My Wandering Eye: Berneroy XO Calvados

February 23, 2016 Eric Burke

Bourbon prices are creeping up. So much so that even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. A $50 750 ml bottle of Cognac or Armagnac doesn’t sound outrageous next to a $50 Old Forester 1870 or a $50 375 mL of the Jim Beam Harvest collection. So my eye has started wandering. I’ve done an Aquavit and a rum so far and now I’m about to take a walk down the brandy aisle.

For the last three years, I’ve been making a batch of hard cider each fall. I go to the orchard, buy the varieties I want and proceed to cut, chop and crush my way into 6-7 gallons of fresh apple juice. It’s good fun. I even built the cider press. It takes a few months to ferment, clarify, bottle and age but by the next spring I have enough cider to last me through the following winter.

So it isn’t entirely shocking that the first time my eye wandered in the brandy aisle it landed on an apple brandy. In this case, specifically a Calvados apple brandy. Calvados is an apple brandy made in various subsections of Normandy region of France. As you might have guessed there are plenty of laws governing what can and can not be called Calvados, but I’ll let you google those for yourself. Because the price was right, that wandering eye of mine settled on the XO version of Berneroy Calvados. This should mean it is at least 6 years old.

Berneroy XO Calvados

Purchase info: $15.99 for a 375 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. (This was listed as a Spirits Direct selection at Total Wine, which they want you to think means that it is cheaper because it is an exclusive.*)

Details: 40% ABV

Nose: Dried fruit and caramel.

Mouth: Thick, supple mouthfeel. Dried apple, brown sugar, clove and more than a hint of spirit flavor. Water enhances the sweetness and reduces the spirit presence.

Finish: Dried apples, clove and a little bitterness linger along with a hint of a burn.

Thoughts: Glassware seems to make a difference on this one. My initial tasting was done neat in a glencairn and rated it a solid meh. Nothing wrong with it, but not for me. As I wrote this, I revisited it in a small brandy snifter that I picked up at Jim Beam, of all places. After trying it again and trying it with just a few drops of water, I’m upgrading it to a like. For me, the spirit flavor was accentuating the wrong portions of the dried fruit forward parts of the drink while in the glencairn. In the snifter and after adding a little water, I found that I was actually enjoying the dried apple notes. It also makes a better Old Fashioned than many of the bourbons I’ve had. I used brown sugar and aromatic bitters.

*Not always cheaper. By a quirk of Minnesota law, liquor stores are prohibited from carrying exclusive products. This means many local stores buy the exclusives and then undercut Total Wine’s price. Which is nice since these products tend to have the highest markup at Total Wine. Everyone wins…well except the massive megaretailer.

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Forty Creek: Three Grain Harmony 2015

February 18, 2016 Eric Burke

If it hasn’t been made perfectly clear in the past, I like trying new whiskies. So when my friend (and patron) Rick in Canada offered to pick me up a bottle of Forty Creek’s annual limited release when he got his, I jumped at the chance. We had a little fun with it and did a bottle swap. I got him a US only release and he got me this.

I love friends. And Whiskey Friends make the best friends.

Forty Creek: Three Grain Harmony 2015

Purchase Info: I got this in a bottle swap, but it looks like the LCBO listed it for roughly $70 Canadian. Of course, it is long gone.

Details: Bottle number: 3764, 43% ABV

Nose: Toffee and dried fruits followed by notes of faintly smoky oak.

Mouth: This has a wonderfully soft mouthfeel that balances a sneaky spiciness. Butterscotch, dried fruits, baking spices and hints of vanilla.

Finish: Medium length finish with lingering dried fruit and a gentle heat.

Thoughts: This is a fine example of a product produced by a Master of the blender’s art. It is an amazingly well put together whisky. And while ordinarily the pronounced dried fruit note would turn me off, in this case it was tasty enough that it worked. I enjoyed this quite a bit and those who normally enjoy dried fruit notes should enjoy it even more.

Thanks Rick!

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel

February 16, 2016 Eric Burke

In the last couple years, liquor mega-store, Total Wine has come into the Twin Cities market. They offer ok selections and decent prices to a market that has been fairly well dominated by either small chains or municipal liquor stores.

The chains and munis fought hard to keep Total Wine out and when they lost that battle ended up pulling out of some markets. It’s sad to see people forced out of business when a bigger competitor enters the market, but in this case I found it hard to feel too sorry for those local chains as they previously tended to do the same thing to independent stores when they entered a city.

And while the local chains with the limited sections and higher prices were facing the competition with mixed results, the independents are tending to take a different route. As I travel around the Twin Cities looking for interesting places to spend my liquor budget, I’m noticing that the answer that many stores (both the independents and some of the chain franchises) have come up with is to offer more selection. In the case of one of the small independents in my town, that meant having more facings and differentiating themselves with barrel picks. Right now they offer private selections from Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek and Russel’s Reserve.

I'd had their Russel’s Reserve Single Barrel. It was quite good. So a few weeks ago, I picked up a bottle of their selection of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel.

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel

Purchase Info: $57.99 for a 750 mL bottle. Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 45.2% ABV. Sadly Woodford doesn’t add any barrel information to the label.

Nose: Sweet green apple, baking spices, spearmint and oak.

Mouth: Sweet and nicely spicy. Caramel, clove and allspice dominate with a touch of fruitiness showing up a bit later.

Finish: The oak shows up on the finish with lingering char and tannins. Paired with that is a nice sweet fruitiness that lasts even longer.

Thoughts: I liked this enough that after tasting it, I immediately went back and bought another bottle. If they still have some in a few weeks, I will probably grab a third.

If you like Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and see one of these on a store shelf, I recommend giving it a shot.

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Double Double Oaked

February 11, 2016 Eric Burke

Double Double Oaked. What does that mean? Well, with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked the mature Woodford is put into a second new barrel for six months to a year. This second barrel has been heavily toasted and very lightly charred. In the case of the Distillery Series Double Double Oaked that year in the second barrel has been lengthened to two years. So it was double oaked for double the time.

And since Woodford experiments tend to be hit or miss, I guess the only real question is: is it any good?

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Double Double Oaked

Purchase info: $50 for a 375mL bottle at the Woodford Reserve Distillery Gift Shop, Versailles, KY

Details: Summer 2015 release, 45.2% ABV

Nose: Brown sugar, caramel, cloves and a hit of latex paint.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy. Butterscotch and baking spices with a hint of fruit and bubble gum.

Finish: Warm and tingly. It starts sweet and transitions to a dry spiciness with a lingering not of “Brown Forman latex paint.”

Thoughts: This is quite tasty. It has good spice and is sweeter than I would have initially expected. This tastes like a Brown Forman bourbon though so if you are not a fan of Old Forester or Woodford Reserve, this is one you might want to pass on. If however you are like me and really tend to like their stuff, then this is a tasty treat and you should grab it if you have the opportunity. Especially if you are a fan of the Double Oaked.

My Wandering Eye: Gamle Ode Holiday Aquavit on Rye

January 21, 2016 Eric Burke

Disclaimer: I consider Mike McCarron of Gamle Ode to be my friend and in my statement of ethics I promised to disclose when I am reviewing one of my friend’s products and to only review them when it was truly something I really liked. This is one of those times. He also keeps me well supplied with Aquavit so I should also note that this bottle was free.

Gamle Ode Holiday Aquavit on Rye Whiskey Barrels.

As I discussed in the intro to this series, bourbon prices are creeping up. Limited editions are selling at retail for insane prices. And I’m getting a bit sick of it. My eye is wandering. I need to find things that I can get me excited about spirits and not break the bank. So when my friend Mike McCarron of Gamle Ode spirits invited me to have a drink with him and try his new Limited Edition Aquavit, I knew I needed to take a look.

Holiday on Rye is a version of his normal Holiday Aquavit but aged for 18 months in used rye whiskey barrels instead of his usual used wine barrels. It was also bottled with a nice proof bump clocking in at 50.24% ABV as opposed to the 42% of the original. Holiday Aquavit normally sells for $28-$30. Here in the Twin Cities Limited Edition Holiday on Rye is retailing for the very non-insane price of $30-$35.

So you may be asking yourself, “What is aquavit anyway?” That is a good question and before I jump straight into my review I should probably answer that for you. Like gin, aquavit is neutral spirit infused with herbal flavors. In the case of gin, the base flavor is juniper berries. In aquavit’s case it is caraway. And like gin, you are allowed to use more than just the base flavor. In the case of Holiday Aquavit and Holiday on Rye, caraway is joined by dill, juniper, orange peels, mint and allspice. Unlike a sweet and spicy bourbon, this is a savory drink.

Gamle Ode Holiday Aquavit on Rye Whiskey Barrels

Purchase info: This bottle was kindly given to me by the owner of Gamle Ode. In the Twin cities, I’m seeing it online in the $30-$35 range for a 750 mL.

Details: Bottle 425 of 426, 50.24% ABV.

Nose: Mint, dill, juniper and citrus.

Mouth: Delicate on entry with a sweet spice that sneaks up on you as it moves back. Bright and energetic.

Finish: Lingering flavors of mint, dill and citrus.

Thoughts: I like this a lot. Yes, it is produced by a friend of mine, but I can easily say that it is worth a look if you are in a market where it is sold. It is bright and energetic on the palate, probably from 18 months spent in rye whiskey barrels, and the infused flavors are amazingly well integrated. This is a savory treat for lovers of unique flavors.

Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 6 year old

January 15, 2016 Eric Burke

Out of the blue, last night, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go see a movie with him. He’d been given two tickets to a showing of a RiffTrax version of Starship Troopers and figured that might be the type of humor I’d be interested in. He was right. Though I hate watching bad movies, I love seeing people make fun of bad movies. You expect it to be bad, then it turns out to be good.

Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond is a 6 year old age-stated bonded bourbon. It’s a bourbon that doesn’t seem to get much distribution outside of Kentucky. I picked it up while in Kentucky last September as I was working out the idea that would eventually become the “If You’ve Had” series of posts (and you can look forward to it making a reappearance in one in the coming weeks). Plus the only other time I’d had it was on my first visit to Kentucky when I bought it from the gift shop stuck in a glass and I seemed to remember liking it.

Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 6 year old

Purchase Info: Sadly I lost the receipt on this one and only know I was in Kentucky and it was less than $20.

Details: 50% ABV. 6 years old. Distilled at D.S.P. KY 1, Louisville, KY. Bottled at D.S.P. KY 31, Bardstown, KY.

Nose: Corn flakes, baking spice, honey, mild mint and oak.

Mouth: Nice and spicy. Caramel with floral flavors and baking spices.

Finish: Sweet and fruity with baking spices and lingering oak.

Thoughts: This is really good. Unfortunately the only place I’ve found it is in Kentucky. If it were here in Minnesota, it might supplant Wild Turkey 101 as my “always on the shelf” value bourbon due to comparable age, price and tastiness. Hoping a few of these will make the trip home with me the next time I’m in Kentucky.

UPDATE: It is my sad duty to report that Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 6 year old is no longer with us. The product was discontinued in late 2018 and will be missed.

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey (110 proof)

December 29, 2015 Eric Burke

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey with it's cousin, Rittenhouse, in the background

I tend to like rye whiskey more than my wife does. She’s coming around, but things that show a lot of rye character still aren’t her drink of choice. When I find my hand hovering over an open bottle of rye on the shelf it is usually one that is a nice change of pace from bourbon. To be honest, it is probably either from Canada or Indiana. If I’m grabbing a rye, I don’t want it to be confused for a high rye bourbon. If I wanted that I’d just have a bourbon.

My wife on the other hand, tends to like her ryes more bourbony. With rare exceptions, the Kentucky-style barely-legal rye is the style she’d reach for first. Which makes our most recent whiskey to be opened one that is more up her alley than mine.

Pikesville Straight Rye whiskey is a wide-release line extension to the Pikesville Supreme Rye whiskey that is mostly available only in Maryland where the brand was originally from. It is an older and higher proof version of Rittenhouse Rye. But those 10 degrees proof and 2 years time come with a price. Where Rittenhouse can be found hovering around $22 at my nearest Total Wine, Pikesville clocks in at $44.

I guess the only question is…is it worth it?

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: $54.95 for a 750 mL bottle. Heaven Hill Gift Shop, Bardstown, KY

Details: 6 years old, 55% ABV

Nose: Mint, cloves, caramel, a mild fruitiness and hints of cotton candy.

Mouth: Ginger spiciness, cloves, mint and a fruitiness that is more forward on the palate than the nose would lead you to believe.

Finish: Cloves, mild fruitiness and mint follow a lingering spicy ginger heat.

Thoughts: Though this is a barely-legal rye, it has enough rye character that it straddles a line where both my wife and I tend to like this one. Like it’s younger cousin, this is a hot rye whiskey. Unlike it’s younger cousin, I like this in a glass with an ice cube rather than in a cocktail.

So to answer the question above, is it worth twice the price? To me, the answer is yes since I actually like this one where I’m just sort of meh on Rittenhouse outside of a cocktail. If on the other hand, you love your Rittenhouse, your milage may vary. Certainly try it but the value may not be there for you.

Medley Bros. A pretty good bourbon to have while watching TV.

December 21, 2015 Eric Burke

Medley Bros, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and the glass I was drinking it out of while taking the photo.

If you are a loyal reader of the blog, you will notice that this post is appearing on an off day. Being the loyal reader that you are, you probably have your schedule set up so that you will always be reading bourbon guy.com on Tuesday and Thursday nights. And now I’ve gone and screwed that right the hell up.

I do have a good excuse. Tomorrow night I am taking my daughter and wife to see Star Wars. I’ve taken my daughter to see every Star Wars movie. It started when she was young and we took her to see the theatrical release of the Original Trilogy Special Editions when she was little. It continued through the prequels when she was a teenager and now that she is an adult we are going to see Episode VII.

But I have a little secret. I hate Star Wars. I can’t watch them. I used to love them. Then I took my daughter to see them and she loved them. And we had them on VHS, then DVD and then Blu-ray. And she watched them. And watched them. And watched them…

I hate those damn movies with such a passion at this point. I’ve seen them enough that I could probably recite them in my sleep. And yet, she wants to go. And she wants to go with us since it has become a family tradition. And honestly I’m excited. I’ll probably watch this movie exactly one time. And I assume I will enjoy it. Even if it is just for the company. And the fact that the theater I’m going to see it in has recliners.

At home, I love my recliner. It is where I do most of my tv watching. It is soft, leather and is wide enough that my littlest dog can wiggle in next to me while I pet her. At times the other hand will be holding a drink. I have pretty specific requirements for tv bourbon. It has to be good enough that I want to continue drinking it, but not so interesting that I am concentrating on the bourbon instead of the show. A good example of this is tonight’s bourbon:

Medley Bros. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: $21.99 for 750 mL bottle. Chicano’s Liquor Mart, Hudson, WI.

Details: 51% ABV

Nose: Dried orange peal, oak and mint with vanilla and caramel sweetness backing it up.

Mouth: A nice fruitiness, cloves, oak and sweet vanilla.

Finish: Good heat with a slight bitterness that transitions to a lingering vanilla as the heat fades.

Thoughts: This is a decent value bourbon with enough proof and richness of flavor to stand up nicely to a little water or a cube of ice. I’ve found it works nicely when I just want a drink while putting my feet up and binging through a season of something on Netflix. It’s good enough to accentuate my relaxation, but not so good I pause the show to talk with my wife about how good the bourbon is.

I have to say, that out of the ones I’ve had, this is my favorite release from the Medley Company. Personally, I felt that Old Medley and Wathen’s were over-oaked, under-proofed and over-priced. This is just the opposite. The proof is decent at just over 100 and the price is right in the ballpark of perfect. And, as an added bonus, it is pretty tasty too.

Blog

Berneroy XO Calvados

Forty Creek: Three Grain Harmony 2015

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Double Double Oaked

Gamle Ode Holiday Aquavit on Rye Whiskey Barrels

Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 6 year old

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey

Medley Bros. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey