Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2006 Vintage

August 25, 2015 Eric Burke

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, 2006

Evan Williams Single Barrel. One of the most inexpensive single barrel bourbons on the market. Because they are released as vintages, trying to hit a slightly different flavor profile each year, it is fair to say that I have liked some more than others. It is also fair to say that for the last three years I’ve been less happy than in the past. So much so that I gave both 2003 and 2004 a solid meh and never even bought the 2005 edition.

But I’m the eternal optimist and it really is hard to pass up at least one bottle each year at the prices it sells for in the Twin Cities market. So when I saw 2006 on the shelf for less than $20, I had to pick it up.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, 2006

Purchase Info: $19.99, 750 mL bottle. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 43.3% ABV. Barreled on May 12, 2006. Barrel # 275. Bottled on May 27, 2015

Nose: Caramel, vanilla and juicy fruit gum jump out at me at the first sniff. Under that are subtle hints of allspice, cloves and cayenne.

Mouth: Syrupy mouthfeel. Sweet with earthy honey and a nice hint of oaky tannins. Mint, cloves and cayenne follow.

Finish: Decent length with a nice warmth that settles in the chest. Minty eucalyptis transistions to a nice tannic dryness to end it all.

Thoughts: As I stated above. I’m an eteranl optimist. Why else would I keep returning to a well that had seeminly run dry? This year, that optimism has paid off. I really like this one and am already working on my second bottle of it.

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The year 1870 and a review of Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

July 23, 2015 Eric Burke

A close up of the label of a bottle of Old Forester 1870 Original Batch.

1870. Old Forester claims that George Garvin Brown started selling his Old Forester brand of whiskey in that year. And since renowned bourbon historian Michael Veach backs that up in his book Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, I have no reason to suspect they are fibbing. In the story, Old Forester was the first bourbon sold exclusively in bottles.

But 1870 is not a year that I, living in 2015, have thought too much about. And I’m going to guess that you, dear reader, haven’t either. So let’s learn a little bit about what was going on in the country in the year the bottled bourbon trend started.

Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in January of that year. For many of us who have never been to New York City, it is one of the symbols that immediately comes to mind whenever the city is mentioned.
African Americans technically gain the right to vote with the passage and ratification of the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution. It will actually be universally enforced almost 100 years later.
Reconstruction is ending in the former Confederate States of America as Virginia, Texas, Mississippi and Georgia become the last states readmitted to the Union.
If, like me, you are a Big Ten Football fan, you’ll be interested to know that the institution that would become the Ohio State University was founded in March of this year under the name the Ohio Agriculture and Mechanical College.
If you are, instead, an ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) fan you may be interested to know that Syracuse University was founded this year as well.
The US Department of Justice was founded in June of this year. I’m not making any comments…
Christmas becomes a federal holiday meaning that Congress gets one more day to officially not do their jobs.
The first woman to legally cast a vote in the United States (since 1807…can you imagine the home life of the guys who voted to take away a woman’s right to vote???) does so in Wyoming in September.
The forerunner of the National Weather Service makes it’s first prediction. There is no mention of how accurate it was.

And of course the reason we are interested in 1870 today is that I recently bought a bottle of Old Forester 1870 “Original Batch.” The company says that George Garvin Brown—I wonder if we are allowed to say his name without the middle name, I never see him listed as George Brown—bought bourbon from three different distilleries to make Old Forester. So to honor that they chose bourbon from three different warehouses with three different entry proofs and ages. Sounds pretty cool, though it makes me wonder: just how many entry proofs does Brown Forman use?

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

Purchase Info: $38.99, 750 mL. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Floral apples, brown sugar and freshly painted walls

Mouth: The first sip is nice and spicy with cinnamon and cayenne. It’s sweet. Fruity pears and melon lurk underneath.

Finish: Decent length with lingering oak and more sweetness.

A smiling face showing that I like this bourbon.

Thoughts: This is a really tasty bourbon. Is it twice as good as Old Forester 86 proof at $19.99? No. But bourbon math rarely works in such a linear fashion. It is too expensive for a regular purchase. I mean, it’s even more expensive that Woodford Reserve where I bought it. But I could see splurging now and again on this spicier and oakier expression of your typical Old Forester/Woodford flavor profile.

Review of the new release of I.W. Harper

July 9, 2015 Eric Burke

I just wish there were more. Sweet, spicy, rich and floral sum this up nicely. The color is even beautiful. It is a joy to look at, smell and taste. Just yum.

That's what I said about a small mini of I.W. Harper from the early 70s. It was delicious. It was also a one of a kind deal. So it was with great interest that I read that I.W. Harper was being brought back to the US. I didn't imagine that a new version would taste nearly as good as the one from 40 years ago, but I wondered if there might be some sort of family resemblance.

Yes. I got over that pretty quick when I remembered who owned the brand now. I'm not one of those folks who think that Diageo (the current brand owner) is specifically out to stomp on the notion of fair priced whiskey that tastes good. But they have gone on record as saying they think there is extra profit to be taken in American Whiskey. And have put out some bourbon with pretty steep prices. Plus they don't actually have a distillery making bourbon right now. So whatever they put out was probably bought from someone else.

All this is to say that even before I picked it up, I knew this wouldn't be anything like what I had had before. But that tiny voice saying "what if..." got the better of me. And so I bought it.

I.W. Harper

Purchase Info: $29.99, 750 mL. Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 41% ABV.

Nose: Old wood, sweet banana, apple slices, floral perfume

Mouth: Thin and flat. Brown sugar and wood tannins.

Finish: A bit of the floral notes from the nose show up before being steamrolled by bitter oak tannins.

Thoughts: Very disappointing. The nose was light, fruity and delicate. The mouth was flat and full of wood. When I first nosed it I thought I was getting one whiskey. I ended up getting another that I didn't like as much. As far as quality, this is a solid meh. It's not terrible, but for almost $30 you expect something more than a mixer. I'd give this one a pass.

Jesse James America's Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey

June 16, 2015 Eric Burke

It’s coming up on Father’s Day and I’m reminded of something that my step-father did on one of the many trips my wife and I took to the cabin to spend a holiday with he and my mom.

My step-father is a Jack drinker. He has been for longer than I’ve been alive. He likes a good bourbon, Basil Hayden was an appreciated treat one year for Christmas, but Jack is his go to. Jack on the rocks to be specific.

Well, knowing that my wife and I are bourbon drinkers, my step-father will occasionally stop off to grab a bottle to share on his way up to the cabin. He tries to grab something not Jack when he does this. He finds it to be a bit too expensive unless it is a special occasion. On this particular occasion he grabbed Jesse James Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey. He was pretty proud of the purchase, finding it on sale in the low teens. And as we sat around playing cards, it kept our glasses from going empty.

Jesse James is named in honor of the Old West Outlaw, but it is named after founder Jesse James Dupree of the band Jackyl. (Think early 90s and a chainsaw.) I originally bought it for my Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets back in March, but noticed just before we cracked open the bottles that it didn’t qualify. This bottle, though it is age stated at three years old, was not labeled straight. I have no idea why that is, but it was enough to put it out of contention and back into the closet.

But I’ve been bunkering this whiskey for long enough. It was time to take it out and make room for things that I’d want to bunker. And while we’re at it let’s see if it was the company and the ambiance or the whiskey that kept us filling our glasses that night at the cabin.

Jesse James America's Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: $14.98, 750 mL. Ace Spirits, Hopkins MN

Details: 40% ABV, 36 months old.

Nose: Berries, grain, cinnamon and a hint of mint.

Mouth: Thin, cocoa, cherries, hints of baking spices and mint.

Finish: Gentle, dusty cocoa and mint fading to a lingering bitterness.

Thoughts: This reminds me of a cross between Evan Williams and Jack Daniels. It’s too gentle for sipping, so I’m guessing this was intended to be taken as a shot. To be honest, I expected it to be terrible in a glencairn, but it’s not. It’s just kinda meh. I can see why my Jack drinking step-dad liked it.

Rebel Yell American Whiskey

May 28, 2015 Eric Burke

This is the second part of a two part post. The first being the story of how I got the bottle and a reminder that you don’t know what’s in a bottle of whiskey until you open it and take a taste.

Well. I’ve spent two weeks with this whiskey. It’s half gone and now I think I can talk about it. I’ve turned the bottle over and over in my hands looking at what is said and what is not said on the label. And I noticed a few things.

The most obvious is that it is a blend of bourbon and rye. The back label says: “Our original, time-honored recipe, perfectly blended with the rebellious spirit of rye.” From that I’m guessing it is the normal Rebel Yell wheated bourbon mixed with rye.
“Distilled and aged in Kentucky and Indiana.” So I’m going out on a pretty sturdy limb and saying that rye is from MGPi.
This is a two-year age-stated whiskey. Remember, that’s the youngest whiskey in the bottle, there might be older whiskey in there. In fact I would guess there is since the flavor has a depth I wouldn’t expect from a two year whiskey.
Though it is two year, nowhere does it say “straight.” We’ve learned from Templeton that you can add minute amounts of flavoring to whiskey that isn’t labeled “straight.” Just throwing that out there. Though it is very possibly not applicable, I get a little nervous when a whiskey doesn’t say straight when it could.

I’m breaking format and telling you my thoughts now since this is such an odd situation. I can find next to nothing about this online aside from the Rebel Yell website, the COLAs and Chuck Cowdery’s blog announcing it back in February. I can’t even tell if it is for sale yet so I have no idea if this is a good value. I’d say if you get it for free in a regifting situation, the value is excellent. If you pay more than $20-25 you are probably over paying. It’s tasty but not on par with many other widely available whiskeys at that price point. Some even sold by Luxco, the company who makes this.

Rebel Yell American Bourbon

Purchase Info: Didn’t I just say I got it in a regifting situation?

Details: A Blend of bourbon and rye whiskey, 45% ABV

Nose: Cedar, mint, white sugar, leather and hints of vanilla

Mouth: Thin in the mouth, but it has a nice tingle to it. Oak, cloves, dark chocolate and a nice earthiness.

Finish: Fades quickly. The mint is back along with chocolate and cedar.

Thoughts: As detailed in the previous post, I went into this expecting something terrible. As such, it exceeded expectations. As a two-year age stated whiskey, I’m very impressed with it’s depth of flavor. Overall, for what it is, this is an impressive whiskey. I just don’t think I’d pay more than $25 for it.

Who knew all you needed to do to make Rebel Yell bourbon drinkable was add some MGP rye? So we've learned that.

Too many feels and then, eventually, a review of Wathen's Single Barrel

May 26, 2015 Eric Burke

I had a pretty shitty weekend. It was supposed to be good. It was a holiday. I was going to spend time with my family at the family cabin. There would be drinks, cards, a fire, kids, family and friends. Everything was set up to be great. And it started out that way.

Friday morning, I stopped off for a couple growlers of beer to take with us. As I waited for them to be filled, I thought it might be nice to have a touch of bourbon to close each night. So I looked at the bourbon selection and settled on one I hadn’t had before but could blog about. Might as well take one for the team, right?

We were supposed to build a new fire pit over the weekend, but I noticed shortly after pulling in that my mom and step-dad had already finished it. This is going to be a nice weekend, I thought to myself. And so it seemed. That afternoon, we sat around the new fire pit and variously, read a book, played a game, or talked. It was a very nice afternoon. We had nice supper and then ended up playing cards. I broke into the growlers. Everything was going well.

It was a nice slow morning the next day. Relaxing. We ran to town, got supplies and generally enjoyed each other’s company while waiting for the rest of the group to get there. One of the highlights of the weekend was going to be the time I got to spend with my niece and nephew who were coming with my brother and his wife that afternoon.

And everything went well until I noticed how my brother was treating my nephew (well, step-nephew, but I don’t count such things). You see he is on medication for ADHD and is suspected of suffering from depression. He is a rascal, to put it mildly. I identify a lot with what he is going through. I’m also the product of divorced parents. I also had a step-dad who met me while he wasn’t sure how to handle being a parent. I had problems with my mom, my dad, my step-dad, my step-mothers, my grandparents and step-grandparents…I was just generally an angry kid who suffered with undiagnosed depression (it wouldn’t be diagnosed until I was much older and dealing with my own teenager). I saw that I didn’t fit in in most of the “families” I had. Either I was related, but only seen every few months or I wasn’t related and was just another kid hanging about. All except my one set of grandparents. My mother leaned on them so much that my grandfather became sort of a surrogate father to me. He was the one I rebelled against, not my biological father. But he was also the one I looked up to more than anyone else.

I grew up with this hanging over my head for a long time. I was so angry. I was a good kid for the most part, but inside I was searching for why I didn’t belong. I just wanted to feel loved. And if that couldn’t happen, noticed. And when it came time for me to adopt my own daughter, I promised myself that she wouldn’t feel that way. That she would be loved and accepted by the family that I felt, at the time, had never fully accepted me.

Guess what? I failed. I didn’t know how to be a parent at 19. I didn’t know how to take care of a teenager at 29. I didn’t know how to be the parent of a kid going through normal teenage stuff while dealing with the fact that she knew her dad had adopted her. Knowing that in order for that to happen, another man needed to have decided he didn’t want to be her dad. That’s heavy stuff. I wasn’t ready for it. I lashed out like an angry baby and, much like my step-father and I while I was living at home, we never really saw eye to eye. And to top it off, I don't know that parts of my extended family ever fully accepted her as family either. I have a sister I haven't talked to for years over some of her comments.

So now, I see this happening with my nephew who is going through the same things I went through and then also the same things my daughter went through. And enough was enough. My brother is a father of two biological kids and can’t see he isn’t treating them the same way. My mother doesn’t realize that the things she’s saying are being absorbed and internalized by my nephew. On three separate occasions, I stepped in where I probably shouldn’t have (though my sister-in-law thanked me). I became an advocate for my nephew because I hate that I can see the same things that happened to me, and then to my daughter, happen to him. I picked two fights with my brother and one with my mother over it. I spent a lot of time alone in the camper because I was so mad I thought I’d do or say something I’d regret.

It’s a good thing I bought that bourbon. It wasn’t the best bourbon I’d ever had, but it was enough to calm the nerves and let me breathe when I thought I would say something stupid. Nights around the fire may have included more than I should have had, but taking a sip instead of saying something stupid worked ok to keep me sorta talking to my brother.

That bourbon? Wathen’s Single Barrel. Once I got home, I decided to review it and pour a couple samples for my sample library. That finished the bottle off. So, even though the bourbon was a welcome relief to a shitty weekend, how did it fair in the cold light of day?

Wathen’s Single Barrel

Purchase Info: $29.99, 750 mL, Casanova Liquor, Hudson, WI.

Details: Barrel number: 4730. Bottled on July 22, 2014. 47% ABV

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, toasted almonds, faint melon and some oak.

Mouth: Dry woodiness. Hot in the mouth. Caramel, toasted almonds and oak.

Finish: Lingering heat and oak fading to a bitterness that if it were paired with more than just woody flavors would be pleasant.

Thoughts: For me? Meh. I’m not a fan of overly dry, woody bourbons. And to my palate, that’s what this is. It’s more so than I would have expect from an NAS bourbon.

Speaking of NAS, I do have a few beefs with this bourbon. The first being just that. This is an NAS bourbon. But right in the middle of the label is a large “eight” in a a script font. Under that in smaller type is the word “generations.” This subconsciously suggest and eight-year age statement. I know because I had to keep stopping myself from thinking of it as an 8-year old over and over. And I know better. Secondly, I really wish people would use a screw cap. That photo above? That’s the cork. It broke the second time we opened the bottle. Not only is a screw cap going to keep the bourbon inside tastier if it lasts more than a weekend, but it has a much smaller chance of failure.

So your milage may vary, but for me? I won’t be buying this again. Not even to soothe a really shitty weekend that brought back way too many feels.

A new arrival in an old style: Jim Beam Bonded

April 28, 2015 Eric Burke

Bottled in Bond whiskey is an old thing. There are very few brands that weren’t available to your grandfathers that maintain that status. Companies just don’t come out with Bottled in Bond whiskeys very often. And why would they? You have to follow all the rules for a straight whiskey plus you need to have it be at least four years old, exactly 100 proof and the product of one distillery during one distilling season. That limits your flexibility. Most of the time these are no age statement whiskeys and unlike a non-bonded bourbon you can’t make up any shortfall with something a little younger or a little older. They really are a snapshot of what was going on at the distillery at the time they were distilled. Because of this, bonded bourbons are the darlings of the bourbon enthusiast croud. You know what you are getting since the info is right there on the label, they are a decent proof and they are ususally inexpensive.

All of this makes it especially notable that Jim Beam just released a Bottled in Bond bourbon this year. Why go through the extra steps needed just to put those three words on the label for a rather inexpensive release? Especially since unlike many bourbon producers, Beam has two distilleries. I have no answer to that, but I am certainly happy that they did it. It’s like a little present to the whiskey geeks. It’s not quite as inexpensive as other bonded bourbons, but is in the ballpark. If it does well, maybe we’ll see more of them. Of course, if it does too well the next guy might decide to raise the price too.

Jim Beam Bonded

Purchase Info: $21.99, 1 Liter. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Cinnamon candy, mint, dusty oak and hints of cocoa.

Mouth: This shows its proof with a nice tingle. Initial impression is bready. It’s sweet with mint cocoa and dried corn.

Finish: A warm, medium length finish with hints of dusty oak, cocoa and mint.

Thoughts: While this isn’t a knock-your-socks-off bourbon, it is a nice step up from Jim Beam White Label. I personally like it better than the Black Label as it doesn’t show as much oak. It won’t be my first choice for bonded bourbons, but it is a nice change up.

One little mystery is why Beam left the DSP number off the label. Luckily this mystery seems to have been solved: http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-good-and-not-so-good-of-old-grand.html

Review: Jim Beam Black 8 year old

April 23, 2015 Eric Burke

Today was one of those days where I noticed every step I took. It’s not that I hurt or anything like that. I was just aware of every step. It’s a strange sensation. Noticing things that should be so natural that they are below notice. It happens to me every so often. And of course as soon as I’m aware of it, I inevitably seem to forget how to do it. I trip over nothing and I stumble.

For most of my life, my mother has told me that I’m weird. Growing up in the Upper Midwest where “that’s different” is used as an expression of intense disapproval, being told you are weird is on a whole other level. But I don’t think she ever meant it as a statement of disapproval to me, even though she often used it as an excuse as to why she didn’t like others. To me, it always sounded like there was a bit of wonder in there. Like she couldn’t quite understand where all my odd statements could possibly come from.

I’ve always seemed to look at the world a little differently. It’s either because I’m a designer or it’s the reason why I’m good at it. Sort of a chicken and egg thing there. I notice things and wonder about them. I’m intensely curious. Growing up I wanted to know how things worked and that contnues to this day. I’m constantly taking something apart. I’ve studied history in my spare time for almost a decade because I really want to know why things are the way they are today.

It’s one of the things I like best about whiskey. From the history to the chemistry, there is so much to learn and discover. Even a simple glass of Jim Beam can give you just a little insight into the way a company works and what is going on there. Take the Jim Beam Black that I’m drinking. It’s stated age is 8 years. It was one of the last few on the shelf that still said that. The new ones you buy just say “Extra Aged.” This gives you a little hint that either the 8 year old wasn’t tasting quite up to the profile they wanted, they were running low and needed to be flexible, or they decided to squeeze a little more profit out of the label. It may even be a bit of all three.

In any case it’s interesting to ponder. And at least when I notice things like this I tend to not fall down.

Jim Beam Black

Purchase Info: Total Wine. Burnsville, MN. $16.99 for a 750 mL.

Details: Age Stated 8 years. 43% ABV

Nose: Caramel, cedar, allspice and a faint melon sweetness.

Mouth: Spicy and tingly on entry. Black tea, black pepper, brown sugar, oak, cayenne and toffee.

Finish: Some tingle. Decent length. Black pepper and black tea.

Thoughts: All in all this is a decently put together bourbon. If you are a fan of Jim Beam branded whiskeys you will probably like this a lot. If you aren’t, then you probably won’t. It’s lands right inside the Jim Beam wheelhouse just with more oak. Typically, I’m neither a fan of Jim Beam branded bourbons or ones that show a lot of oak so I fall into the second camp on this one. There’s nothing wrong with it, it just isn’t for me.

Blog

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, 2006

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

I.W. Harper

Jesse James America's Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey

Rebel Yell American Bourbon

Wathen’s Single Barrel

Jim Beam Bonded

Jim Beam Black