Blanton's from a friend

May 16, 2017 Eric Burke

Blanton's Bourbon from Holiday Market in Royal Oak, Michigan

Tonight a tornado hit the town where I grew up. My family is ok, no worries. Property damage, but no injuries reported from them so far. But as I was calling around, checking to make sure everyone was alright and learning about the damage they'd suffered, I thought about how important friends and family are. I don't live near most of my family, and that is by design. I enjoy a different lifestyle than would be possible in a small town in rural Wisconsin. But on nights like this, when their power is out, and they are only available by cell phone, I kinda wish I was closer.

Friends, however, are a different matter entirely. I have a lot of friends, and I value every one of them. It doesn't matter where I visit; I probably have a friend nearby. That's the beauty of the internet. I have good friends that I have never met in real life and good friends that I knew online well before I knew they lived near me. I even have friends from places I've never visited, but that I see almost every year in Kentucky.

One of the latter is Josh from Sipology Blog. I see him nearly every year at BourbonFest. Recently he reviewed a private selection of Blanton's from a retailer near him, and when he offered me a sample of that very interesting sounding bourbon, I jumped at the chance. Blanton's is a bourbon that, I'm surprised to say I've never reviewed on the site before. And come to think of it, that's probably because I've never purchased it. I've had it at bars and always enjoyed it, but every time I'm in the liquor store with $60 in my pocket I always seem to turn to something besides this Single Barrel Buffalo Trace product. I think the next time I see it, that will have to change.

Blanton's Single Barrel - Holiday Market Selection

Purchase info: This sample was graciously shared by Josh at SipologyBlog.com. He lists the Michigan state minimum as $60.

Details: 46.5% ABV. Warehouse H, Rick 15, Barrel 66.

Nose: Very fruity on the nose with mixed berries, oak and honey.

Mouth: Earthy honey, ripe fruit, oak and some spice.

Finish: Gentle, but not timid. Warm, but not overpowering. Lingering green apple, oak and spice.

Thoughts: This is a very tasty bourbon that was provided by a friend in Michigan. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. I'm loving the fruitiness and spice. I gotta agree with Josh, this one is recommended.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Whole Rolled Oat

May 11, 2017 Eric Burke

WOW! Has it ever been a busy time in the BourbonGuy household. This week, my major client has been on vacation so, since the weather is nice, I am busy trying to get caught up with all the projects I want to build for the Etsy store (BourbonGuyGifts.com should you want to check it out).

I love working with wood and I have some new things coming up that I am really proud of and hope everyone likes them as much as I do. Probably won't show up until next week though.

So why am I talking about that instead of the bourbon I'm reviewing tonight? Well, how much more can I say? I've already reviewed three of the six in the lineup (Brown Rice, Red Wheat, and Barley), and honestly, there isn't much more to say. Beam did a little experimenting. They changed the flavoring grain and/or flavoring grain ratio in their bourbon and then let it age for 11 years. They then released it at an absurdly high price, but I got a screaming good deal on the pack of six, so much so that I went back to get another six-pack.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Whole Rolled Oat

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

Details: 11 years old, 45% ABV, Whole Rolled Oats used as flavoring grain.

Nose: Tropical fruit, caramel and oak.

Mouth: Peppery heat with spearmint and fruit along with a nice sweetness and nuttiness.

Finish: Long and peppery with oak and a hint of smokiness.

Thoughts: As you can see from the fill level above, I liked this one. I really liked it. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the oat version of this. But man, the fruit and the strong spearmint are fun and fantastic. And though I get nutty notes from this, I wouldn't have ever guessed that it was a Jim Beam product if I had been served it blind. Very, very nice.

Jim Beam Signature Craft Six Row Barley

May 2, 2017 Eric Burke

Jim Beam Signature Craft Harvest Bourbon Collection: Six Row Barley

I'm dog sitting this week. It's a 9-month old Huskey puppy that belongs to the adult daughter of one of my neighbors. Interestingly enough his litter-mate lives at my neighbor's and so they get to play with each other whenever the daughter comes to visit her folks.

Having had a pair of Huskies for a decade and a half before my current pups, I know some of their quirks. Like their tendency to find a way to get above, around or under any obstacle in between them and where they want to be. Tonight the boys played with each other through the fence. Until the one who lives next door decided that it would be much more fun if he was in our yard and jumped the four-foot fence separating our yards.

To be honest, that's something I have been expecting since he really likes playing with my pups too. And I found it hilarious...my neighbor? Not so much. And truthfully, it is one of the things I love about Huskies. They are smart and they love to learn new things.

Which brings me to tonight's bourbon. I've recently had a lot of Jim Beam products on the shelf. I used to say I didn't care for things with Jim Beam on the label. But somewhere over the last couple years, I realized that I didn't really mind it. In fact some of them I actually liked quite a bit. So when I saw the entire line of the six Jim Beam Signature Craft Harvest Bourbon Collection on sale for a third of the suggested price, I knew I needed to give it a much closer look. See if I could learn something from it.

Jim Beam Signature Craft Six Row Barley

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

Details: 11 years old, 45% ABV, Six Row Barley as flavoring grain.

Nose: Caramel, nutmeg, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy ginger, vanilla, caramel, a toasty/nutty note and oak.

Finish: Spicy with a medium length. Oak and hints of brown sugar.

Thoughts: I went into this one not expecting much. The brief taste of it I had at a whiskey festival a couple years ago didn't leave me wanting more. Especially for the suggested price of $50 for a half bottle. When I saw the entire line of six on sale for $100 though, I figured I better take the plunge and give it another chance. If nothing else, I'd get a few blog posts out of it. But guess what? I really like this. And though I probably still wouldn't pay the suggested price, I'd happily pay $50 for a full bottle, but twice that? Nah. It's too bad Beam priced this out of the range of sane shoppers.

Blood Oath, Pact No. 3

April 6, 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.

If you've been a reader of this site for a while now, you will know that when I am really unhappy with a product, I tend not to pull any punches. Whether it is an objectively bad product or just a "meh" product that is grossly overpriced, I will call it out. Sometimes in a sarcastic and amusing fashion (at least amusing to me).

One of these was the initial release of Blood Oath, Pact No. 1. I think I played off of their marketing speak to say something about being very glad it wasn't going to be made again. In fact, I was so disappointed by that purchase that I didn't even take the opportunity to try Pact 2 at an event I was at where it was being served for free.

Well, skipping that opportunity may have been a mistake. Because these days, I am very impressed with the quality of liquid Luxco is releasing in their premium labels. And so, when I saw the opportunity to request a review sample of Blood Oath Pact Number 3. I made sure not to make the same mistake again.

Blood Oath Pact No. 3

Purchase info: Common Ground PR provided this sample. Suggested retail price is $99.99.

Details: 49.3% ABV. Blend of three bourbons ranging from 7 to 12 years of age. Finished in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.

Nose: Leads off with floral notes. Leather, caramel, and almond notes follow.

Mouth: As with the nose, floral notes leap to the forefront. Following that are peppery spice notes, dried orange peel, leather, caramel, and anise.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering cinnamon, clove, mint and anise notes.

Thoughts: Floral and spicy are good ways to go if you want me to like your bourbon. And boy, do I like this bourbon. If, like me, you were turned off by Pact No. 1 of Blood Oath, consider giving this a chance. I don't often say this, but I think I'm going to pay the $100 price if I see it on the shelf.

Oh, and FYI, I revisited the samples of Pact 1 in my library and I still wasn't impressed. Just in case you were thinking I was going soft.

Minor Case Straight Rye Whiskey

April 4, 2017 Eric Burke

The Beam brothers of Limestone Branch are acquaintances of the "friends of a friend" variety. They seem like good people, and they tell some good stories. And ever since I spent an "off-the-record" evening discussing the state of the Kentucky bourbon industry with one of them, I've been keeping half an eye on the things they are producing, both with their own distillate and with that available through their partnership with Luxco.

One of their more recent releases is Minor Case Straight Rye whiskey. Named after Steve and Paul Beam's great-grandfather (and distiller in his own right until Prohibition), this two-year-old Indiana Rye is bottled at 45% ABV after having been finished in Sherry Casks.

The first thing you'll notice about this is the very lovely bottle it comes in. This is certainly one that I will probably see in an antique store when I am older. It is very reminiscent of the ones I find now from 100 years ago.

The juice inside the bottle might be more interesting, though. At least to me. Finishing a whiskey is nothing new. Scotland has been doing it practically forever. In bourbon, it has been going on for years as well. I bought my first finished bourbon well before I started this site. I've seen a lot fewer barrel finished ryes, though. And when I saw the announcement come past, my curiosity got the better of me and I knew I needed to request a sample.

Minor Case Straight Rye

Purchase info: This sample was provided by Common Ground PR. Suggested retail price is $49.99.

Details: 45% ABV. Sherry cask finished. Distilled in Indiana. Two years old.

Nose: This is a nose that takes some time to develop fully. I'd say this took about 20 minutes or more to open up. Mint, cedar, brown sugar, ripe fruit, and baking spices.

Mouth: Peppery but not overly hot. Ripe fruit, hints of citrus, mint and baking spices.

Finish: Spicy and warm with lingering cedar, rye spices, mint and hints of citrus.

Thoughts: I've been really impressed with the products coming out of Limestone Branch and Luxco lately. This is no exception. If I had to describe it in one word, that word would be "elegant." It is young but interesting. It has the same "ginger beer" quality that Ezra Brooks rye has, and the sherry finish plays with that very nicely. I'm not completely convinced that I'm ready to pay $50 for a two-year-old whiskey, but if I were going to, this would be the one that would convince me to.

Ezra Brooks Rye

February 28, 2017 Eric Burke

About a month ago, an email landed in my inbox announcing the new Ezra Brooks Rye. I was curious, but then I saw the Distilled in Indiana prominently on the front label. I needed content, and I love MGP's 95% Rye whiskey, but I wasn't sure that reviewing yet another would be all that interesting. Ultimately, I decided to pull the trigger and see about getting a sample sent, mostly because I'm liking the moves that Luxco is making lately.

When I opened the box and saw that the product was only two years old, my expectations for this whiskey sank a bit. I know that rye performs better at a young age than bourbon does, but in the past, I have not been a fan of the ones I've had.

I decided to spend a couple of weeks with this before writing my review. As they were kind enough to send a full bottle, the least I could do was run it through its paces in a variety of situations and glasses.

From my first taste, I noticed something about this. It didn't really taste like your typical 95% MGP rye. There were certain family resemblances, to be sure. But it wasn't quite right, which got me to thinking.

A few of years ago, April-ish of 2013 to dial that in a bit, MGP Ingredients announced they were expanding the number of whiskey recipes that they would be producing and offering to their customers. Included in that announcement were the following:*

A Rye whiskey made from 51% rye and 49% barley malt
A Rye whiskey made from 51% rye, 45% corn and 4% barley malt

As production was scheduled to start later that April, the very first product off the still would be a few months shy of four years old now. Plenty old enough to blend a few different barrels together and end up with a product that had to be called two years old (remember you have to go by the youngest whiskey in the bottle).

Is Ezra Brooks Rye one of the new MGP rye recipes? I reached out to Luxco's PR Agency for comment, and they were unwilling to give exact mash bill info. They did say that there was a little corn in the recipe, though. And that leads me to believe that at least some of the juice is the second recipe above. Is it all that recipe? Is there a mingling of two or three rye mash bills? No idea. What I do know is that it's from Indiana and has rye and corn in it.

Oh, and that it tastes pretty good in spite of its age.

Ezra Brooks Rye

Purchase info: This sample was provided by Common Ground PR, but I've seen it listed online for less than $20 for a 750 mL.

Details: Two years old. 45% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon red hots, soap, brown sugar, and a faint citrus note.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy. Honey, cinnamon red hots, clove, ginger, and lemon zest.

Finish: Medium length with lingering ginger and lemon zest.

Thoughts: This is young, but tastes pretty good in spite of that. I'm really enjoying the almost "ginger beer" quality of the ginger and lemon zest notes. I tried this in a couple of cocktails, and it got a bit lost. But on the other hand, I've enjoyed almost half the bottle neat to this point, so that says something I guess. If you see this somewhere, I'd recommend giving it a try.

UPDATE: This post contains an update to clarify who's PR Agency confirmed the use of corn in the mashbill.

*Sources:
MGPingredients.com News Release. (Accessed 2/28/17)

Heaven Hill 6 year old, Green Label

February 16, 2017 Eric Burke

It was about two and a half years ago that I first became aware of the Heaven Hill brand of bourbons as they stand today.

Well, that's not exactly accurate. On my very first trip to Kentucky, I had a miniature bottle of Heaven Hill Bonded (White Label) that came with the glass I purchased at their gift shop. I thought it was good, but I didn't have much to compare it to yet. Oh, and I used to occasionally buy the Gold Label Bonded when it was still available locally. But after that went away, I pretty much stopped thinking about the Heaven Hill brand.

Until about two and a half years ago, that is. I was putting together the beginnings of the idea that would blossom into the "If You've Had..." series of posts when I happened upon Heaven Hill Bonded (White Label). I was planning to do a post comparing all of Heaven Hill's bonded bourbons and picked it up. Somewhere between the time I bought it and the time I decided to review it, Fred Minnick had decided to give the green label version some good publicity.

And that brings me to my last trip to Kentucky. If you followed me on Instagram about that time, you might have seen a cart filled with a combination of White Label and Green Label bottles. Filled because I loved the white label for the price. But since Fred recommended the Green, I grabbed a few of those too.

But now I'm down to my last bottle. I've been saving it to do another installment of "If You've Had..." this time on just the three Heaven Hill Branded Bourbons (look for that next week) and I realized I'd never reviewed this formally. So now...this.

Heaven Hill 6-Year-Old, Green Label

Purchase Info: $9.49 for a 750 mL bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY (September 2016).

Details: 6 years old. 45% ABV

Nose: Leather notes combine with mint, brown sugar and hints of ripe fruit.

Mouth: Sweet with a peppery heat. Brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mint.

Finish: Long and lingering. Sweet, but after a moment bitter dark chocolate notes appear.

Thoughts: This is a very tasty bourbon. There's enough heat and complexity to keep you interested, but not so much it'll distract you from other things that might need your attention (like writing this post, for instance). It's good enough to drink neat in a pinch but is sufficiently inexpensive that you can use it in a cocktail without hesitation. This is a very versatile bourbon that is easy to recommend for the price. Think of it as the slightly lower proof Heaven Hill version of Wild Turkey 101. About the same age with all that brings to the table.

1792 High Rye and a Look at Whiskey Geeks

February 14, 2017 Eric Burke

Last week I asked a question that I thought was just going to be a bit of fun. The premise was that Whiskey Geeks complain. It's what we do. As a friend of mine once said while giving a bourbon talk, "we're a bitchy lot."

And it's true. We whiskey geeks are a passionate, opinionated people. If you ask a whiskey "expert" how you should take your bourbon, the answer will range from "drink it any damn way you want," to "no, here's the type of glass you should use and the setting you should be in." And that's just if the topic is ice. If you ask them about soda...Well, let's just say I almost had a bartender in Louisville start to tear up as he recounted a customer asking for a Pappy and Coke.

About the only topic that causes as much consternation is flippers. Geeks bitch about flippers. They bitch constantly and conspicuously. Partly it's because flippers contribute to a market where those who wants to drink a whiskey can no longer find it through legal channels or for anywhere near MSRP. Partly it's because a good portion of those people conspicuously bitching are just over-compensating for their own flipping.

So that's where things sat when I asked which people would rather see. I thought it would be a little fun, a few people would vote, and we'd get some laughs. What I didn't expect was to have to turn off comments on the post. I didn't expect every comment that came in to be an attack on those people participating. I saw "mouth-breathers." I saw "big-brother." I saw "Marxist." Eventually, I had enough and made one scolding comment and shut the rest off. The idea of whiskey geeks being whiskey geeks seemed to have touched a nerve.

One thing I never did was answer the question myself. And for me, the answer is easy. I'd much rather see someone truly enjoy a Pappy with Coke than see someone keep another from enjoying a bottle by flipping it. And it seems that most of you agreed with me. As of this writing, 73% of respondents voted the same way. 11% hated polls and thought that voting was stupid. Leaving only 17% of people who'd rather the price of a particular bottle get jacked through the roof than see it wasted with soda. For the record, there is no right answer...which is what makes it so much fun to argue about it.

So that's a recap. But let's turn away from what other people do with a limited edition whiskey and turn our thoughts to what we'd all like to do with one. Drink it. Tonight it's Valentine's Day, so it is appropriate that we are celebrating with one that my wife loves.

1792 High Rye

Purchase Info: 49.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 47.15% ABV. According to the company's website. This uses "a much higher percentage of rye as the secondary grain than most bourbons do."

Nose: Butterscotch, custard, cinnamon, mint and a pleasant nuttiness.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with allspice, butterscotch and hints of mint and banana.

Finish: On the longer side of medium, with very little burn. Lingering mint and banana.

Thoughts: Like I said above, my wife loves this. She put a little heart as her rating in her tasting journal. Me? I like this a lot, but I'm not quite ready to give it a heart just yet. It's very close, though.

As I was finishing the tasting, thoughts of banana bread popped into my head. This is sweet with baking spices and hints of banana, so that isn't an outrageous comparison. And personally I love banana bread, so this is a compliment. I do know that some people react negatively to banana notes in their bourbon so be aware.

Like I said, for $50, I think this is a great whiskey and worth the price they are getting for it. I'd feel differently if they were asking $75 for it, though.

For the record, comments are off on this one too. Mostly because it's the same topic and I hate getting the emails that are full of spite and hatred. It's a bit of a gut-punch to an otherwise nice day. It's whiskey...it's not worth all the anger.