Five Four Roses Single Barrels: The OBs

It’s really no secret that I love Four Roses Bourbon. They initially grabbed my attention when their social media person sent a note of encouragement to my wife on her first session of chemo a few years back. It meant a lot to her and we’ve had a soft spot in our hearts for the brand ever since. The fact that they also make kick-ass whiskey doesn’t hurt either. 

Ever since we first learned about the ten Four Roses recipes, my wife and I have wanted to sit down and try them all to see how they were different from one another. Well, after thinking about it for a few years, this year we decided it would be a good idea to buy a single barrel of each recipe. For Christmas. I bought her the five OBs and she got me the five OEs.

As you can tell, deep down, we are romantics. 

Last Saturday we finally started our project. We tasted our way through my wife’s Christmas present, spending a really nice afternoon tasting the five different OB bourbons. The results are below.

OBSK

Age: 12 years, 6 months

Label details: 60.9% ABV, Warehouse VE, Barrel 5-5D

Purchased at: Four Roses Cox’s Creek Gift Shop

Nose: Alcohol, first and formost. But under it, is a sweet caramel cookie.

Mouth: Sweet spiciness. Think warm cinnamon candy and brown sugar.

Finish: Sweet and spicy, with a surprising bit of fruitiness

Thoughts: This is all about sweet spiciness. But there are enough hints of other things to keep you interested. Things like that surprise fruitiness in the finish.

OBSQ

Age: 11 years, 4 months

Label details: 56.0% ABV, Warehouse BN, Barrel 22-2H

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Caramel, cinnamon red hots, and a floral waxiness

Mouth: Floral with a hint of mint or menthol. This is spicy enough that a lovely tingle runs down your tongue as it moves back in the mouth.

Finish: Christmas cookie, menthol, hot though not burning.

Thoughts: Distinctive doesn’t begin to cover this. This is different than any bourbon I’ve had.

OBSV

Age: 10 years, 1 month

Label details: 55.1% ABV, Warehouse ME, Barrel 2-1F

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Brown sugar, honey, vanilla, baking spices

Mouth: Creamy, fruity, and sweet vanilla/caramel

Finish: Sharp with a hint of bitterness. Mouth drying

Thoughts: I get why this recipe might be used as the “regular” release of single barrel, it is the most generic bourbon flavor of the batch. A tasty, tasty, generic.

OBSF

Age: 8 years, 1 month

Label details: 52.3% ABV, Warehouse HW, Barrel 29-4E

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Bubble gum, oak, ginger

Mouth: Mint on the tip of the tongue, a sharp ginger spiciness, salty

Finish: Sharp, puckers the mouth with a warmth that settles in your chest.

Thoughts: Not sure if I cared for this one. It’s sharp and spicy. Maybe too sharp.

OBSO

Age: 10 years, 3 months

Label details: 54.9% ABV, Warehouse BN, Barrel 4-1M

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Menthol, brown sugar, and baking spices

Mouth: warm, with nice body. Spiced cirtus punch.

Finish: cooling mint remains in the mouth while a nice warmth settles in your chest

Thoughts: This is exactly what I imagine when I imagine four Roses.

There were none of these I disliked. In fact, I was prepared to say that I was a big fan of all of them until I had the OBSF. That one I will need to spend a little more time with. Luckily, there is enough left in each bottle that we’ll be able to spend some time with all of them yet. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go celebrate Christmas again.

Double Blind Review: Evan Williams Bottled in Bond vs Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond

It’s sometimes hard for those who only casually know me to believe that I am a frugal person. They’ll point to the fact that I have over 50 different whiskies (just in my office closet, unopened, that I paid for), as evidence of the fact that I am, in fact, the very opposite of a frugal person. 

But truth be told, I do not like wasting money. I don’t mind spending money, if the object is worthwhile or the price is obscenely discounted. But spending money without doing your research is just foolish. You may get lucky, but more often than not money will be wasted. 

Researching value. When it comes to bourbon, it often means looking below the top shelf. It can mean finding a liter of 100 proof bourbon for less than $20. But can it mean finding one for less than $15? 

I recently bought two very similar bourbons, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond. Both are produced by Heaven Hill. Both are 100 proof, bottled in bond. Heck, they are both even packaged in the same style glass bottle. The only differences from the outside are the name on the label and the fact that one costs 50% more than the other. 

To avoid price influence, we tasted these in a double blind format. I poured into glasses 1 and 2 and my wife moved them to spots A and B. I knew what bourbon was which number and my wife knew which number coresponded to which letter, but neither of us knew which bourbon coresponded to which letter. Then we sat down for a nice Sunday afternoon tasting.

Bourbon A:

Nose: Shoe leather, corn, dusty oak and a hint of caramel

Taste: Caramel corn and candied ginger

Finish: Long and sweet with a bit of charred oak

like.gif

Thoughts: Does it knock my socks off? No. But no matter which one this is, for under $20 per liter there is no reason to not always have this on your shelf. I like this one.

Bourbon B:

Nose: Dried corn, mint, dried grass or hay

Taste: Hot. Hot and harsh. Cinnamon red hots candy and dried corn

Finish: Long. More cinnamon candy which fades to a sour corn flavor.

meh.gif

Thoughts: This is really hot. Cinnamon candy is predominant with a lot of grain flavors supporting it. Kinda meh here.

Bourbon A was my favorite and after the reveal, I learned that it was the Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. In this case, price really does make a difference. Though I was kind of hoping that the lower priced underdog would somehow pull it out, and that the extra 50% higehr price was just spent on all the marketing that the Evan Williams brand receives, I wasn’t really surprised. It does make it a little more palatable to know that that 50% works out to just around six bucks. 

For me, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond beat Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond hands down.

A Review of Two Different Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, 2003

There are a ton of bourbon brands on the market. But as we know, unless you are dealing with a craft distiller (that actually distills their own product) almost all of those brands are created by just a handful of distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana. Most of them with just a couple of mashbills or recipes each. 

So how is it that they all end up tasting so different? How does Knob Creek taste so much different than Jim Beam Black? How is it that Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is easy drinking and Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond is so hot? One answer? Barrel selection. Sometimes a barrel tastes like Henry McKenna and sometimes it’s Evan Williams. 

Bourbon is a natural product. It’s affected by it’s environment. Where was the warehouse it was aged in? What side was it on? North? South? Was it high up in the warehouse where the temperature swings are greater? Did we have a spell of really hot summers or really cold winters? The list can, and does, go on and on. 

But these are big brands. Your average consumer doesn’t want to know that the Evan Williams comes from this barrel or that. They just want to know that it tastes like the last bottle of Evan Williams that they bought. Because they like it. Thank goodness for what Four Roses calls “mingling.” You see if you want the next batch of bourbon to taste as much like that last one as possible, you just dump in enough barrels until it all averages out and pretty much does.

But what if you want something just a little different than last time? Or what if you are just curious what different barrels taste like, one to the next? Well, then you pick up a single barrel product. If you want to make it more interesting, pick up two. Preferably from different barrels. Because a single barrel bourbon is just what it says: the product of one barrel. Theoretically, they all taste slightly different. 

I’ve bought a lot of single barrel products in the past. But until now, I’ve never had two of the same open at the same time. Last Saturday I was having lunch and doing a sample swap with a friend, DP. He’d done a review of the Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2003 over at his blog, Whiskey Detectives, and didn’t care for it. I mentioned that I normally like those, so he was nice enough to throw the rest of the bottle into the swap. So that left me with two open bottles of this bourbon from two different barrels. What is a guy to do, but to taste them side by side to see just how different they are?

I’m reviewing barrel number 16 (barreled on 9-8-03 and bottled on 12-12-12) and barrel number 642 (barreled on 2-11-03 and bottled on 7-30-13).

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2003

Nose: 

642: This starts floral, but after a bit of time in the glass it transitions to a strong cherry and chocolate scent, like the cheap chocolate covered cherry cordials you find at christmas.

16: This starts remarkably similar to the other bottle. After a bit of time though this is still very floral with only hints of the chocolate and cherries of 642.

Mouth: 

642: Sharp and vegetal at first. After a bit it settles down though and brings out more of a traditional sweet vanilla/caramel/spice bourbon flavor. 

16: This also starts vegetal, but somewhere along the way, it turns itself into a florist’s shop. It’s almost perfume-like. 

Finish:

642: Decent length heat that fades to a nice bitterness

16: Still floral. Still perfumey. Not as hot as 642.

meh.gif

Thoughts: In my opinion, neither of these are as good as I remember previous releases to be. They both hit me with a sharpness I didn’t expect and that I found it hard to get past. Barrel 16, which I bought as a birthday present to myself was like drinking perfume. I just couldn’t get behind it. Barrel 642 from my friend DP was better. It was sweeter and had a nicer finish. All that said, if you handed me one without the other, they are similar enough that I wouldn’t know which you had handed me. And in my opinion, that’s not a good thing. I wanted to like these. I thought I would, but I don’t.

Battle of the Bigs: Head-to-head Review of Jim Beam and Jack Daniels

Today the internets are all abuzz with the news that Beam, Inc of Deerfield, IL was purchased by the Japanese company Suntory. On twitter there is shock, on Facebook there’s anger, racial slurs and xenophobia in general. Everyone has an opinion. Me? My thoughts on the matter are really boring. I’m generally apathetic as to which multinational conglomerate owns the distillery where the whiskey I’m drinking is produced. Or where they call home. Or where their stock is traded. I know bourbon jobs have to stay in the US, so ultimately I don’t really care.

But in the spirit of the news of one of America’s own moving to Japan (not really) I decided to do a head-to-head that I’d been thinking of for a while. Japan’s Jim Beam (not really) versus the local boy Jack Daniels. 

I’d been thinking of this, not because either of these end up on my shelf at home very often, but because I travel a lot. And when I’m sitting in a hotel bar somewhere, I’ll as likely as not be faced with the choice between these two with maybe a Maker’s thrown in for good measure. When faced with this prospect, I’ve often made a run to the local liquor store to try to pick up a replacement or gone without. But maybe, just maybe there is something that I am missing. I mean these are the two biggest bourbons* in the world, there has to be something to them.

Right?

Jim Beam (White Label)

Nose: Initially it’s just like standing in the Jim Beam warehouse that they let you go in while visiting the distillery. Oak, alcohol and dust. After a bit of teasing, there is some wet rock, a floral note and a bit of crisp sour apple. 

Mouth: Thin. Watered down tasting. Past that: corn, a little vanilla, pencil shavings and more sourness. 

Finish: Gentle is the only word for this. Lingering Corn. 

dislike2.gif

Thoughts: I’m not a fan of this one. The thin mouthfeel and sour flavor are off-putting to me. That said, I’ve had decent cocktails made with this so it has it’s place. It’s just not in my glass. Maybe it’s in yours?

Jack Daniels Old No. 7

Nose: The nose on this one is really quite nice. Cherry, vanilla, a hint of chocolate. It reminds me of the chocolate covered cherry cordials you can buy at Christmas.

Mouth: Dusty, dried corn and some vanilla

Finish: A gentle burn with more corn and a lingering dusty bitterness.

Thoughts: Disappointing. The palate does not live up to the nose. But unlike Jim Beam, I can see why it’s popular. This is gentle and sweet enough to appeal to the new or non-whiskey drinker. And since many people never move beyond the first thing they fall in love with, I can see it. Will it have a permanent home on my shelf? No. But that’s not because it’s bad, it’s just meh.

Overall: If forced to choose between Jack and Jim neat, I’d go Jack. But that said, I doubt I’ll ever be buying either of them for that reason (bars almost always have one halfway decent beer on tap). And as with all whiskey reviews, your milage may vary. Try it yourself. Maybe you’ll love them. 

 

*Jack Daniel’s Sour Mash Tennessee Whiskey meets all the legal requirements of bourbon and could be called bourbon if they chose to. So for the sake of stirring the pot, for this post, I choose to call it bourbon. Because sometimes I like to see people who care way too much get upset.

Four Roses Single Barrel Head-to-Head Review: Gift Shop Edition

I’ve been meaning to write this post for just about a year. I tried when I first got back from Kentucky last year. It was a blind head-to-head. Imagine that, two different four Roses Gift Shop releases. One 13 years old, the other 17. What could be a better set-up? Well that was a question that needed to remain unanswered. You see, I accidentally started with the 125 proof one. I burned out my taste buds before I could even try it with water. 

I was sad.

So I put it off. And off. And off. Until I realized that I had very little left in the bottles. They’d become candidates for “removal.”

Removal is what I call the process of drinking only one bottle until it is gone in order to free up shelf space for the next bottle. It usually occurs when there is about 1/4 left in the bottle. It’s a policy that helps me to get over my urge to hang on to the “special” ones for longer than I should. And it’s a policy I desperately need. I secretly think that I might have a little hoarder in me. 

Actually, there’s a pile of little hoarders in me. They’re over there, behind the spleen. What? I might need them someday!

Anyway, the two gift shop releases of Four Roses had reached the point where they have been tagged for “removal.” I’d had the samples poured in my library for a while now, all I needed was that blog post and I’d be free to concentrate on finishing off those two bottles. 

The reason for the post has changed over the last year. Initially, it was a bit of a brag. Look what I have: it’s a 17 year old Four Roses…blah. It’s a good thing I never wrote that post. I would have been a dick. Now it’s a reminder. A reminder, that if you end up in Kentucky, to stop into the distillery and pick up a bottle of something so good, they decided to keep it for themselves.

So let’s get to the tasting. First the older/lower proof one (see I learned from last time).

Four Roses Single Barrel Gift Shop Release 17 year

Specs: OBSV. 17 years 5 months. 54.8% ABV. Warehouse QS. Barrel no: 73-3W. Selected as one of four barrels to commemorate the opening of their new visitor center.

Nose: Maple syrup, licorice, old wood that’s gone punky

Taste: whoo, that’s sharp. JuicyFruit gum, and baking spices. adding water amplifies the sweetness and the spices.

Finish: There’s just a wisp of a burn here, but it dries the mouth nicely. Adding water devastates the finish making it dangerously quaffable. 

Four Roses Single Barrel Gift Shop Release 13 year

Specs: OBSK. Barreled November 1998 (bought September 2012). 62.6% ABV. Warehouse NS. Barrel No: 16-4A.

Nose: This reminds me of a warm cookie. Sweet vanilla and allspice. Hints of barrel char.

Taste: Caramel/Vanilla sweetness balanced by cinnamon red hot candies. Sweet. Spicy. Wonderful.

Finish: warm, but doesn’t burn. there’s some wood left over. 

love.gif

Thoughts: It’s no secret that I love Four Roses. And I think they hit both of these right out of the park. Both of these are fantastic whiskies and I would be happy to have either or both on my shelf. I’ll be sad to see both of these go. If pressed my wife and I each would choose a different favorite. I loved the 13 year. I’ve reached for this over and over during the last year. In previous drams, I’ve found lovely fruitiness that I just couldn’t find this time. I typically drink it with an ice cube though so that would affect it. My wife prefers the 17 year. Which is no surprise, she loves old woody bourbons. And this trends that direction.

In short: if you find yourself within an hour of Lawrenceburg, KY, stop in. Get a gift shop release. It won’t be either of these, but it will almost certainly be fantastic.

Paired Reviews: New Holland Beer Barrel Bourbon and Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout

Holy Crap! I hate canker sores! They hurt when you talk, when you smile and, yes, when you drink bourbon. I've been living with them for two weeks now. It's been two weeks with no bourbon to speak of. And with no bourbon in my life for the last two weeks, you might imagine that I'd be sad. That there would be tears and despair. 

You'd might imagine that, but you'd be wrong. You'd be wrong because while you can't have bourbon with a mouth sore, you can have beer. And on most nights beer is a nice consolation for no bourbon. 

So what, you might be asking, does any of that have to do with a bourbon blog? A couple years ago, I was made aware of an amazing phenomenon happening in the world of beer. Namely the aging of beer in used bourbon barrels. I've had a few of these. Stouts, IPAs and others, but one of my favorites was one I didn't realize was barrel aged, the first time I had it. I had asked for a good beer (surprise me) at a local burger place known for their beer selection and what was brought to me was Dragon's Milk from New Holland brewery. I loved it from the first sip, but knew nothing about it. It wasn't until much later that I learned it was barrel aged.

Imagine my delight when I learned that New Holland was releasing a bourbon that had been finished in Dragon's Milk barrels. That's right, they were releasing a bourbon barrel aged beer barrel aged bourbon. The very concept is hard to keep straight. 

But the real question is how does it taste? And does it live up to it's amazing sibling? Let's find out.

New Holland Beer Barrel Bourbon

Nose: Initially a lot of alcohol. After sitting a bit it settles into maple syrup and a hint of oak.

Taste: First sip is nutty and malty. Reminds me of Grape-Nuts cereal. Beyond that, the bourbon is soft and creamy with some oak and some tannins. 

Finish: This was odd. You swollow and your mouth tingles. Nothing strange so far. But then after a few seconds a burn comes up from your stomach and settles over your heart. Not painful, just warm. At that point the tingle has faded and there is a lingering sweetness in the mouth.

So how does it compare to the beer? I don't do a lot of beer tasting notes, but here goes nothing...

New Holland Dragon's Milk Boubon Barrel Stout

Nose: Straight up corn flakes

Taste: Nutty and malty Grape-Nut flavor with some fruitiness tossed in for good measure.

Finish: Lingering malty sweetness

Overall: I love this beer. It is sweet without being cloying. It's interesting but also downright tasty. I would drink the heck out of this (and also have). The bourbon is interesting. There is certainly a resemblance between the two. That nutty-malty Grape-Nut flavor is present in both. If you love the beer, you owe it to yourself to try the bourbon. With it's creamy nuttiness, it makes a nice-change-of-pace bourbon. That said, if you are not a fan of this beer, do not buy this bourbon. I happen to love the beer and as such, I like the bourbon.

like.gif

Like the Bourbon.

 

 

love.gif

Love the Beer.

The story of a falling out, a relationship rekindled and a review: Bulleit Bourbon

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.

Can you believe that Bourbon Heritage Month is almost over? Tomorrow marks the closing ceremonies and if you are like me, you'll be marking the occasion solemnly, with a bit of time for quiet reflection on bourbons come and bourbons gone...

Oh who am I kidding? While bourbon lends itself to the quiet contemplation quite nicely, the last hurrah of a month of bourbon should be celebrated. You should raise a glass and let people know that while the official celebration is damn near over, you keep bourbon in your heart all year long. 

To such an end, I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. This friend has been with me for most of my bourbon journey. He comes from good stock, though he's a bit shy of telling you exactly where he's from. He's got a reputation for hanging out with musicians, cowboys, and other rough and rowdy types. But he's nice to have around in a pinch and very seldom lets you down. 

Bulleit Bourbon was my first "favorite bourbon," as it is for many people just getting into bourbon. I think that's partly because it is just expensive enough at around $30 to let you feel that you might be drinking the "good stuff" and put together well enough to not make you regret spending the money. 

Yes, it was my first favorite. But, until recently I hadn't purchased a bottle for a couple years. What happened? Well, like any first love, we grew apart. I was looking for the next big thing. More expensive. Harder to find. Limited. Rare. Better, right? You know the drill. I was always out looking for a taste of the strange. Add in the fact that, at the time I finished that last bottle, I hadn't quite come to terms with drinking bourbon without a large chunk of ice and my relationship with Bulleit was doomed. It was everything that the "good" bourbons weren't. It was inexpensive (by comparison). It was readily available. It wasn't "rare" or "limited." And on top of it all, it didn't do well with that large chunk of ice I used to add to every glass. It fell apart into a watery mess. 

So I left it behind. I moved on. I still had a soft spot for it, I mean, who doesn't for their first love. But, no, I barely acknowledged its presence when I'd see it sitting there on the shelf. And did I feel guilty about that? Heck no. I was better than it and we both knew it.

But then a funny thing happened. The next big thing lost its luster. I lost the sense of satisfaction from the hunt. Expensive just seemed...expensive. I just wanted something that wouldn't break the bank. And that I wouldn't feel bad about emptying. And I started to think about the bourbons that I used to love back when everything was new and fun. And I turned back to my first favorite. At the beginning of the month, on my birthday, I bought myself a bottle of Bulleit to see if it was as good as I remembered or as bad as I remembered.

Let's see how it did.

Bulleit Bourbon

Nose: JuicyFruit gum, citrus, sawdust and a tiny bit of smoke.

Mouth: Smoke, sawdust, vanilla, honey and rye spice. This is a hot one.

Finish: The heat continues in a hot finish that settles right over the heart and stays there for a while. Good length to the finish. It's got a good bit of bitter tannins that dry the mouth after you swallow.

like.gif

Thoughts: It turns out it was as good as I remember. I really like this. It's a touch hot so it will benefit from the addition of a little water or a very small cube of ice. But be careful. Add too much and it will fall apart and be too thin and watery. The conventional wisdom is that this is made by Four Roses for Diagio and I'd believe that as I found the JuicyFruit gum on the nose that I often associate with Four Roses. And for the price, this is just a damn fine bourbon that you should be happy to have on the shelf and not be too sad when you finish. I mean, there is another bottle waiting for you right where you got that one from.

And that's a good thing.

UPDATE:

So, right after I finished posting this, I pick up the news to find the following (brought to us by WhiskyCast): Decision Time for Diageo On Sitzel-Weller.

From what I understand, this shouldn't affect the ubiquity of Bulleit for a while, if ever. I've read that Diageo ages the bourbon themselves so if Four Roses quits supplying unaged juice in six months there should still be Four Roses produced Bulleit aging for a few more years. The remaining stocks might be mixed with other non-four Roses produced bourbon as they get a new supplier or start producing themselves. In such a possibility, the taste would gradually change over time, but that's part of the fun of bourbon. As much as people try to claim that nothing ever changes, over time it always does.

It does mean that there will be a sample or two of my current bottle put into the library of samples I keep so that I can revisit it in a few years as a comparison.

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.

Whiskey Review: Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon (Barrel 114)

Way back in May of 2012, I decided to go on a road trip to Iowa. I'd heard of this little winery near Cedar Rapids that had expanded into bourbon. Being the type of guy who is willing to take almost any excuse to jump in the car and taste bourbon, it was only a matter of finding the right time. For whatever reason May 12th was that time. how do I know? Well, I happened to tweet about it. I remember it as a fun trip. Up at five am and there by noon.

Saturday, May 12, 2012 5:22 am: "Up early to drive to Iowa. The plan is to visit @CedarRidge4 Distillery and Winery today. Should be fun."

Saturday, May 12, 2012 7:48 am: "Can't wait to get there... driving through Iowa is sooo boring."

(With as much as I enjoy it's alcoholic progeny, I get a little impatient driving through endless corn fields.)  

Saturday, May 12, 2012 10:58 am: "If everyone in Iowa is this nice, I feel sorry for them. I've never been treated more rudely. I hope this day gets better."

(Remember, when a truck crowds the line, it's best to not park in the middle of your spot, even if you have a tiny car...this guy wanted to fight.)

Saturday, May 12, 2012 11:45 am: "So far @CedarRidge4 has redeemed this Iowa trip for me. Knowledgeable tour guide. Very nice folks at the tasting bar. And good whiskies."

But there was redemption (and whiskey) at the end of the drive so all was well. I took the tour. It wasn't long, but the young guy who gave it was immensely knowlegeable about the product that was being made. We saw the mashing, the fermentation, the stills. Then we turned around and saw the aging product. 

I said it was small.

I listened as he answered questions about the barrels, what each piece of equipment did, the water—reverse osmosis filtered for parts of the process, distilled pure for others—in case you were curious,  etc. Then the tour was over and we headed to the tasting bar.

This is a beautiful place. You know how winery's are almost always beautiful places where you could imagine people getting married? Yeah, this is one of those. The tasting bar was the type of place where the people are amazingly nice and everything tastes just a little bit better. Because of that, and because I had just driven four hours to get there, I picked up a bottle. 

Then I beer tasted my way around Iowa, stopping at a nearby brewery for a sample. Then to Des Moines to have supper and a sampler flight. Then to Ames for my hotel. All in all it was a fun trip. 

On Monday of that same week, I cracked open the bottle of Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon. 

Monday, May 14, 2012 8:25 pm: "Drinking my 1st glass of @CedarRidge4 bourbon. Initial thought: reminds me a lot of Big Red Gum. Looking forward to more exploration."

It was ok, but not as good as I remembered sitting in the tasting room. 

Damn that lovely ambiance. 

And it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. Every once in a while I pour another glass, I see if it's still as I remember it, then I put it back hoping to find a use for it. I used it for making a pork marinade yesterday, it paired really nicely with a lovely chenin blanc (I took a sip before mixing in the other ingredients). And tonight, I decided that I finally needed to review it.

Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon

Specs: Barrel Number 114, Bottle 298

Nose: Grains with a hint of sweetness. A deeply pervading, though well incorporated, ethanol scent in every sniff, even after a while in the glass.

Mouth: Silky texture with a delicate flavor of dried corn.

Finish: Bitter tannins, very drying in the back of the throat, fading to the same aftertaste as the Big Red gum I chewed when I was a kid.

dislike.gif

Overall: I'm not a fan of this bourbon. It misses almost all the notes I look for in a bourbon. It has almost no vanilla or caramel and very little spice. It does showcase the corn very well. And maybe being from the middle of corn country, that's the point.

I'd pass on this one, but your milage may vary. It does look to be a single barrel after all. So give it a shot, and if you're in Eastern Iowa, I recommend a visit. It's a lovely place and worth the stop.