Old Pogue Master's Select - Revisited

December 19, 2017 Eric Burke

A little over four and a half years ago, I last reviewed Old Pogue. It was a bottle that my wife liked to get whenever we would go to Kentucky. At the time, my take was:

"Overall: I liked it. I'll certainly buy it again. It's not a go-to bourbon, but it'll do when the mood strikes."

In the intervening years, as bourbon stocks for sourcing have run low, the product has become much harder to find. being released only intermittently. But while at BourbonFest this past September, I started seeing it on the shelves again. This time the price had gone up considerably, having reached over $100 per bottle.

I was reluctant to pay that much for it, and my wife was conflicted about it. Well, until she got a bidding number at the Master Distiller's Auction at the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History. Then all of a sudden she could justify it as a charitable gift to the museum that happened to come with a bottle of bourbon. The distillery couldn't be reached for comment, so I'm not sure if it is a current bottle or an older batch, but in any case, a bottle came home with us in September.

Knowing that the source of the bourbon was probably quite different than it was previously, I was curious to see how the juice compared to what I had reviewed last time. Luckily back then, I used to keep a sample library of every purchase. And so I pulled out an Old Pogue sample and tasted them head-to-head. Here is what I found:

Old Pogue Master's Select: Batch 6822

Purchase info: You don't really expect that I'll remember where I bought this back in 2012/13 do you? I didn't think so. But I want to say it was in the $40-50 range.

Details: 45.5% ABV. Batch 6822

Nose: Caramel, green apple, vanilla and baking spice.

Mouth: Lightly flavored with caramel, vanilla, and baking spice.

Finish: Gentle burn with lingering green apple and baking spice.

Thoughts: This is good. It isn't a "knock-your-socks-off" powerhouse of a bourbon, but it is a very tasty one. It almost reminds me of one of the good batches of Angel's Envy, just without the port flavors.

Old Pogue Master's Select: Batch 6899

Purchase info: Roughly $100 at the 2017 Master Distiller's Auction to benefit the Oscar Getz Museum in Bardstown, KY. (Suggested retail price is $110 for a 750 mL)

Details: 45.5% ABV. Batch 6899

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, red fruit, cotton candy, wintergreen and floral notes.

Mouth: Cinnamon, mint, floral notes, along with wintergreen candy.

Finish: Warm with lingering wintergreen, mint, and spice notes.

Thoughts: While I used to enjoy Old Pogue, I never liked it quite as much as my wife did. I tend to like powerful bourbons (flavor not proof) that fill the mouth with flavor. So, I would normally leave the bottle for her to enjoy so that she could have more of it.

Not this time. This bottle has the kind of mouth-filling flavor that my wife will need to share. I like this very much. Not so sure I want to pay this much for it though.

In summary, these are very different. I really like the newer bottle better while my wife prefers the old one. Both of us prefer the old price, as you might expect.

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Maker's Mark Private Select, Part 2: The Reviews

December 14, 2017 Eric Burke

In my last post, I gave a little bit of background information on both Maker's Mark and the newish Maker's Private Select, including a breakdown of what each type of finishing stave adds to the flavor of the finished product.

Tonight, however, I want to talk about the bottles that I actually purchased. I went out of my way to purchase bottles that had wildly different combinations of finishing staves. I did this to try to maximize the differences between the two bottles so I could see just how much difference they actually made.

Maker's Mark Private Select: Whisky Magazine and Liquor Barn Selection

Purchase Info: $74.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Liquor Barn, Louisville, KY

Details: 55.75% ABV. Oak Finishing Stave: 2-Maker's 46, 8-Roasted French Mocha

Nose: Wintergreen with a slight floral note, brown sugar and some oak.

Mouth: Baking spice, brown sugar, oak, and almond.

Finish: Long and warm with almond and sweetness.

Thoughts: This is a bit hot and bitter for my tastes. It's fine, but not for me. And for the price, I wouldn't recommend it. Not sure what Whisky Magazine and Liquor Barn were aiming for here, but they may have missed it. In any case, I think the two of them could have done better.

Maker's Mark Private Select: The Party Source Selection

Purchase Info: $69.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY

Details: 55.1% ABV. Oak Finishing Stave: 3-Baked American Pure 2, 2-Seared French Cuvee, 2-Maker's 46, 1-Roasted French Mocha, 2-Toasted French Spice

Nose: Maple, honey, black tea, and baking spice.

Mouth: Spicy and warm with honey, cloves, nutmeg, orange zest, and black tea.

Finish: Oak Finishing Stave: On the long side of medium, lingering black tea, orange zest, and spice.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the nose on this one. The mouth and finish were interesting as well because I seldom get orange zest on a bourbon and I enjoyed that. I'm not wowed, but it's enjoyable while laying on the sofa and binging a little Netflix.

Verdict

You may have noticed in the last post, that most of the mentions of various products end with the fact that I enjoy them. I've enjoyed every Maker's I've had, until now. The regular releases are good, solid bourbons. They are affordable and available wheated bourbons. the cask strength Maker's and Maker's 46 are a joy to drink. These are more expensive than any of their previous releases and, honestly, I'm underwhelmed. I like Maker's Cask Strength much better than either of the bottles I got. And here in Minnesota, I can get that for $55-60.

That said, it may just be the bottles I stumbled upon. I'm not willing to give up yet, though it will be a while before I decide to try again. I'm mostly not willing to give up entirely because, I tried the bourbon from my two bottles mixed together in equal parts and I like it much better than either of them on their own. Does that mean that I would like a bottle that is made up of 2-Baked American Pure 2, 1-Seared French Cuvee, 2-Maker's 46, 4-Roasted French Mocha, and 1-Toasted French Spice? No idea, but if I see one like that I will probably pick it up and see.

UPDATE: In response to this review, Maker’s Mark was kind enough to send me a bottle from their gift shop. It used all Maker’s 46 staves (and so is essentially a Maker’s 46 cask strength). They sent it to me to provide me with another opportunity to try one of their Private Select bottles and maybe change my opinion of the line. I really enjoyed it, as I thought that I might. (When I reviewed the initial cask-strength Maker’s 46 I purchased from their gift shop I gave it a “love” rating.) So I’m posting this as an update and not a full review since not much has changed about my thoughts on the various bottles (meh, like, love respectively) but I needed to be transparent on receiving the third bottle. I would say that if you like Maker’s 46 and see a Private Select bottle that is entirely using Maker’s 46 staves you should pick it up. I think you will really like it.

Old Tub Bottled in Bond

December 7, 2017 Eric Burke

In the dark depths of time and history (pre-Prohibition), there was a brand of bourbon named Old Tub. It was a product of one of today's most famous Bourbon families: the Beam family. And from what I can gather, it was all they made.

Once Prohibition came along, the rights to the Old Tub name became a bit muddled, and the company eventually switched their focus to a new brand. You may have heard of it. It's called Jim Beam.

Even so, Beam continued to sell Old Tub on an ever smaller scale, until today it is a gift shop exclusive.* If you want a fuller history of the brand, Chuck Cowdery has one that is hard to beat.

And it is as a Gift Shop exclusive that I bought it. In the last year or so I have found an appreciation of Beam bourbons, and so I decided to grab one on my September trip to Kentucky. I was mostly curious to see how different it is from other Jim Beam bourbons.

Old Tub Bottled in Bond

Purchase info: $18.99 for a 375 mL bottle at the Jim Beam American Stillhouse (the Clermont Distillery).

Details: 50% ABV. 4 years old, age stated.

Nose: Salted-in-the-shell peanuts, mint and caramel.

Mouth: Nice cinnamon spice on the tongue with more peanut, salted caramel, and dried corn.

Finish: Medium length and warm with lingering cinnamon and corn sweetness.

Thoughts: This is closer to Jim Beam white than it is Jim Beam Bonded, but, if my memory serves me, it is distinct from either of them. If you don't care for Beam Bourbons, you probably won't care for this either. But if you do it's an average tasting but fun souvenir bottle.

*Kentucky law says that "distillery-only" products be available to other retailers in the state should they want to carry them.

UPDATE: I revisited this on July 7, 2020 in advance of the Limited edition offering of Old Tub by Beam. Check it out!

