10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Bottled-in-Bond Edition

Well, well, well…lookie who we have here. Is it bracket time again already?

No, I mean that seriously. I’ve been so caught up with getting all the paperwork for my new dog-sitting business in order that I completely forgot that it was March (and hence bracket season) until last Wednesday when my wife reminded me. In the time since, we chose the theme, bought all the whiskey, seeded the brackets, and, yes, did all the tastings. Oh, and also worked on the previously mentioned paperwork.

Now you might be thinking, “didn’t this used to be called the bottom-shelf brackets? I see some pretty expensive whiskeys up there.” Well, you’d be right about that. After dumping out approximately seven liters of bourbon last year, I felt like I needed to overcorrect in the other direction and instead decided to throw out the price restrictions entirely. Instead, I decided to follow a different theme: Bottled-in-Bond. Now, my local store has a pretty good bourbon section. And unlike Total Wine (where honestly, I spend most of my liquor money), it has a very good selection of Bonded Bourbons (or, in the case of Jack and Dickel, close enough for this little blog). So I bought them all there. And I didn’t even buy all they had, just the least expensive ones. I could have spent $90 for a sourced bourbon or $65 for a 10-year-old Henry McKenna, but I didn’t.

In yet another “burn it all down” moment, I tossed out my usual seeding rules too. This year I went strictly by price. The most expensive price per milliliter was seeded number 1, and the least expensive was seeded number 4 for each division. Here’s how it worked out this year:

1. George Dickel Bottled in Bond (7.07 cents per mL)

2. Old Forester 1897 (6.67 cents per mL)

3. Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond (6.26 cents per mL)

4. New Riff (5.60 cents per mL)

5. Jack Daniel's Bonded (5.00 cents per mL)

6. Old Grand-Dad Bonded (2.93 cents per mL)

7. Old Tub (2.80 cents per mL)

8. Evan Williams Bottled in Bond (2.20 cents per mL)

Which gives us the breakdown above. As you can see, there are a lot of new faces this time. Based on the removal of the pricing restrictions, only two entrants have been here before. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond and Old Grand-Dad Bonded have both competed previously. And they both won.

This one was a lot of fun. Who you got? Any upsets that you see on the horizon? Let us know down in the comments. I’m very excited to share the results with you.

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Jack Daniel's Bonded

I did it again. I went looking for beer at my local liquor store and walked out with two bottles of whiskey.

Don’t judge me!

Though come to think of it, my wife may be to blame for this. Ultimately after 10 years of writing for this site, she should know better than to send me to the liquor store unattended.

See? It’s really her fault. I feel better now, how ‘bout you?

Anyway as I was taking the long way round the store to buy some beer, I saw one of the employees putting product on the shelf and asked if there was anything new. It turns out that there were a couple of new items from Jack Daniel’s. One of which was tonight’s whiskey, the newly released Jack Daniel’s Bonded.

As you might have gathered from the name, Jack Daniel's Bonded is a Bottled-in-Bond whiskey from Jack Daniel’s. It is at least four years old, was distilled during one distilling season, and is bottled at exactly 100 proof. Oh and due to new regulations allowing for more bottle sizes, this is also the first bottle of whiskey that I’ve bought in the US that is the world-standard size of 700 mL. (So one pour less in the bottle, but they don’t need to make one size for in the US and one size for outside the US.) Let’s see what the distillery has to say about the new release:

Jack Daniel’s Bonded is Jack’s time-honored recipe of 80% corn, 12% malted barley, and 8% rye. Barrels were hand selected for their unique and particular characteristics of deeper color, flavor, and aroma, which bring a darker, richer, and more oak-forward character to Jack Daniel’s Bonded. It is a big, bold Tennessee Whiskey at 100 proof with layered notes of caramel, rich oak, and spice giving way to a pleasantly lingering finish.

Sounds good to me, let’s see how it tastes.

Jack Daniel's Bonded

Purchase Price: $34.99 for a 700 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.50

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Corn flakes, cinnamon, ginger, and mint.

Mouth: Cinnamon, ginger, mint, caramel, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and spicy. Notes of mint, cinnamon and ginger.

Thoughts: Sometimes I think that all Jack Daniel's needs to be really good is enough proof. This is a prime example. 100 proof, four years old. And it is delicious. This is a very tasty, affordable whiskey. Even if it is 700mL instead of 750.

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Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: 14E19 "Twin" Blend

Quick one tonight as I have my parents staying over tonight so that I can take them to the VA Clinic right away in the morning. And, as much as I like you, I’d rather spend time with them instead of writing. If nothing else it will help keep everyone’s mind off of the upcoming appointment tomorrow.

Luckily we’ve already talked about a couple of whiskies in this series already so I can crib some of the post from last time.

Tonight’s whiskey is the last of the three of the Tennessee Taster’s Selections that I purchased on my September visit to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. This time, we are looking at the Fall 2020 release: 14E19 “Twin” Blend. These bottles are only sold through the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Bottle Shop and select liquor stores in Tennessee. As we discussed the previous times we looked at one of these, the Tennessee Tasters’s Selections are limited, experimental releases that take a Jack Daniel’s product and play with it a bit. In this case they took 30 barrels of their Rye whiskey and blended it with 20 barrels of their standard Tennessee Whiskey. As you may be able to tell by the name 14E19, all of these barrels were filled on May 19, 2014, hence the “twin” name.

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: 14E19 "Twin" Blend

Purchase Info: $34.24 for a 375 mL bottle at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Lynchburg, TN

Price per Drink (50 ML): $4.60

Details: 53.5% ABV. Barrel entry date: May 19, 2014. 20 barrels of TN Whiskey blended with 30 barrels of TN Rye.

Nose: Oak, vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and leather.

Mouth: Oak, caramel, vanilla, cedar, cinnamon, ginger, and a touch of molasses.

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Notes of molasses and ginger.

Thoughts: I think my favorite baked good is a ginger- molasses cookie. They are soft, rich, and have just the right amount of bite from the ginger. This whiskey hits all of those same notes for me. I really, really like this one. And once again, I'm very sad I only bought one 375mL bottle.

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Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: Barrel Proof Rye, Spring 2019

So we got our first snow today. First measurable snow that is. Super light and fluffy. As I absolutely hate snow, I protested the hateful white stuff by using a leaf blower to clear the driveway. Much to my neighbor’s amusement. Though I did see him cleaning up with one after I went in the house.

It does help to make a pretty picture though.

In honor of winter officially landing in my Minnesota suburb, I’ve decided that tonight should feature a whiskey that will really warm up the ol’ insides. Tonight’s whiskey is another one of the Tennessee Taster’s Selections that I purchased on my September visit to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. This time, we are looking at the Barrel Proof Rye whiskey they released in Spring 2019. These bottles are only sold through the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Bottle Shop and select liquor stores in Tennessee. As we discussed the last time we looked at one of these, the Tennessee Tasters’s Selections are limited, experimental releases that take a Jack Daniel’s product and play with it a bit. In this case they took barrels of their Rye whiskey and didn’t add any water to them. And let me tell you, roughly 127° proof will certainly help turn back the winter blues.

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: Barrel Proof Rye

Purchase Info: $34.24 for a 375 mL bottle at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Lynchburg, TN

Price per Drink (50 ML): $4.60

Details: 63.8% ABV. Selection#4. Released Spring 2011. Grain Bill: 70% Rye, 18% Corn, and 12% Malted Barley. Matured in the uppermost levels of barrel house #1-05.

Nose: Chocolate, tobacco, caramel, and allspice.

Mouth: Spicy. Tobacco, clove, cinnamon, ginger, caramel, and chocolate.

Finish: Long and warm. Lingering notes of mint, ginger, and black tea.

Thoughts: Very hot and spicy. I really like this. Even though I haven't tasted everything I brought back from the distillery, I'm thinking this might be my favorite thing I bought that day. It is so good! I bought two 375mL bottles. I wish I'd picked up even more. If you are in southeastern Tennessee, this is worth the detour to the distillery bottle shop.

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Just A Bunch of Things I Found on Vacation

I am an impulse buyer. Sure, I can make it through a grocery checkout line without buying a candy bar. But it isn’t likely that I will leave a liquor store, festival or distillery without buying at least something. Here are a few of the ones I picked up last month while visiting Tennessee and Kentucky. Even though some of them travelled almost as far as I did to get there.

Lincoln County Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup

Until my teenage years, we never bought syrup. My family made it. We tapped the trees and boiled the sap into syrup. But then we had a fire and the sugar shack we boiled sap in burned down. And since it was a collaboration between my grandparents and one of their cousins, the shack never got replaced. My brother has decided to carry on the tradition though, in order to teach his kids. I however buy mine from a 92-year-old lady who has been making it forever.

So, one could say that I am quite the connoisseur of maple syrup. Either that or you could say that I’ve been spoiled by amazing maple syrup my entire life. And I’m pretty biased. I really do think that the best maple syrup comes from the upper midwest. Fight me Canada. That said, I do like trying new things and so when I saw Lincoln County Reserve selling Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, I knew that a bottle would be coming home with me. And funny thing, that syrup was made in Wisconsin. Merrill, Wisconsin, a city of fewer than 10,000 people and an innumerable number of maple trees. This bourbon was aged in 10 gallon used bourbon barrels from Distillery 291 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

But is it any good? In a word, yes! It’s buttery with a nice bourbon flavor. The bourbon is not overpowering bringing a lot of brown sugar and caramel notes. It has a great mouthfeel, nice and thick. And let me tell you, it is amazing on French Toast and sausage. Highly recommended.

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Freddie's Old Fashioned Root Beer

Let me tell you about my college life. I had a wife, a kid, a job, and a major that was deceptively time-consuming. You might think that a fine art degree would be a cakewalk, but at least at the university I went to, you’d be wrong. Multiple all-nighters per week were extremely common as, due to our finances, I tried to fit a five-year plan for college into as few quarters as possible. One way we saved money was by renting an old farmhouse about a half-hour outside of town. Honestly, it was a pretty nice place. It was maintained by the local student-housing property management company. Meaning it was not maintained at all except by the elderly owner who was paying the property management company to, supposedly, do all of that for him.

Anyway, this farm was near a very small village of about 800 people. There was one grocery store, though it didn’t carry much. But one thing it did carry was Dr. McGillicuddy’s Root Beer Soda. I had no idea that the liqueur brand had lent its name to a soda, but every time I went to that tiny store for something, a bottle of that root beer came out with me. Eventually, I finished college, moved, and couldn’t find anywhere that carried the stuff. Until I first visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Apparently, Sazerac was the producer of that root beer, and one of the few places it could be purchased was at the distillery. I was super happy to pick up a six-pack every time I visited.

In 2019, Sazerac rebranded that root beer after beloved tour guide Freddie Johnson. He is a great guy and this is a great root beer. So I think it is a great match. But how does it taste? Caramel at first, followed by wintergreen. Unlike some root beers, the wintergreen is not overpowering though. This is subtle. After that is vanilla. The vanilla lasts long after you swallow. The thing that makes this so good is how well-balanced these flavors are. They're melded together so well that it is hard to tell where one ends and another begins. It has a nice creamy mouthfeel as well. This is my favorite root beer. A good part of that is nostalgia, but let an old man have that, ok?

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MB Roland Kentucky Dark Cherry Moonshine

This was a gift from my friends at MB Roland, but I found a great use for it so I wanted to share. Thought I’d mention that since everything else on this post was purchased.

The folks at MB Roland are some of the nicest people I’ve met. And one side effect of them being so nice, I gave their whiskey a try shortly after they opened. That whiskey was the start of my personal whiskey journey. So I guess what I’m saying is that if you enjoy reading BourbonGuy.com, on some level you have them to thank.

We visited them while on vacation, spent the afternoon just hanging out, and since they are good friends we were given a bottle of MB Roland Dark Cherry Moonshine. Something we hadn’t tried before. I’m a big fan of this in cocktails. Especially this Cherry Manhattan from FoodandWine.com. Scroll down the page, it’s worth it. But since this could be consumed alone, let’s give it the ol’ tasting notes treatment.

Ripe, dark cherries on the nose. The month is sweet with a strong, natural dark cherry flavor. No artificial flavors or cough syrup flavors here. Very little alcohol flavor so be careful drinking neat if you really love cherries. Works great in cocktails like the one above. I could also see this playing nicely with lime juice in a cocktail or even a highball. It does need to be refrigerated after opening, but a little fridge space is a small price to pay for delicious cocktails.

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Old Forester Oleo-Saccharum Lemon Oil Syrup

I first heard about Oleo Saccharum in David Wonderich’s book Punch. I reviewed it here. Spoiler, I really liked it. It’s basically sugar and lemon peels left together until the sugar draws the lemon oils out of the peels and dissolves in it, creating a syrup. Easy to do, if a little time-consuming. So it was with interest that I saw this little bottle of premade Oleo-Saccharum at the Old Forester Distillery Gift Shop in Louisville, KY. I was staying in the Whiskey Row Lofts which are basically upstairs and had the thought that I might make a few cocktails with it. I did not and so it came home with me.

But what did I think of it once I did open it? It has a strong lemon nose. It’s very sweet and lemony on the mouth when you taste it by itself. It does really well in the champagne cocktail on the bottle (1 oz bourbon, 0.5 oz syrup, 4.5 oz brut sparkling wine, ice, lemon twist). It’s good, but at the end of the day, a lemon oleo-saccharum is too easy to make for me to buy this again. Especially since you use a quarter of the bottle for one cocktail. Maybe if I was on the road, travelling. But not for home use.

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Woodford Reserve Rye, Liquor Barrel-MN Selection

My wife and I have birthdays this week and it has gotten me to thinking: relationships are hard. My wife and I have been married almost 25 years and it still takes work. When people find out how long I’ve been married, they inevitably all ask the same question: “what’s the secret?” And honestly, I used to have a hard time answering it. I’d joke that we were just both too stubborn to walk away when things got tough. And in fact, that is kinda true. We are both competitive by nature and when we were young, neither of us wanted to let the other “win” by being the one to walk away from an argument. Instead we’d fight until we were exhausted and then be forced to talk.

But that isn’t the answer that people are looking for. And it isn’t the real one anyway. After 20+ years, I’ve learned there is a simple answer. And it is twofold. The first part is to actually like each other. The old Boomer joke of “take my wife, please” is more than a bit upsetting to me. When I worked in an office and heard people at lunch saying things like “road trip? no thank you, I could never be around my husband (or wife) that long” I couldn’t understand them. I really like being around my wife. She is my best friend. I’d take an evening with her over any number of nights out with “the guys.”

The second part of the answer is empathy. I don’t cheat, never have, and never will. I can’t imagine the hurt on her face if she found out. Even though I am very competitive, I try to think about what “winning” will cost. When I’m angry, I try very hard to think about how much whatever it is that I’m about to say or do will hurt my friend. And she does the same. And because of that, we’ve both realized that there are some battles that just do not need to be fought.

That of course doesn’t mean we don’t get into arguments. We do. More than either of us would like. But because deep down we really like one another and because of empathy, and trying to see things from the other person’s perspective, we get through them. This really has nothing to do with whiskey, but it has been on my mind this week as I prepare for our first “real” vacation with just each other that we’ve had since before Covid.

So with that out of the way, let’s take a look at tonight’s whiskey. Not too much to say about this one. I was wandering through my local corner liquor store and I noticed that they had a barrel pick of Woodford Reserve Rye. As I’d never run across one of those before, I decided to pick it up. And so here we are.

Woodford Reserve Rye, Liquor Barrel-MN Selection

Purchase Info: $34.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.33

Details: 45.2% ABV. Selection date: 5-28-21

Nose: Brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and herbal mint.

Mouth: Spicy. More tingle than I'd normally expect from Woodford. Follows the nose with brown sugar, honey, molasses, clove, cinnamon, and herbal mint.

Finish: Gentle and on the shorter side of medium. Notes of clove, cinnamon, and herbal mint.

Thoughts: These guys usually do a pretty good job with their barrel picks, but I'm not tasting that much difference here between this and the standard Woodford Rye release. It's good, just nothing to write home about. I like it though. Happy with the pick-up. I’ll probably try a pick by someone else just to see if my store just wanted a bottle that tasted like the standard or if they are all that way and that profile was all they were offered.

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Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Rye, Binny's Beverage Depot Private Selection

This was originally going to be part of last Thursday’s Jack Daniel’s post. Well, kinda. When I bought this, I was going to compare the two Binny’s Jack Daniel’s picks to one another, just as a curiosity. But when it was suggested that I compare the same expression as picked by different people, well, that idea was too much fun to pass up. And so the Single Barrel Rye got bumped.

Last December, when I took a quick road trip to Nothern Kentucky, the only stops I made on the way there and back were bio-breaks at rest areas, gas stops, and booze stops at liquor stores. I usually stop at the Bloomington, IL Binny’s on my way to Kentucky, but this time I also decided to stop at the one in Champaign, IL. I think it was cabin fever that pushed me to make that second stop. And I was rewarded with a table full of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel store picks. I’d already picked up the “bourbon-mash” version in Bloomington so I grabbed the rye here.

I also stocked up on a few other goodies that haven’t made their way to Minnesota so, I mean, it wasn’t going to be a wasted stop regardless.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Rye, Binny's Beverage Depot Private Selection

Purchase Info: $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Binny’s Beverage Depot, Champaign, IL

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: Barrel #: 19-03664. Bottle Date: 6/5/19. Rick #: R-20

Nose: Cedar, bubble gum, mint, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Red fruits, mint, cinnamon, cedar, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and heat. Lingering notes of cinnamon, mint, and apricot.

Thoughts: The last few times I picked up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye, I haven't been as in love with it as I was when it first came out. This single barrel selection continues that trend. I do enjoy it quite a bit but it doesn't quite rise to the level of a heart rating. In fact, I've been enjoying the "bourbon-mash" style whiskies that we looked at last week much more than this one. This is fruitier and less spicy than those were, which is not something I would have expected between a Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel and any Rye whiskey. Still good though. Just not in love with it.

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Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Private Selections

One of my favorite podcasts is The Morning Stream. It’s a daily show from hosts Scott Johnson and Brian Ibbott where they talk about weird news, geeky stuff, pop culture, gaming, and more. Every day they have segments with other geeky people who cover topics like politics, model and prop building, technology, etc. My favorite weekly segment is Therapy Thursday. It is a time where a licensed therapist, and the host’s sister, comes on the show and either helps people with their problems or just talks about things you can do to help your mental health.

A couple of weeks ago, she was talking about human mental development and midlife crises. I was particularly struck by an observation she shared (I’m paraphrasing greatly here) that part of the joy of living is that we are constantly experiencing and learning new things. And that sometimes as we get older, it is easier to fall into a rut just because we’ve lived a long time and experienced so much that truly new experiences are harder to come by. And that the things that used to be exciting no longer are, just because we know enough that it doesn’t bring us as much joy as it did when it was new and exciting.

And this can relate to hobbies, work, even relationships sometimes. I know that when I first got into the hobby of whiskey, everything was exciting. Even noticing that Wild Turkey and Four Roses were made in the same town was pretty thrilling. These days, however, I pretty much know what to expect from most of the things I buy. Either because I’ve had it before, I’ve had something else from the same distillery, or because it was sourced from a distillery that I’m familiar with. Truly exciting pours are harder to come by.

And I think that might be why I enjoy single barrel private selections so much. As I’ve discussed before, for good or ill, you never know what you are going to get out of them. I mean most of the time they follow the “house style” of the brand, but occasionally it is something strange and wonderful. Take the “Gangsta Riff” from the last post. With its strong wintergreen notes, it was very much outside the style of any of the other picks. And when that happens, I get a glimpse of the excitement that I used to get from every pour. Which is why I keep doing this.

All that said, tonight’s Private Selections are not going to stray far from the house style. Jack Daniel’s has too much invested in their style to let anything go too far astray. But they are still different from one another, and that’s fun too.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel (Selected for Minnesota Whiskey Society)

Purchase Info: $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Zipps Liquor, Minneapolis, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 47% ABV. Rick: L-22. Barrel: 20-01841. Bottled on 4/8/20.

Nose: Nutmeg, mint, dried bananas, and caramel.

Mouth: Huge hit of baking spice initially. Followed by banana, caramel, and more nutmeg.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Notes of mint, caramel, and baking spice.

Thoughts: Much spicier than your usual Jack Daniel's products. A strong emphasis on the banana notes. This is quite tasty and if given a glass blind, I would be initially surprised to find out it is Jack Daniel's.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel (Selected by Binny’s)

Purchase Info: $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Binny’s, Bloomington, IL

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 47% ABV. Rick: R-3. Barrel: 20-02745. Bottled on 5/29/20.

Nose: Nutmeg, cinnamon, and mint.

Mouth: Cinnamon candies, orange zest, nutmeg, vanilla,

Finish: Spicy and warm. Medium length. Nutmeg, banana, cloves, and orange zest.

Thoughts: Very tasty. I'm really enjoying the baking spice and citrus combination. Dry, but not astringent. Really enjoying this one.

Comparison: Neither of these would register as Jack Daniel's if I was given a glass blind, but neither are far outside of the wheelhouse of the Jack Daniel's flavor profile. What I enjoy is how different they are from each other. My favorite thing to do with single barrel picks is to compare them. To see how closely they stick to the standard flavor profile. Both of these emphasize a different portion of that standard. Binny's is a spicier version of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, whereas Minnesota Whiskey Society is really emphasizing the banana notes that Jack Daniel's is known for. This was a very fun comparison.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

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