WIN a signed copy of "Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey" by Fred Minnick

January 31, 2017 Eric Burke

Last night I attended a fun event at a local independent bookstore. Magers & Quinn Booksellers was hosting Fred Minnick for a presentation on his most recent book Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey. I'd already purchased my copy of the book obviously, but Fred is my friend and I like to see him every opportunity that I can.

During the presentation, Fred talked about the book, gave a brief history of bourbon and answered questions from the audience. It was a nice night. I met a couple of new friends during the event and chatted with a couple of old friends. And then, overcome with the desire to support both my friend and a local, independent bookstore, I purchased another copy of Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey. I had Fred sign the book because I thought it might be a nice thing to give away to a lucky reader. So that's what I'm doing.

You can enter the giveaway using the form below. There will be one winner chosen. All I’m asking in return is that you answer a simple question. The answer will help inform future blog posts. You can also get bonus entries through the form by following me on twitter or visiting the BourbonGuy Gifts facebook page (every view, like or share helps support the blog).

And Good Luck! You have until Tuesday, February* 7th to enter (you need to "log-in" so I can receive your email address to notify you if you win).

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BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

*Originally I forgot what month I was in. This bit of text originally said January and has been corrected to February. -Eric

What I Drink When I'm Not Drinking

January 24, 2017 Eric Burke

coffee beans in a coupe glass, herbal teas and cocktail bitters

It's my turn to be sick this week. Luckily I tend to write tasting notes well in advance of actually needing them for a blog post. But the fact that I haven't had any whiskey for a while gave me an idea for a post.

Relative to the general population, I drink a lot of whiskey. I don't think this is a shocking revelation. I've been pumping out two reviews a week for the last few years. Right there I have the makings of a habit that might make my doctor take a second look. And if you are connected to me on Untappd you'll have noticed that I tend to quite like whiskey's younger brother beer as well.

But contrary to the previous statements, I am not constantly drinking alcohol. By volume and frequency, most of the liquid refreshment that I consume has little to no alcohol in it at all.

I know. Shocking. Right?

So I thought tonight I might share with you the things that are in my glass most of the time. One thing you won't find on this list is soda. If I had written it back when I started drinking whiskey, it would have been the number one thing on the list. But I've noticed that as my fondness for whiskey has increased, my fondness for sodas has decreased along with it. Every couple months or so, I'll still grab a ginger ale. But for the most part, I can't do it anymore. Too sweet and too syrupy. I think that, for me, developing a palate that enjoys whiskey has had an impact on the other things I like as well.

COFFEE: If you see me before noon, there is a good chance that there will be coffee in my hand. Black, rich, and strong. And not just whatever from the gas station, either. Good coffee from good roasters. I prefer a medium roast, but not one that is bright and citrusy. If I had to give up all but one non-water drink, I'd keep coffee over everything.

HERBAL TEA: Yes, I know there is no tea in herbal tea. But it sounds better than "damp flowers and leaves soaked in hot water for a while." I have my own blend that I like to make myself from varieties you can find at almost any store. I like an equal mixture of chamomile, peppermint, and ginger.

WATER: Of course, I drink water just like everyone else. If I didn't, I'd be dead. I go through most of my life trying to avoid becoming dead so it would be silly to not drink water.

BITTERS & FIZZY WATER: This is what is in my glass most of the time. And what has lead to the virtual elimination of soda from my diet. I got a SodaStream a few years ago, and at first, I used it to make their dumb sodas. And then I gave up on it thinking it was a pile of plastic that did nothing for me. After a while I started using it to carbonate water for cocktails that needed it and gradually, I started leaving out the alcohol when I did that. These days I have an ever expanding collection of bitters, but I use one or two in cocktails. The rest get dispensed two or three shakes at a time into a big glass of carbonated water. It gives me the carbonation and some flavor like I used to get from soda, but without all the nasty sweetness (and calories). My favorite is just my homemade orange bitters. Nice and bitter, but with just a hint of orange. Though depending on the mood, I'll use aromatic (Angostura or similar), cranberry, lemon, peach, rhubarb, or Paychaud's instead.

So that's me. You might have noticed that with each of these there is a hint of the geek about me. That thing that I do with whiskey where I taste it and think about it is present in almost everything that I consume whether it is coffee or beer, tea or fizzy water. I tend to mix, blend or find others who have done a good job of it for me. It's just a part of what makes me who I am.

But what do you drink when you aren't drinking? Let me know in the comments. I'm genuinely curious.

What to try when you haven't tried much yet.

January 19, 2017 Eric Burke

It's not unusual for people to send me an email me with questions about how they can get started on their bourbon journey. Often, they've dabbled, but are looking to get more serious.

With Bourbon, there are a surprisingly significant number of flavor profiles on the shelf. It's weird. Almost all bourbon is made with the same three or four ingredients: corn, barley, and rye or wheat. And yet, the flavors produced range from floral and fruity to spicy and dry with an entire library of flavors in between.

I'd say that the quickest way to find out what you like is to try different things. But don't jump straight to the top shelf and only buy barrel-strength bourbons with age statements in the double digits. Don't get me wrong. These are probably very fine bourbons. But I wouldn't start there. First, they are expensive. And if the goal is to try as many as you can, it is helpful if you don't have to miss a mortgage payment to do so. Secondly, if you were to take a big swig of George T Stagg unknowingly, you are probably going to sputter and choke and possibly decide that bourbon is not for you.

So, what to do? Well since bourbon has so many flavor profiles, I think that the best idea is to run to the store or your local bar and try some of the delicious, yet affordable offerings out there that show off these distinct flavor profiles. And yes, I've compiled you a shopping list.

Maker's Mark

Due to being owned by one of the largest bourbon producers in the country, this red-headed darling is available at almost every liquor store and bar you'll come across. Made with wheat as its flavoring grain, Maker's Mark is a sweet and soft bourbon. It shows caramel, custard, fruit, and baking spice. It's inexpensive, ubiquitous, and very tasty. This is a great bourbon for trying to decide if you like sweeter bourbon flavors.

1792 Small Batch Bourbon

Produced by the Barton 1792 distillery in Bardstown, KY, this bourbon is a great example of a dry bourbon. Dry bourbon is a little different than dry wine, but it follows some of the same ideas. Namely, that sweetness is not the major flavor component. All bourbon is sweet, to an extent, but I find this bourbon brings a lot more peppery heat to the party. It feels like it evaporates in the back of your throat. This is a good one to see if you like drier bourbons and peppery spiciness.

Buffalo Trace

When speaking of bourbon, spice can mean two different things. It can mean spicy like the heat of a red pepper or it can mean spicy like the ground spices you put in cookies. In the case of Buffalo Trace, we are talking about the latter. Buffalo Trace bourbon leads with cinnamon and nutmeg flavors before adding in maple and custard flavors. Buffalo Trace is the perfect bourbon to see if you like bourbons that feature baking spice as their main flavor component.

Four Roses Small Batch

Most of the time, floral flavors are a by-product of the yeast used for fermentation. Along with carbon dioxide and ethanol, these little guys create flavor compounds that, if treated nicely, survive through distillation and maturation. Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a perfect example of a floral bourbon. Floral and fruity notes start at the nose, mix with sweetness and spice in the mouth and hang around into the finish. If you want to know if you like floral and fruity bourbons, try Four Roses Small Batch.

Wild Turkey 101

At six to eight years old, Wild Turkey 101 is a good example of what some extra time spent in the barrel can bring you. It is filled with the flavors of sweet caramel, ginger, and oak. Think you don't like the taste of oak? Remember that 100 percent of the color and more than 50 percent of the flavor of a bourbon come from the oak barrel it is stored in. Wild Turkey is a complex, yet inexpensive bourbon, and it is a good choice to see if you like oakier bourbons.

So there you have it. Five bourbons to get you on your way. After you identify what you like and what you don't like about each bourbon, then you can start expanding your horizons. And of course, it goes without saying that you should be taking notes along the way. After you've been at it for a while go back and revisit some of the ones you tried early on to see how your palate has changed. I think you'll be surprised to find out that you now like some of the ones you didn't previously or that you don't care for some of those you thought were favorites.

And here's the sales pitch. Are you looking for a journal to take your notes in? Well, at BourbonGuyGifts.com I offer hand produced bourbon tasting journals for a reasonable price. Of course, I offer many other hand-crafted items for sale as well.

Winter Citrus Hot Toddy

January 17, 2017 Eric Burke

My wife has been sick as a dog the past few weeks. At first, she was sick just like any other time, tired, headache, fever, etc. But then, after healing up for a bit, she felt great aside from a sore throat and nagging cough. I tried getting her to go to the doctor for most of a week, but she insisted that she was fine. Finally, after consulting people on the internet and asking for advice on if I was crazy or not, she relented and went to Urgent Care.

Strep. (I'm holding off on the "I Told You So's" until she feels better, or at least until she isn't contagious.)

Now, my wife is the person who asked her oncologist how soon after chemo she could have a whiskey, so you better believe that right after the strep diagnosis came back, she asked the same question. The doc told her that was fine. It wouldn't affect anything if she had whiskey.

Now while she had been refusing a doctor's care, she was more than happy to accept an old-timey sort of cure for a sore throat. A Hot Toddy. Warmth and honey for the throat and bourbon for the spirit. After a bit of trial and error while waiting for her to go to the doctor, I finally hit upon what I think was the best recipe of the week, and now I'm going to share it with you.

Winter Citrus Hot Toddy

1.5 Ounce of Bourbon (I used Wild Turkey 101)
1 Ounce of Fresh Mandarin Juice (Cuties, Halos, whatever brand your local grocer carries is fine, you'll probably need the juice of 2-3 fruits)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1 Tablespoon of Honey
6 shakes of Homemade Orange Bitters
1/4 - 1/2 Cup of Boiling Water

I mix everything else together before adding the water so that it stays nice and hot.

I originally tried this without the grapefruit juice, and it was way too sweet. Lots of honey and a sweet juice will do that sometimes. After futzing with all the variables for a bit, I decided that everything was fine, it just needed some more complexity. The addition of grapefruit was just the thing to make this something you didn't need to be sick to enjoy.

UPDATE: Because I run out of fruits, sometimes I need to experiment. I only have limes in the house right now and though bourbon and lime aren't the best of friends, rum and limes get along quite nicely. Tonight I found that if you do white rum in the measure above, use lime juice for all of the citrus juice and use 2-3 shakes angostura bitters you get a pleasant daquiri sort of hot toddy. And it is really quite tasty. The point is that this is a pretty flexible recipe and please experiment with it. Booze, citrus, honey and hot water are the necessary elements. Like a sour, just mix and match them until you get something tasty.

If You've Had... Bulleit Bourbon Edition

January 12, 2017 Eric Burke

My Goodness! I can't believe that it has been almost a year since I last did one of these! I love these posts. They are just the most fun to do the tastings for. And if you like them too, then I have good news: I've got two more for sure on the editorial calendar and another two that will depend on the availability of products. So without further ado, I present the fourth installment of the If You’ve Had… series.

In case you missed it last time, the setup is like this: "If you've had Whiskey A then Whiskey B is..." hotter, spicier, sweeter, more floral, etc. Each section is written as compared to one of the whiskeys. So if you've had that one, but not the others then that section will be of the most use to you. Remember there are no value judgments here. You get to decide based on what you know of Whiskey A if Whiskey B sounds like something you'd want to try.

Up tonight is the Bulleit Bourbon family. Bulleit Bourbon, Bulleit 10-Year-Old Bourbon, and Bulleit Barrel-Strength Bourbon.

If you’ve had Bulleit Bourbon then…

Bulleit 10 Year is: less floral and drier on the nose. The mouth has more complex flavor with more peppery heat, baking spice, and cocoa notes. The finish is longer with more baking spice.

Bulleit Barrel-Strength is: similar on the nose though more concentrated while showing more baking spice and oak. It shows more floral notes in the mouth and is hotter due to the higher alcohol content. The finish is longer, warmer and shows more floral and baking spice.

If you’ve had Bulleit 10 Year Old Bourbon then…

Bulleit Bourbon: shows more cinnamon candies and less cocoa on the nose. The mouth is much less floral with a finish that is slightly shorter and less spicy.

Bulleit Barrel-Strength is: sweeter and less floral on the nose but shows more cinnamon. The mouth is sweeter and hotter with less oak presence. The finish is longer and warmer.

If you’ve had Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon then…

Bulleit Bourbon is: similar on the nose, though it does show more black tea. The mouth is much less hot, with less spice but seems sweeter because of that. The finish is shorter.

Bulleit 10 Year is: Oakier on the nose. The mouth has less heat but more oak and cocoa notes. The finish is shorter, with less heat, but is more floral.