Remus Repeal Reserve

December 5, 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 Gregory White PR for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America;
At the Second Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the fifth
day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-three

JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is hereby proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:

"Article —

"SECTION 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

"SECTION 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

"SECTION 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress."

And so 84 years ago today the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and National Prohibition, was repealed. All in all, it is a short piece of law. The introduction is longer than the Amendment itself. What it lacked in size, it made up for in consequence. First and foremost, it allowed the Federal Government to get out of the way of a citizen's ability to have a drink. There were, of course, other consequences. The one most pertinent to tonight's post is that it also allowed the murderous scofflaws and bootleggers of the Prohibition era to fade into the sort of romanticized characters of history that only the distance of time can allow. People such as George Remus. A pharmacist, a bootlegger, lawyer and a murderer.

Remus was a pharmacist turned Chicago criminal defense lawyer. In Daniel Okrent's book: Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition Remus is described as having an inside look at the workings of Prohibition and the amount of money that could be made outside the law. His plan was rather more complicated than a smash and grab though. He ended up buying both distillery stocks and brands (including brands such as Fleischmann's and Jack Daniel's) as well as a pharmacy where he could sell the stocks as a medicinal product.

He would legally withdraw the bourbon from the bonded warehouse and on the way to his pharmacy, the trucks would sometimes be hijacked. Of course, they were hijacked by his own men. Now, why would he divert the booze into an illegal market when he had the ability to profit from both the sale of the liquor to his pharmacy as well as to the public? Well, that's pretty easy when you think of why he got into it in the first place. The profits are higher on the black market since there are no taxes to be paid on it.

On May 17, 1922, the New York Times published that Remus was charged with conspiring to violate prohibition laws and he and 13 others were sentenced to an Atlanta jail for a year and a day to two years (depending on the defendant). Okrent states that it was a posh cell, decorated with flowers where he was waited on by servants. During his time behind bars, his wife took up with another man and together the two of them burned through the vast fortune that Remus had accumulated (some stories say this was the agent who put Remus behind bars, some say it was an undercover agent in the prison where Remus was serving time who learned of his story and took advantage of the situation).

In either case, the newspaper reports state that his wife's affair drove him temporarily insane. Long enough to have his chauffer chase down the car she was driving in so he could shoot her in front of her daughter from a previous marriage. Of course, even in the initial reports from the trials, there seems to be at least the idea that what really ticked him off was the loss of the money. For this crime, he was committed to an insane asylum for a very short time (somewhere around three weeks) before he then "proved" that he was no longer crazy and was released.

After that, he lived in Cincinnati for the rest of his life and seems to have lived on the correct side of the law as far as I can find. Today, he gets mentioned when people talk about Prohibition but seems to have been otherwise forgotten. Maybe that will change now that MGPi has released their Remus Repeal Reserve to go along with their George Remus Bourbon. It celebrates Remus, though he is probably not the type of person who should have been celebrated, by putting his name in big letters on the top of the bottle. It also celebrates Repeal Day as it accomplishes it's full roll-out today.

The bourbon is 94 proof and is made up of three different MGP bourbons (for once, this isn't sourced since it is put out directly by MGPi). It is 50% Bourbon distilled in 2005 with their 21% rye recipe. It is 15% Bourbon distilled in 2006 from their 36% rye recipe. And it is 35% Bourbon distilled in 2006 with their 21% rye recipe. And it is 100% delicious.

Remus Repeal Reserve

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided as a review sample at no cost to me. It is available locally and I have confirmed that Surdyk's has it for $75. The suggested retail price is $74.99 and it will be sold in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Details: 47% ABV. A blend of 21% and 36% rye bourbons distilled in 2005 and 2006.

Nose: Mint, clove, rye bread, and oak.

Mouth: Dry and spicy in the mouth with cinnamon and clove, rye bread and mint.

Finish: On the long side of medium. Lingering cinnamon with rye spices.

Thoughts: This is a deliciously spicy bourbon. I adore the predominant cinnamon and spice notes. I like this very much. Though I don't know that I would like it's namesake all that much. A dude supposed to uphold the law, who then breaks it and then even kills his wife over it...yeah...not so much.

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2017

November 30, 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.

My wife has been sick lately. The kind of cold that kills your taste buds. As such, she missed out on doing the tasting for tonight's review (and the latest sample that the Whiskey Fairy dropped off). Don't get me wrong, she hasn't stopped drinking whiskey. But since she can't taste the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff right now...yeah she's been getting the cheap stuff.

Tonight's bourbon is the latest Limited Edition of Yellowstone. A bourbon name that from all accounts started out pretty good, was sold, became not good, and has now become a pretty tasty bourbon again. Some of that resurgence is probably because the brand has come home to the family that helped it gain it's initial rise to fame. You see, Yellowstone was owned by Luxco back in the bad old days and it seems they wanted it to be more than just a bottom-shelf dweller. So these days Luxco has partnered with Limestone Branch Distillery to produce the brand.

Limestone Branch is a craft distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky and was started by Stephen and Paul Beam. The Beam brothers are descendants of both the historical brand owners and the distillers that made the historical Yellowstone whiskey. Luxco bought part of the distillery, and the brothers now make the bourbon their ancestors made.

Last year, I was a big fan of the 2016 Limited Edition. So much so that I went out and purchased a second bottle with my own money. It was a whiskey created from the vast stocks that Luxco has access to and it was very well done. So I was interested to see what they would do this year. I got even more interested in the 2017 edition when I noticed that in addition to bourbon from the vast Luxco stocks, it is also the first to contain bourbon distilled at Limestone Branch.

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2017

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by Common Ground PR, but the suggested price is $99.99

Details: 50.5% ABV. Finished in charred wine casks. According to the press release, this is made from 7- and 12-year-old sourced bourbon and 4-year-old Limestone Branch distilled bourbon.

Nose: Caramel, leather, tobacco, and baking spices.

Mouth: Baking spice, caramel, black pepper and red fruits.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering notes of nutmeg and red fruits.

Thoughts: Once again, Stephen and Paul Beam have knocked this one out of the park. I liked last year's enough to want more than the 200 mL sample they sent. I think I like this year's enough to want more than the 750 mL bottle they sent me. I have a feeling I will be grabbing this again should I find it for a good price. And on a freelancer's budget, that's saying something.

JTS Brown Bottled in Bond - Revisited

November 9, 2017 Eric Burke

"Let’s just say that, unlike most of the Heaven Hill bonded bourbons I’ve had, this bourbon lives solidly in the “you get what you pay for” camp."

Yeah, I said that almost two years ago. I also said:

"And it isn’t one that will be returning home with me again."

But, in the intervening time, I have been told in no uncertain terms that I was wrong. And I have been told so often, and by so many people, I decided to take another look at this one. I need to find out if I was wrong or if everyone else was. I mean I am still getting comments on that post. I got one a few weeks ago.

Of course, some of the people were nice and offered me an excuse, suggesting that maybe I just got a bad bottle. I don't know about that, but sure, maybe that's a possibility too.

JTS Brown Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: $9.99 for a 750 mL bottle at The Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 50% ABV. Distilled at D.S.P-KY-1, Louisville, KY. Bottle at D.S.P-KY-31, Bardstown, KY.

Nose: Honey roasted peanuts and baking spices.

Mouth: Honey, baking spices, mint and a hint of peanut.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering baking spices

Thoughts: This confirms my suspicion that there was something wrong the last time. Maybe with the bottle, maybe with me. That bottle is long gone. But, I'm getting none of the grain that I got on that last one. No bitterness at all. It's official; I take back my ranking of dislike. I've been enjoying this bottle. I like it. It is a good, solid value bourbon. Nothing fancy, but tasty and affordable.

Blanton's Bourbon

November 7, 2017 Eric Burke

An interesting thing happened while I was doing a little bourbon shopping on my last trip to Kentucky. I bought a bottle of Blanton's. From a store. Off the shelf. For at (or near) the regular retail price.

It was a bit of luck actually. I was at the Party Source and noticed that there were some bottles on the shelf. I grabbed one and put it in my cart. My wife, who helps with reviews on this site but doesn't follow the business side of bourbon as closely, had never had Blanton's and I thought it might be nice for her to get the opportunity.

She objected, thinking we could get it at home. Objecting to her objection, I pointed at the shelf where I had picked up the bottle. It was now empty. We had only walked about halfway down the aisle, and already the inventory had been cleaned out. "Is it that hard to get at home too?" she asked. Upon my affirmative, she relented and decided that she did want to try it after all. Not that it would have mattered, I was going to buy it anyway. I'd had Blanton's previously but had never purchased a bottle due to putting off the purchase until it became hard to find. As such, I've never featured it on the site (aside from one store pick sample from a friend).

And really, that's too bad because Blanton's is important. Introduced in 1984, Blanton's helped to plant the seeds of today's bourbon renaissance. It was the first Single Barrel bourbon to be sold commercially, leading to many future Singel Barrel products at what would become Buffalo Trace and inspiring other super premium bourbon releases at other companies.

Blanton's Bourbon

Purchase info: $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 46.5% ABV. Barrel 966, Warehouse H, Rick 16, Bottle 149. Dumped on July 20, 2017.

Nose: Cherry candy, cinnamon, and hints of bubblegum and mint.

Mouth: Dry and spicy with loads of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger notes.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering notes of cherry oak and bubblegum.

Thoughts: This is a damn fine whiskey. Spicy and dry but somehow reminiscent of various candies. I really like it. But we knew that going in. The better question is what did my wife, who had never had Blanton's think of it. Well, she put a little heart in her whiskey journal and said: "I can understand why people clamor for this."

Early Times Bottled-in-Bond

October 24, 2017 Eric Burke

I am a recovering comic book nerd. I'm not so into the comics themselves these days. Not for any real reason, I just fell out of love with them somewhere during the last 25 years. But I do love the overabundance of comic-inspired entertainment options we have available these days. It reminds me of when I was a teenager when my favorite place was my local comic shop.

I give every superhero movie and tv show a shot. Some I like and some I don't, but I haven't personally reached oversaturation yet. But because there is so much entertainment to be had, I sometimes need to hold off on watching a particular show or movie. Take the one I finished last night, Netflix and Marvel's Iron Fist.

Iron Fist has been out for six months or more now. I started watching it last week. I was a little hesitant to do so since it was almost universally panned by people whose opinion I trust. Like I said, last night I finished it. And I loved it!

It just goes to show that just because you have a notion that you won't like something, it doesn't nessecarily follow that you are correct. You should at least give it a shot if it is something in your wheelhouse.

Kind of like how I was initially a little hesitant to purchase the Early Times Bottled in Bond. I'd had the previous Early Times bourbon release, Early Times 354. And...I didn't like it. But because I'm a firm believer in trying things for myself instead of passing judgment based on my intuition, I bought the Bonded version the first time I saw it. And guess what? I liked it.

Now I just hope that history repeats itself and Justice League is good despite the fact that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was complete crap...

Early Times Bottled-in-Bond

Purchase Info: $21.99 for a one-liter bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 50% ABV. Distilled and bottled at DSP-KY-354 and DSP-KY-414 (I'm assuming distilled at the first and bottled at the second...).

Nose: Coconut, brown sugar and a hint of wintergreen.

Mouth: Brown Sugar, wintergreen, and baking spice.

Finish: Gentle and short with lingering notes of brown sugar and wintergreen.

Thoughts: This is a solid value bourbon. If I had to compare it to something, I'd say that it is of a similar quality to the various Heaven Hill bonded bourbons, though obviously with a different flavor profile. I really like this. I hope that it sticks around as it is nice to have more good bonded options on the market.

Blog

Old Pogue Master's Select: Batch 6822

Old Pogue Master's Select: Batch 6899

Maker's Mark Private Select: Whisky Magazine and Liquor Barn Selection

Maker's Mark Private Select: The Party Source Selection

Verdict

Old Tub Bottled in Bond

Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America;At the Second Session,

Remus Repeal Reserve

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2017

JTS Brown Bottled in Bond

Blanton's Bourbon

Early Times Bottled-in-Bond

Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America;
At the Second Session,