Why I go to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival

September 24, 2015 Eric Burke

Last week, I went to Kentucky to ~~do a little shopping~~...go to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY.

Welcome to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival!

You might ask, “Eric, you’ve been there before why keep going back?” And honestly, I’ve asked myself that very question. I tend to go to the same events. I visit the same stores and gift shops. To be honest, I don’t even consume that much whiskey. In fact, I almost didn’t go this year. We already had a trip planned for late August and didn’t think that we’d be able to go on another one that soon.

But the more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized that it isn’t the events or even the shopping that brings me back every year. Sure the couple of events I go to every year, I go to because I have a good time. And yes, I could have paid a good chunk of my mortgage with the amount of money I spent on whiskey in those four days. But the real reason is the people. I’ve made a lot of friends going to BourbonFest. I missed a couple of them this year, but I met new ones as well.

The poster for this year's All-Star Sampler

I like to go to the All-Star Sampler™. Distilleries, big and small, are are pouring whiskey. And I see a lot of people there. Some I see every year and I almost always spend much more time talking with friends, old and new, than I do drinking.

Booklets and ticket for Let's Talk Bourbon™

I like to go to Let’s Talk Bourbon™ at Four Roses every year both because it is at Four Roses and because it is always different. It always starts out the same, but the question and answer session always goes in directions you couldn’t anticipate. Plus this year we got to hear from new Master Distiller, Brent Elliot in addition to Jim Rutledge and Al Young.

Inner page of the Master Distiller's Auction with my notes.

The best event though is one it costs nothing to attend. Even though it might turn out to be the most expensive one you go to if you aren’t careful. And that is the Master Distiller’s Auction at the Oscar Getz museum. (I’ll have a full post about that one coming soon.)

Toss in the festival, the barrel races, the spirit garden and the crafts for sale on the lawn and it is a very good time. No, you probably won’t be wowed by the whiskey that is poured. It’s mostly the stuff you can walk into any store and grab on the shelf for under $30. But you know what? There is something to be said for sitting under a tree with a glass of old Grand-dad 114 talking to people who share your love of whiskey and your knowledge that friends are the best thing you can find in Kentucky.

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Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2015 Release

September 22, 2015 Eric Burke

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2015 signed by both Master Distiller Brent Elliot and Master Distiller Emeritus Jim Rutledge.

Every year, the bottle that I most want to find is the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. Like all limited edition releases, this used to be no problem to find. I was still buying the 2009 Mariage in 2011. In fact, I kinda wished that this particular release would become a little more popular because we weren’t getting the intervening years on the shelf due to 2009 not selling.

Oh did I ever get my wish.

But the universe, like it often does in these situations, overcorrected. Now, the only way I can be assured of getting a bottle of this is to be at the distillery early on release day. Luckily for me, release day seems to line up with BourbonFest these days. Which means I get to pretend that the festival is the real reason I go to Kentucky in September instead of a single bottle of whiskey.

But this year is even more special. Jim Rutledge, Master Distiller of Four Roses has just retired taking the title Master Distiller Emeritus. This is his last Limited Small Batch. This was one I knew that I would have to try.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2015

Purchase info: $120 for 750mL. Four Roses Distillery Gift Shop, Lawrenceburg, KY.

Details: 54.3% ABV. A mix of 16 year old OBSK, 15 year old OESK, 14 year old OESK and 11 year old OBSV. Bottle number 8722 of 12672.

Nose: This is one of those bourbons that I could nose all night. There is a big hit of oak right off the bat, followed by brown sugar, apples, cherries and baking spices. Beautiful!

Mouth: First impressions: warm, sweet, spicy and comforting. Like a warm blanket for your mouth. Leather, allspice, clove, brown sugar and cherry.

Finish: Long and warming. More leather and cherry.

Thoughts: Oh. My. God! I hesitate to say this for fear of fanning the fervor, but this might be my favorite Limited Small Batch yet. This is Mr. Rutledge’s last outing on this and he has outdone himself. Standing ovation on this one. Amazing!

A less than tasty vacation souvenir: Yellowstone Bourbon

September 3, 2015 Eric Burke

Last week I went on a family vacation to Wyoming and Colorado. My retired mother, despite being moved to tears at the sight of mountains, had never seen Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons or Rocky Mountain National Parks. Being the good son that I am I felt it was my duty to make sure she got there.

My mother can be a bit of a recluse. She lives in an extremely small town and seldom leaves it. She is terrified of freeways, especially if there are other cars on them. And deviations from her comfort zone tend to make her more than a bit nervous. But for all of that, I knew she would love these parks.

My wife is an amazing trip planner. She finds the most amazing ways to make vacations memorable. In this case, aside from the destinations, she invited my cousin and his family along. He lives in Wyoming and the rest of the family seldom gets to see him or his kids. My mother was thrilled.

One night, before bed, we were sitting on a porch at the Old Faithful Inn. I was chatting with my cousin about whiskey. He likes whiskey, but isn’t as adventurous as I am about spending money on new things, sticking mainly to Pendleton, his go to. He mentioned that he saw a Yellowstone whiskey in the gift shop for forty something dollars. Now the only Yellowstone whiskey I was aware of was sold by Luxco and was a bottom shelf dweller. So, being confused, I went to look at this $40 plus Yellowstone whiskey.

It turns out that it was a local craft whiskey that said something like “Something special from Yellowstone” as its tagline. But right next to it was a bottle of the Luxco Yellowstone Bourbon. It was priced appropriately cheap at about $6 for a small bottle. Being impressed by my surroundings, I decided to buy the bottle to share with my cousin. If nothing else it was a good excuse to try something I would otherwise not have purchased.

I took it back to the room and poured a glass for my cousin, my wife and myself. He took a sip and made an interesting face. I knew that face. It was the face of a man who, unexpectedly, had been given a mouthful of something he didn’t like, but was too polite to spit out. I smiled. I’d seen that face before. And I took a sip myself. I mean it couldn’t be that bad.

It was. I swallowed it, looked at him and asked: “dump this out?” He agreed and we both went off in search of something better. I decided that instead of immediately dumping out the rest of the bottle, I would (voluntarily) do tasting notes for it when I got home. So here I am, a week, three National Parks and four states later, keeping my promise.

Yellowstone is a bourbon sold by Luxco out of St. Louis. They make some good value brands that I like, a few premium brands that I like and a bunch of things I hope to never taste again. The brand is currently sourced bourbon, but they recently bought a share in the Limestone Branch distillery in order to produce it there. The folks at Limestone branch have family ties to the brand on both sides of their family. Back from when I assume it was something to be proud of. It’s not now, but who knows. Maybe in a few years time, it will be again.

Yellowstone Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase info: $5.99, 200 mL bottle. Yellowstone General Stores, Yellowstone National Park

Details: Aged 36 months. 40% ABV.

Nose: Dried corn, mint, citrus, confectioners sugar

Mouth: Molasses and mint. Very grain forward. Thin mouthfeel.

Finish: Hints of mildew, a medicinal ethanol, mint and cloves.

Thoughts: This was paid for by the generous support of this blog’s patrons. And it was such a waste of that money! $5.99 for a 200 mL bottle was way too much. I wouldn’t even use this for mixing. In fact, right after I took the photo above, I finally dumped it out.

But here’s an interesting tidbit. Yesterday, I got a press release from Luxco stating that they were releasing a Yellowstone Limited Edition for $105. If they hope to sell any to someone who has bought Yellowstone in the past, they might want to do as Kirin did with Four Roses and buy back all the existing rotgut so no one buys it in confusion. Of course, if you confuse a $105 bourbon with a sub $20 one, you might deserve what you get. But still, it would be nice to know that this product has gone the way of the Yellowstone Wolves. Wiped out only to be reintroduced when they’ve learned better.

My new favorite “Small Batch” bourbon

August 27, 2015 Eric Burke

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2006, Larceny, Old Weller Antique, and Booker's bourbons make up my new blend.

Last week I decided to try something. I’d read an article describing a recipe for peach infused bourbon. Having had a few peach and bourbon cocktails, I was excited to try it myself. I love making infusions, though as I have stated on more than one occasion, I like making them more than drinking them. I almost always end up dumping them out after about a year in the cupboard.

Being the geeky obsessive type, I decided that I really needed the right bourbon to infuse. It had to really capture the caramel and vanilla flavors as well as present a nice spiciness that could stand up to the peach.

I did a little looking through my notes and decided that Maker’s 46 would be darn near perfect…except I didn’t have any. So after thinking about it for a bit I decided to actually look at what I did have in the house. I’d decided that a nice soft wheater would probably be perfect. Looking at my selection of wheated bourbons I landed first on Larceny, but I wanted the proof to be somewhere in the 100 proof plus range (as higher proof alcohols will absorb the other flavors faster) and Larceny was only 92. Then I looked at Old Weller Antique. It had the proof, but was also a bit too hot for what I was thinking.

I eventually decided that I was going to blend the two. This way, maybe I could have the best of both worlds. As I was standing there though, I had another thought. This year’s Evan Williams Single Barrel was pretty caramel and spice forward as well. And then I looked over at the Booker’s on the shelf. That batch, though strong, also presented those flavors well.

I was recently asked how I go about deciding what to put into a blend. This is a perfect example of how I go through the blending process. First I start with a goal. In this case I had a flavor profile in mind. Caramel forward with a nice spice. Then I go about finding those ingredients that will give me that flavor. Of course there is often some trial and error. I normally start with equal parts and move from there should the need arise. But in this case, everything just clicked right from the start at equal proportions.

I really think this is the best blend I’ve made. And that includes the experiments I did with all the Four Roses Single barrels. But here is the best part: all of these bourbons are readily available in most parts of the country.

Arok’s Small Batch - Mix of distilleries edition

Details: Equal parts of Larceny (Heaven Hill), Evan Williams Single Barrel 2006 vintage (Heaven Hill), Old Weller Antique (Buffalo Trace) and Booker’s Batch# 2013-6 (Beam). Approximate final ABV is 51.44%.

Nose: Initially the nose on this is very closed. It really benefits from some time in the glass. After sitting for a bit, there is a very strong caramel and vanilla presence. Subtle hints of fruit follow along with a nice almond scent. Overall this is the type of very sweet nose that I could sit and smell all day.

Mouth: Some nice heat. Strong caramel and vanilla presence again along with black pepper, almond, hints of cherry and some nice oak tannins.

Finish: Long, spicy finish with lingering black pepper and oak tannins.

I’ve already stated my thoughts above. I think this is the best blend I’ve created to date and it is one that I will probably be coming back to on more than one occasion. But I’m guessing you are asking how it worked with the peaches…and to be fair, I really don’t know. It was too good to use in that way. So if you have the ingredients on hand I really recommend trying this. And if it isn’t quite right for you think about what will make it better and adjust it. See if you can’t dial in your new favorite small batch bourbon.

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.

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.

Blog

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2015

Yellowstone Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Arok’s Small Batch - Mix of distilleries edition

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, 2006

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

I.W. Harper

Jesse James America's Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey