Orphan Barrel: Rhetoric 22-Year-Old Bourbon

July 25, 2017 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Taylor Strategy for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

Orphan Barrel: Rhetoric 22-Year-Old Bourbon

I did a little research this weekend. Well, I assume I did. The sample I received of Rhetoric 22 year old stated that it was "for research only." If this is research, I've done enough research in the last five years that I should be well on my way to a Ph.D.

This particular set of research was on one of two samples I received last week. Diageo will soon be releasing the 23-year-old Rhetoric, and when they sent out the samples, they were kind enough to include a sample of the 22-year-old that I could use as a comparison. But guess what? I've never reviewed the 22 (or any of the Orphan Barrel series), so I decided to give it its own post.

The Orphan Barrel series is predominantly made up of old whiskey that was supposedly "found" just lying there in the warehouse. And in that sentence are the two reasons why I hadn't reviewed any of them previously. First, I prefer my whiskey a bit younger than these releases have been. If I had to give a general range, I'd say that I tend to prefer my whiskey to be six to twelve years old with some wiggle room on each side and room for exceptions. So the idea of a 20-plus-year-old whiskey gives me pause. And second, I'm allergic to BS marketing stories. The thought that the tax man hasn't had Diageo reporting what is in each and every barrel is a bit ludicrous.

So with a price that hovers right around my Personal Price Ceiling™, I decided to take a pass whenever I saw it on a shelf. I figured I'd let the Whiskey Bros spend their money on that. And I'd grab a bottle of a bourbon that I'd like more since I don't buy whiskey to prove the size of my wallet or my nether regions.

That said, when the PR firm sent me an offer of a free taste, well, it was hard to say no. The price is right, and if I didn't like it it would probably be a small sample anyway.

Orphan Barrel: Rhetoric 22-Year-Old Bourbon

Purchase Info: This 100mL sample was generously proved by Taylor Strategy. I've seen it for sale online between $129 and $180.

Details: 22 years old. 45.2% ABV

Nose: Leather, citrus, vanilla a hint of chocolate and lots of oak.

Mouth: Nice and spicy with cinnamon candies to go along with the vanilla and oak. So much oak!

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Oak flavors linger along with leather, chocolate, vanilla, and nougat.

Thoughts: I don't really like super old bourbons most of the time. They tend to be oak extract with little in the way of other flavors. But this one I like. Would I personally run out and buy it? Nope. $120-plus is a little outside the budget for me these days. But the flavors are rich and sweet. There is a nice spice to it. And overall, it is a really nice bourbon.

So if dropping a Benjamin and a half on a single bottle of bourbon doesn't faze you, I'd recommend grabbing one should you see it. If you'd rather use that money for other things, I can't fault you there either.

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Winchester Straight Bourbon

July 11, 2017 Eric Burke

There are times, dear reader, when I go out of my way to try things just because I have a sneaking suspicion that they will be less than tasty. I consider it to be part of the job that I have assigned myself not just to try things that are amazing, but also those things that may appeal on price alone. To see which of the inexpensive bourbons are hidden gems and which are just fossilized dog turds.

Winchester Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a TerrePURE bourbon from Total Wine. TerrePURE whiskeys are whiskeys that start with whiskey of a certain age. In this case, two years old. They then subject them to a "rapid aging process" that supposedly makes them taste like an average "commodity" bourbon of a greater age. The goal is better tasting bourbon without spending the time and money to wait it out.

I've had one TerrePURE bourbon in the past. Needless to say, Hayes Parker Reserve was not a big hit in this house. So why on Earth would I go back to that particular well again? Well, unlike the last one of these I tried, this one has "straight" on the label, meaning that it is at least two years old. And I was curious if starting with an older whiskey would help the process out. It's easy to make broad conclusions based on a single data point, but honestly, we all know it needs more than one piece of data to start to define a trend.

Winchester Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: $1.99 for a 50 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: "Aged a minimum of two years in new oak." 45% ABV.

Nose: Grain, bubble gum, menthol, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Cinnamon red hot candies and honey.

Finish: Medicinal menthol notes combine with cinnamon spice and bubble gum.

Thoughts: I was fully prepared to admit that I was wrong about this. That I was wrong about how not awful this was. But then I swallowed. And I felt like I was tasting oral anesthesia mixed with candy. The finish kills this one, which is too bad because the nose and mouth, though young, aren't bad for a two-year-old whiskey. I don't know if it is the whiskey they started with or the fact that it is then "uniquely ultrasonic filtered" that introduced the medicinal anesthetic flavors to the finish. Because they note how the process changes the finish, I'm willing to blame the process, but that is just a guess.

So I got a lot of blow-back the last time I reviewed a TerrePURE whiskey. Folks had purchased it because it was an attractive price and I was essentially called a snob for not liking it. So here's the thing about Winchester. At the store where I bought this, a 750 mL bottle of Winchester runs $24.99. At that same store, I can get the same size bottle of Four Roses Yellow, Evan Williams (Black, Bonded, and Single Barrel), Elijah Craig, Old Weller Antique, Larceny, Bulleit, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester for less than this. I can get Knob Creek for the same price, and I can buy 1792, Maker's 46, Eagle Rare and Four Roses Small Batch for just a buck or two more. I can honestly find no reason to recommend trying this. If you have tried it and you love it, great! That just means more traditional bourbon for the rest of us.

Rebel Yell Single Barrel, 10-Year-Old Bourbon

June 27, 2017 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Common Ground PR for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

I am sorry about last week; freelance work has been crazy busy. Which is a great problem to have. Let me tell you I am not complaining. But it did leave me with little time to taste and write about bourbon. However, the extra passage of time did allow something to happen that makes this article just a little more fun.

At the beginning of May, I received a press release announcing the release of the 2017 batch of Rebel Yell Single Barrel, 10-Year-Old Bourbon. Though I had tasted it at an event, I never reviewed last year's batch (and never saw it at retail), so I checked on the availability of samples. Unfortunately, they said that there weren't going to be any review samples this year. Not a problem, I just determined to keep my eyes open for a bottle at the store.

A little while later, a friend of mine texted me from the liquor store that he was picking up a bottle of Rebel Yell Single Barrel. So I asked him to grab me a bottle too. He did, and so I knew I'd have one to review. Except that since we are both busy people, we didn't catch up with each other until this past weekend.

Which is what makes this one fun. See in between my friend grabbing a bottle for me and me getting it; I received a sample of this bourbon as well. And what this allowed me to do was compare barrels of this single-barrel product just to see how big of a difference there is between barrels. I will be comparing barrel number 5043515, provided by Common Ground PR with barrel number 5043517 that I purchased locally.

Rebel Yell Single Barrel, 10-Year-Old Bourbon

Purchase Info: Barrel# 5043517: $45.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine.
Barrel# 5043515: 50 mL sample generously provided by Common Ground PR.

Details: 50% ABV. Age stated 10-years old. Aged since May 2006.

Nose: Barrel# 5043517: Caramel, cherry, mint, and oak.
Barrel# 5043515: Less cherry and more oak.

Mouth: Barrel# 5043517: Sweet with notes of rich leather, caramel, baking spice, and oak.
Barrel# 5043515: Much spicier with a drier oak feel.

Finish: Barrel# 5043517: Long and warm with lingering sweetness and spice.
Barrel# 5043515: Long and spicy.

Thoughts: Both of these are fantastic bourbons. They are similar, as you might expect, though the sample was noticeably spicier and not as sweet.

I like comparing single barrel bourbons. It's fun to experience the variations on a theme. Sometimes, there's little difference. They are so similar that you wonder just how single that barrel was. Rebel Yell Single Barrel does not have that issue. Both are distinct and delicious in their own way. I am really impressed. And even at $50, I think this is worth the money should you have it to spare. For me, this is on the line between really, really like and love. But because I think the price point is just about perfect, I'll just go with I love it.

Tincup American Whiskey

June 15, 2017 Eric Burke

Shout out to Patreon Ken Ray for reminding me that the subject of tonight's review exists during an email conversation we had. Ken is the host of Mac OS Ken a daily technology podcast focusing on Apple news and news related to Apple news. Check it out. And if you would also like to suggest a topic for an upcoming post, feel free to reach out via any of the contact mechanisms in the site navigation.

I have a bad habit. If something isn't continually shoved in my face, I don't think about it. And if that goes on for long enough, I forget it exists. And this applies to everything from NFL football to extended family. And this goes on until one day I'll be reminded of whatever-it-is, and feel bad for having neglected it (or in the case of NFL football, feel relieved that it is no longer such a big part of my life).

This recently happened with the subject of tonight's post, Tincup American Whiskey. I remember when Tincup was released. I remember thinking "huh, another MGP whiskey." Then I didn't think about it again. I'd see it every once in a while, until one day I didn't. It wasn't gone, I was just looking past it toward whatever had recently caught my attention. My mother refers to this as my "Shiny Object Syndrome." I've always had an eye open for whatever is new and have looked past whatever is still there.

And so, this blend of MGPi Bourbon and Stranahan's Malt Whiskey escaped my notice until mentioned in an email from a Patreon supporter. The next time I went to the liquor store, I saw it and decided it was time to stop overlooking it. So, how does it taste? Should I have continued to pass it over?

Tincup American Whiskey

Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 42% ABV. Bourbon distilled in Indiana mixed with a "small amount of Colorado single malt whiskey." "Cut with Rocky Mountain Water"

Nose: Sweet with citrus, mint, and almond.

Mouth: Sweet with a nice spice. Almond, ginger, and a hint of oak.

Finish: Warm and spicy with lingering citrus, mint, and ginger.

Thoughts: This a good value at $25. It isn't an amazing whiskey, but it is a good one. At $25, I like this very much. If it were priced higher, I'd probably be much more critical. In any case, I like this and might even buy another bottle someday since I am finding the citrus/mint combo very tasty and interesting.

Four Roses Single Barrel

June 1, 2017 Eric Burke

I have have been a Four Roses fanboy for as long as I've been a bourbon fanboy. To me, Four Roses Bourbon is everything that a bourbon should be.

Which makes it extremely odd that I have never reviewed their flagship release, Four Roses Single Barrel. I've talked about Yellow Label and Small Batch. I've talked about store releases of all ten recipes. But somehow Single Barrel has fallen through the cracks.

And it's about damn time that I remedied this gross miscarriage of justice. (It doesn't hurt that it gives me an excuse to buy another bottle either.)

Four Roses Single Barrel

Purchase Info: $33.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV. Barrel 89-4S, Warehouse HW. OBSV (as all of the standard single barrel releases are).

Nose: Caramel, cherries, and leather.

Mouth: Warm and tingly with caramel, cherry, nougat, and baking spices.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering JuicyFruit gum and baking spice.

Thoughts: This has long been one of my favorite bourbons. I have no idea how it slipped through the cracks for all these years. I have a very short review to go with this very short post.

This is a fantastic bourbon. If you haven't had it yet, you should. If you buy it and you don't love it, I'll be happy to drink it for you if you send it to me.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Triticale

May 25, 2017 Eric Burke

Over the course of the past month, I've been taking a look at the Jim Beam Signature Craft Harvest Bourbon Collection. Tonight we reach the final review in the bunch. Triticale. But before we get into what I thought of it, let's recap where we've been.

Even though each of these typically retail for about $50 per 375 mL bottle, a local retailer had them for sale at $20 each or the full set of six for $100. I'm not sure if they were sitting on too many or if the distributor was, but in any case, that is a screaming deal. Basically, one-third of the suggested retail price. So when I got the email, I like a lot of other people decided that the time was right to pounce on it. And after sitting on them for a few weeks, I found room in the editorial calendar to slot in six reviews.

The first one we tried was the Six Row Barley. It didn't impress while tasting it in a Glencairn, but was really quite good in a rocks glass under normal drinking conditions. So good that I immediately ran back to the store and picked up another set of six.

Next was the Wheat. The wheat was less impressive than the Barley, and I was surprised by that. I had expected to like the Wheat more than the Barley.

Brown Rice was the only real dud of the bunch. Even though it was an 11-year-old bourbon, I had a hard time finding much to say about it. That I compared it to Bud Light should tell you something about it.

The Rolled Oat was the surprise of the group for me. Fruity, nutty, and very minty and I really enjoyed that.

The High Rye was one that I just assumed I would like. And I did, though it was for different reasons than I would have expected. This is made by the same folks who produce Old Grand-Dad another High-Rye Bourbon. It, however, doesn't use the OGD mash bill or yeast. So it is an entirely different product. And it shows. It was herbal and delicious. So much Anise that I tried it in a Sazerac riff.

Which brings us to the Triticale, my favorite of the bunch. It, though, suffers from the same flaw that the rest of these do. It typically retails for about twice as much as I feel it should. Most of these would be good at $50 for a 750 mL (not the Rice one...that's a dud) but are crazily overpriced at $50 for a 375 mL bottle.

Bottom line: if you find any of these for a good sale (Ace still has them and does ship*), I'd recommend giving them a shot. If you can only find them for retail though, I'd pass on all of them. None are $100 bottles of whiskey.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Triticale

Purchase info: $16.67 for a 375 mL bottle (on sale) at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 11 years old, 45% ABV, Triticale used as flavoring grain.

Nose: Vanilla, fruit, rose petals and oak.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with a delicate floral note dominating.

Finish: Dry with a decent length. Lingering grain and oak.

Thoughts: This is a fantastic bourbon. To be honest, it reminds me of Old Grand-Dad with more age (even though it's made with a different flavoring grain and yeast). It has a nice spice, and the floral notes are delicious. I'm really, really impressed by this one.

*This isn't sponsored by Ace, I just like passing along a good deal.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: High Rye

May 23, 2017 Eric Burke

I've been on a bit of a cocktail kick lately. The thing I like about cocktails is the same thing I like about cooking, the interplay of flavors. Really, it's one of the things I like about whiskey too. But unlike whiskey where someone else has determined what works together, with a cocktail you are the one who decides what to put together. And it may be amazing or it might not.

As I was doing the tasting for tonight's bourbon, I was struck by the distinct anise notes that presented themselves. Now anise is a fairly major flavor component in my favorite cocktail, the Sazerac. I know a traditional Sazerac uses Rye Whiskey. But since the Rye was a replacement for the original Cognac, I didn't feel too bad about substituting a High Rye Bourbon. Especially since the difference between a High Rye Bourbon and the barely legal Rye whiskey that's often called for is a few percentage points of Rye at most.

And it was good! It had a nice thick mouthfeel; the spice was a bit more nutmeg and cinnamon than in the Rye version I normally make. Speaking of that, I made another Sazerac cocktail using Sazerac Rye to compare to it. And by way of comparison, the Rye-based one fell a bit flat. Of course, by a weird turn of events, the Sazerac Rye is one of my least favorite Ryes to use in a Sazerac so who knows what would have happened with a better Rye. But that's the point, keep experimenting. You never really know how things are going to turn out until you do.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: High Rye Bourbon

Purchase info: $16.67 for a 375 mL bottle (on sale) at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 11 years old, 45% ABV, more Rye than usual used as flavoring grain.

Nose: Floral, Anise, and Oak.

Mouth: Sweet with Anise, Spice, and Oak.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering sweet Anise.

Thoughts: This one is delicious. Top two or three of the six for sure. I'm a big fan. Reaffirms my decision to snag another batch of six at the sale price.

This is the fifth of six posts looking at the Jim Beam Signature Craft, Harvest Bourbon Collection. Previous posts can be found here: Six Row Barley, Soft Red Wheat, Brown Rice, Whole Rolled Oats.

3 Whiskeys from Florida's Timber Creek Distillery

May 18, 2017 Eric Burke

It has been brought to my attention that a blog post from a certain writer that will not be named (who happens to be an undisclosed former promotional man for a different small distillery...hmmm conflict of interest?) called out this post specifically as an example of how you cannot trust me (and various other reviewers) because, and I'm paraphrasing here, "I obviously do not know the definition of bourbon because I didn't call out a fact of how these are made clearly enough." I'm not going to name that blog because, since he didn't reach out to me for comment or clarification, he is obviously more interested in being a dick, attacking people, and proving he is correct than he is about having a dialog. The sad fact of the matter is, in today's world the burden of proof is on the accused, not the accuser. And as there is no way to prove that I knew something before I was accused of ignorance, I am placing my thought process on why I wrote the post the way I did here.

The unnamed blog is correct. I did make a mistake when I wrote this post. Though I know better, I didn't call BS on the process that the distiller is using explicitly enough. I explained the process used, but did so in a way so as to not be a dick about it. Yes, it is technically correct that you should not call a product bourbon if the grains were not mixed before fermentation. The products reviewed below mixed different types of 100% grain whiskey after the fact to get the same ratios as would have been used if the product would have been distilled in a traditional manner. My thoughts on the matter were that this is a distinction without a difference, but since the law doesn't always follow my idea of common sense, I probably should have made my thought process clearer. I tried that in the comments, but I probably should have edited the post.

I continued to refer to the various whiskeys as "bourbon" because I felt that using a different name than what was on the bottle would be confusing to readers when I was reviewing multiple whiskeys of different taste profiles. I stand by that as I still feel that would be confusing.

To be clear, I still find the process that was used by the distiller very interesting. That and the fact I am nowhere near where it was distributed is why I accepted the samples in the first place. And now on to the review that you probably came here to see. In order to maintain transparency, I haven't changed a word below the line. It's sad that I've had to explain this because one person on the internet decided to make an accusation of untrustworthiness without even asking a question as to why a writer would write a certain way, but welcome to the United States of America in 2018.

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Timber Creek Distillery for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by the PR firm that works with Timber Creek Distillery to see if I would like to review some of their products. At first, I was a little leery since, unfortunately, I've sort of soured on trying new craft whiskey lately. At this point, they have to be interesting on some level to even get me to respond anymore. I've just been burned too many times.

But as I was reading through some of the notes that came along with the offer, I thought to myself, "what the heck? I probably won't be back to Florida for a while, and the rye says it's made with a Florida specific strain of Rye grain." So I said yes to the offer of samples. The worst that would happen is that I would have something to make another batch of Cherry Bounce this summer.

Timber Creek is located in the Florida Panhandle near the town of Crestview, about 70 miles north and east of Pensacola). In talking to Camden Ford, the proprietor, I was intrigued by a few of things. First, he is very particular about where he gets his barrels. He sources 15-gallon barrels from McGinnis Wood Products in Cuba, MO and 53-gallon barrels from Canton Cooperage in Lebanon, KY. Both sizes are charred to a #3 char level. (I was glad to hear he shared my opinion of the Minnesota produced barrels you often see small distillers use. I've had very little good whiskey that came out of them.)

I liked the idea that they were doing things a little differently than the big guys. They use a roller mill to crack the grains instead of a hammer mill. Then they lauter them before fermentation (in other words they filter out the grains as you would in making beer) and ferment the wort instead of distilling with the grains still in. They also produce their whiskey in the Canadian manner. They grind, ferment, distill and age each of the grains individually and then blend them after aging. To my knowledge, I've never had an American Whiskey that was created this way.

So yes, they make their own products. These whiskeys are young. The age statements are nine months on each of them. But as they are blending product from small and large barrels, this isn't surprising, particularly in the heat of Florida. Their standard Bourbon is a wheated bourbon made from corn, wheat, and less than 5% barley. The Reserve Bourbon is a four-grain Bourbon made from corn, wheat, less than 5% barley, and a Florida-specific strain of rye called Florida 401 or Black Rye. The Black Rye Whiskey is made from 100% Florida Black Rye.

Timber Creek Florida Bourbon

Purchase info: This bottle was provided to me for review purposes by the distillery. Doing a little digging shows that it is available for purchase online for $40.

Details: 9 months old, 46.5% ABV

Nose: Young with raisin, cinnamon, and cedar.

Mouth: Peppery with dried fruit and a lot of baking spice.

Finish: Short and gentle with lingering dried fruit notes.

Thoughts: If you are generally a fan of craft bourbon, you are probably also a fan of very young whiskey. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking a young, well-crafted whiskey. And while this certainly is a well-crafted whiskey, it is not my preferred style. There's no nice way to say this. For me, this tastes way too young.

Timber Creek Florida Reserve Bourbon

Purchase info: This bottle was provided to me for review purposes by the distillery. Doing a little digging shows that, it is available for purchase online for $50.

Details: 9 months old, 50% ABV

Nose: Young with raisins, brown sugar, and almonds.

Mouth: Sweet with wintergreen, brown sugar, raisin, and ginger.

Finish: Short with lingering wintergreen, ginger, and sweetness.

Thoughts: On the first taste of this, I am finding it much more palatable than the previous bourbon in tonight's review. It's still young tasting, but the sweetness, ginger and wintergreen add a nice counter to the young grain/raisin notes. As far as young bourbons go, this is pretty interesting. I'm going to say that I like this, but if you are turned off by young bourbons, you probably won't.

Timber Creek Florida Black Rye

Purchase info: This bottle was provided to me for review purposes by the distillery. Doing a little digging shows that it is available for purchase online for $51.

Details: 9 months old, 46.5% ABV

Nose: Sweetness with raisin, anise, cedar and a hint of wintergreen.

Mouth: Gentle in the mouth with dried fruit, wintergreen, baking spice and a generic sweetness.

Finish: Short and gentle with lingering wintergreen and granola.

Thoughts: This is definitely the most interesting of the three as it was distilled from a local Florida grain I have never encountered before. I'm actually very happy that this one wasn't aged too long as too much barrel influence might well overwhelm what makes it different from other rye strains.

Blog

Orphan Barrel: Rhetoric 22-Year-Old Bourbon

Winchester Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Rebel Yell Single Barrel, 10-Year-Old Bourbon

Tincup American Whiskey

Four Roses Single Barrel

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Triticale

Jim Beam Signature Craft: High Rye Bourbon

Timber Creek Florida Bourbon

Timber Creek Florida Reserve Bourbon

Timber Creek Florida Black Rye