted to add to the bunker (now I have two).

2011 release of Pappy Van Winkle

Chuck Cowdery's blog as well as other blogs are reporting on the imminent release of Pappy Van Winkle with the most coveted being the 15 year old. I won't belabor the point as others have already done their duty in reporting this. Look for it right after Thanksgiving and move fast as it won't sit on the shelves. I've got my name on multiple lists which I would encourage everyone do in the event you want to grab some PVW. Good luck.

A day at A. Smith Bowman Distillery

This past Saturday I traveled to Fredericksburg, VA with about a dozen other folks to meet up with Truman Cox, the new Master Distiller at A. Smith Bowman Distillery. The day started off with snow, and plenty of it. I've lived here in the Northern VA area for 26 years and don't ever remember snow in October and that's because maybe it hasn't. The last snowfall in October was 1979. I'm not a lover of snow so clearing my vehicle of about 2 inches of snow wasn't a good start. Thankfully the weather didn't temper the anticipation of the distillery visit as well as the planned barrel tasting.

We arrived shortly before 11:00 a.m. and were met outside by Truman. I'm not sure what a typical Master Distiller is supposed to look like but Truman reminded me more of my brother in law ready to sit down with a beer and watch the Sunday game or maybe grab his bow and spend an afternoon sitting in a tree stand. Truman was affable and polite at first but shortly he realized that our group were a bunch of wiseacres and quickly adjusted his posture to dishing it out which kept us laughing throughout the afternoon.

Sazerac purchased A. Smith Bowman late in 2003. At the time and up until about two months ago the Master Distiller was Joe Dangler who worked for Bowman for about 32 years. Back in 1927 Abram Bowman moved to Virginia and purchased about 4,000 acres in the area now known as Reston and started Sunset Hills Farm establishing a dairy and eventually added cattle where the beef and dairy were sold to the local community as well as the White House. After prohibition Bowman began distilling around 1935 and produced Virginia Gentleman. Reston, VA was the first planned community in the U.S. and as such zoning laws were rather strict so while the reasons for moving the operation to Fredericksburg in 1988 may be multiple, Truman indicated one of the reasons for the move was due to increasing real estate prices which my own speculation would include an increase in personal property taxes.

Sazerac is investing some serious capital into the distillery which interestingly enough, the land is still owed by the Bowman family. Upgrades and renovations are currently underway as the distillery buildings smell of fresh paint and fresh coats of sealer on being applied to the floors in some of the buildings. The bottling operation for the Bowman value bourbons has been moved out of the facility and is now operated out of the Barton-Maryland (formerly Majestic) plant. The visitor center will reside in one of the existing buildings and is currently going through construction.

For the most part, Truman was forthright and answered some aggressive questioning in an honest and open manner. When he couldn't answer the question directly, he made that known.

The tour finished up in the storage warehouse where pallets were stacked one on top of the other with barrels of bourbon stored upright. On the floor in the corner were five barrels of 14 year old bourbon ready for tasting. The particular group I associate with have purchased 15 barrels of bourbon in the last 2 1/2 years so this process was nothing new to us. It was new to Bowman as our group is the first to conduct an on-site pick of the new Bowman barrel selection program. We were thrilled that this tasting included a nicely aged selection. Truman popped the bung on the first barrel (like a pro, bung was out after two hits). He asked for volunteers for the second barrel to which I happily stepped forward and four strikes with the wooden mallet on the barrel next to the bung hole produced the expected result. Each barrel was tasted at proof and again at 100 proof. These barrels would be bottled as John J. Bowman which is labeled at 100 proof. My personal preference would be to take it at barrel proof but at this time (repeat, at this time), that's not an option. After tasting through the barrels, a selection was made and now we'll discuss as a group on how to go forward.

During the tour Truman brought out three Bowman products; Bowman Brothers Small Batch (replaces Virginia Gentleman "The Fox"), John J. Bowman a single barrel and Abraham Bowman barrel strength. John J. and Abraham were both very nice both of which I purchased in the makeshift gift shop. I'll provide reviews in a separate blog entry.

I would like to thank Truman publicly for being a gracious host and taking the time to have lunch with the group after the tour and tasting. In spite of the crappy weather, it was a great day touring the distillery, tasting some great whiskey and socializing with likeminded dorks.

Hey Jack....pay your fair share

Jack Daniels distillery, located in Lynchburg, TN has been pumping out whiskey goodness for more than a century. Jack Daniels, owed by Brown-Forman Corporation, pays approximately $1.5M in taxes which accounts for a full 1/3 of the Moore County tax base. They are also the largest employer in the county.

The local government sees Jack Daniels as a cash cow and now proposes an increase in taxes on Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey. The tax equates to a "pittance" 3.4 cents on each bottle of Jack. Well that pittance adds up to a whopping $4M a year in additional tax revenue as the distillery sells in excess of 100 million bottles a year.

Now, just to do some simple math, this additional revenue would actually add up to MORE than the current county budget to the tune of an extra $1M. A local concerned citizen stated (who of course is cheering on the increased taxes) that the county is "entitled" to more money because the distillery uses the small sleepy town image to sell it's product. Oh, and let's not forget that Jack Daniels attracts over a quarter million visitors to Moore County each year. In fact, the Jack Daniels website features local attractions and eatery's there in Lynchburg. I call that being a good neighbor.

Approximately 60% of the retail price on a bottle of Jack Daniels comes from taxes. Tommy Beam is none too happy about the proposed increase and has stated that the addition of $4-$5M in increased taxes is going to make it harder for them to compete, grow and take on additional staff.

Tommy Beam believes that the idea of taxing due to success is fundamentally unfair. "That's not free enterprise and that's not what this country was built on." he said. "I saw a quote the other day that said that a person used to look at a successful person and say now, what do I have to do to become like that? Whereas now, they might look at him and say, what can I do to get what they've got." What's next? #OccupyLynchburg?

Free Trade, Whiskey, George Washington and Iranian Buffoonery

Last week an annual event was held at Mount Vernon in Virginia; Spirit of Mount Vernon. This annual dinner sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council supports the George Washington Library.

After three years of languishing in the White House inbox, there were a number of free trade agreements set to be voted upon with one in particular of interest to the Spirits industry. The free trade agreement with South Korea included a lifting of a 20% tariff on Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. To the chagrin of some whiskey enthusiasts, the Pacific Rim has been a growing market for American whiskey. The attendees at the Spirit of Mount Vernon knew the vote for the free trade agreement was happening that evening and there was some anticipation passage was imminent. But then news came of a bizarre Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in Washington DC as well as attack the Saudi and Israeli Embassies. It was reported that the Senate was being briefed on this late breaking news which had the potential of delaying the vote.......groan goes the crowd.

Many of us already know that Japan consumes a great amount of American Whiskey as does many European countries. Spreading this golden wealth to the world can certainly have an impact to those of us here in the homeland looking for current and limited release labels. Is it a good thing that the world loves our product? Maybe, maybe not. Considering the economics of supply and demand let's hope the increased interest (and lower tariffs) don't make it harder to find the good stuff on our own turf. We've all seen label changes over the last number of years from lower proofs to dropping age statements (e.g. Old Weller Antique) and some labels disappearing altogether. Is it a crazy idea that increased international interest has affected these changes? Hmmm.....let me dig out my tin foil hat and think on that one.

The trade agreement with South Korea did pass later that evening and the Mount Vernon crowd cheered. Should we be cheering? I'm undecided.