Bulleit 10 Year Old & a Rant About Agglomerated Cork

January 10, 2017 Eric Burke

In light of recent allegations made by the daughter of Tom Bulleit of his homophobia and mental and physical abuse toward her, I have made the decision that BourbonGuy.com can no longer endorse products bearing the Bulleit name. An update has been added to reflect this change in policy.

Do you know what I hate?

Agglomerated cork closures on whiskey bottles. Never heard of agglomerated cork? Neither had I until I looked up what the closures made of compressed cork granules were named. But now that I have a fancy name for them, I hate them even more.

What is agglomerated cork? Well, it's just what I listed above. It's a closure made out of real cork, except instead of being a solid piece of cork, it's created from the ground up bits that are left over from making a solid piece of cork. Think of it as the particle board of the cork world. It's a bunch of different pieces of cork glued back into a cork shape.

Now, from my research, there seem to be some really good reasons to use particle cork. It apparently keeps air out a little better than solid cork. And, lo and behold, it is also much cheaper than solid natural cork. Both of these are excellent things. One keeps the whiskey in the bottle in better shape, for a longer time-frame, and the other helps keep the price down.

So why do I hate them so much? Easy. Every broken cork I've ever had to fish out of a bottle of whiskey has been particle cork. For my money, if you have to use a low-cost option, go with a screw cap. I know. I know. It doesn't have the same aesthetics. (And as such it won't help you justify the higher cost you've put on that pretty bottle.) So if a screw cap is out of the question, maybe a synthetic cork? I've had them break as well, but normally it is the glued-on top separating from the closure, not the closure itself breaking in half.

In any case, particle cork is my least favorite closure. And yes, I am geeky enough to have both a favorite and a least favorite closure. But fortunately, as I look at my shelf, I see particle cork is the least well represented, used by only Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Wild Turkey Rye, a rum, and the three open bottles of various Bulleit expressions on my shelf. Which brings me to the bottle that set off this entire learning experience.

Bulleit 10-year-old Bourbon

Purchase Info: $42.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 45.6% ABV. Aged ten years.

Nose: Floral with cotton candy, caramel, and baking spices.

Mouth: The mouth follows the nose. Floral, caramel, baking spices, cocoa nibs, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering floral notes.

Thoughts: This is a tasty, though drier, version of Bulleit. It is very floral and tends toward bitter (in a cocoa nib sort of way). This reminds me of some of the blends I came up with while doing my Four Roses blending experiment a while back, which isn't terribly surprising since there is probably a still good proportion of Four Roses juice in here.

Is this worth twice as much as the regular release of Bulleit. That depends on how you feel about dry and bitter versus sweet bourbons. But personal preference aside, I have to say that in an era of increasing prices and disappearing age statements, it is nice to see a ten-year-old bourbon for under $50.

2019 update:

As stated above I have made the editorial decision that I can no longer endorse or recommend products from the Bulleit family of labels. This is an extension of the policy in my Statement of Ethics where I do not allow homophobic comments. In this case I’d rather not continue to help enrich a man alleged to have physically abused his own daughter over her sexuality. The review has been left intact for transparency’s sake.

Well hey there, bourbon-lover. I just wrote a great big thing about cork yet; I have nothing made from cork for sale over at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Is this some sort of mistake? Did my marketing team miss the boat? No. It just goes to show that I am not driven by advertising. Even when I'm advertising for myself. And that I have no marketing team. Anyway, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com you can head on over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and buy something. It's a great way to make sure I can pay all my bills.

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

January 5, 2017 Eric Burke

I visit Kentucky, on average, a couple of times a year. Often it isn't the destination, but I find a way to make most of my Eastbound road trips route through it. I'd try to route the other road trips through there as well, but I haven't figured out how to frame the argument that Kentucky really is on the way to Colorado from Minnesota.

Every time I visit Kentucky, I'm struck by the same thought: "How broke would I be if I lived here?" I mean there are bourbon events, bourbon bars, even bourbons that are only available there. If I had all of that around me all the time...

Well, I'd probably still be a hermit. But I do think that my budget for the occasional special bottle or dram would strain a little harder than it does in Minnesota. What, with all the temptation and all.

I think about things like this, like moving to a warmer climate, a lot at this time of year. Don't get me wrong, all things considered, I like Minnesota. But I hate winter. I mean I really hate it. And when the temperature dips, not just below freezing, but into the sub-zero range it gets a bit rough. (That's somewhere around -20 C for those of you who use that other measuring system). Today I had to bundle into boots, hat, heavy coat and gloves just to get the mail.

That got me to thinking about one of the Kentucky-only bottles that I'd picked up on my last trip south and I decided it was time to take another look at it.

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

Purchase info: $48.99 for a 750mL bottle. The Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 59.6% ABV. Non-age stated.

Nose: Rich with ripe cherries, cocoa nibs, herbal mint, and oak.

Mouth: Peppery heat with caramel/vanilla, oak, JuicyFruit gum, cloves, mint, and anise.

Finish: Long and lingering with fruit, mint, cinnamon, and anise.

Thoughts: This is hands down the best whiskey in the Bulleit family. The more concentrated flavors from the higher proof really shine in the glass. Toss in a price in the $40-50 range and this is a real winner. I can't recommend this enough.

2019 update:

Kentucky Gentleman, or "Don't Get Distracted at the Liquor Store"

January 3, 2017 Eric Burke

Sometimes I go into a liquor store, and I know exactly what I want. Other times, I know roughly how much I want to spend. When I visited the Party Source with a fellow blogger back in September, neither of these were true.

I was in Kentucky to stock up for a few months of blog posts, see some friends and drink some bourbon. And when we made plans to visit the Party Source, I knew I would probably be picking up a few things that I had on the list to bring home. I figured this would be a good time to get some of the non-limited, everyday items out of the way. What I didn't expect to do was get so carried away with tossing things into the cart that I didn't bother to read the labels...either that or I was too busy chatting and wasn't paying close attention. In any case, I found myself with two miniature bottles of Kentucky Gentleman in my cart.

Now if you know what Kentucky Gentleman is, you are probably wondering what could have caused me to pick that up? To you I will say, please see above. If you don't know what Kentucky Gentleman is, be assured you are not alone. I knew it was a cheap whiskey brand and I knew that it probably wasn't worth buying a full bottle of.

It turns out that Kentucky Gentleman is not a bourbon. It is: "A Blend of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Spirits from the Finest Grains." In other words, it's bourbon mixed with neutral grain spirits (NGS or as it is more commonly known unfiltered vodka). It's an American-style Blended Whiskey made from 51% three-year-old bourbon and 49% NGS. And to be honest, it's the first one I've reviewed and possibly the first one I've had since I got serious about whiskey.

So...yay? There's learning to be done here.

Kentucky Gentleman

Purchase info: $0.99 for a 50 mL at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 51% three-year-old bourbon and 49% neutral grain spirits.

Nose: Delicate with light mint and faint baking spices.

Mouth: Flat in the mouth with faint mint and baking spices.

Finish: Short and unbalanced. Medicinal vodka and whiskey notes fight for prominence (and the loser is my mouth).

Thoughts: So...this is not the worst whiskey I've ever reviewed. That honor still goes to the Hayes Parker Reserve. But this is really close to the worst I've reviewed. To be fair, I'm tasting this neat in a Glencairn, which is just the opposite of what it was intended for, which brings me to my major problem with this whiskey.

I'm just not sure what it actually is intended for.

I know that this style of whiskey has long historical roots. I know that it was a way to stretch supplies after prohibition. I know that Seagram's built their business on it. And I know that maybe 40 years ago, people may have hoped it would compete favorably with vodka.

But today, why does anyone buy this stuff? If I want ok whiskey, I have plenty of ok whiskey to buy, much of it sold at the same price point. If I want vodka, same thing. Hell, if I want something that has just a little more flavor than vodka to put a spin on a vodka cocktail, I can buy plenty of new make spirits.

I'm sure that this fills a hole for someone, but I think I've learned that there isn't a hole in my life that an American-style Blended Whiskey can fill.

Are you one of those people that get money for Christmas? If so, how would you like to get yourself something nice and support BourbonGuy.com at the same time? Head on over to BourbonGuyGifts.com to check out some of the fun hand-made items that I create and sell.

Blog

Maker's Mark

1792 Small Batch Bourbon

Buffalo Trace

Four Roses Small Batch

Wild Turkey 101

Winter Citrus Hot Toddy

If you’ve had Bulleit Bourbon then…

If you’ve had Bulleit 10 Year Old Bourbon then…

If you’ve had Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon then…

Do you know what I hate?

Bulleit 10-year-old Bourbon

2019 update:

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

2019 update:

Kentucky Gentleman