A pair of Knob Creek Rye Single Barrel picks

May 15, 2018 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Two Knob Creek Rye Single Barrel Picks from Ace Spirits. Bottles 5722 and 5858.

Almost on a whim, I decided to go to Kentucky this past weekend. I was officially going to pick up the bottle of Wilderness Trail Family Reserve Bottled in Bond Bourbon (that we had been on "the list" to get for over four years). But honestly, the bourbon was a perfect excuse to get away and spend a long weekend with my wife. And maybe meet up with a few friends while we were at it.

As I do every time I go to Kentucky, I did a little shopping. This time around, I was specifically on the outlook for private selections from stores where I had good luck in the past. And I did well this time around. I think I brought back around four or five different store picks. I got an Elijah Craig, a Four Roses and, some Limestone Branch Wheated Bourbon. What I didn't see was a bottle of Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye is, as you might have guessed, a single barrel version of Knob Creek Rye. And much like the single barrel version of Knob Creek Bourbon, this rye comes in at a higher proof than it's batched brother. 115° proof to be exact.

Though I can get the standard, batched version of Knob Creek Rye for $25 per 750 mL bottle, I splurged on the two-pack from Ace Spirits a while ago. $95 for two 750 bottles. Let's see if barrel selection and a 15° proof bump are worth twice the price.

Knob Creek Rye, Single Barrel: Barrels #5722 and #5858

Purchase Info: $94.98 for the pair of 750 mL bottles at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN.

Details: 57.5% ABV. 6 years old (not listed, but I asked Louis, the owner at Ace, for the age and he confirmed both of these are six years old, he just declined to have the info put on the bottle).

5722 Nose: Spicy with backing spices, mint, caramel, and oak.
5858 Nose: Dusty oak and spearmint.

5722 Mouth: Mint, sharp oak, peanut, and baking spices. Quite hot.
5858 Mouth: Nice mouthfeel. Sweet honey, mint, strong baking spices and oak.

5722 Finish: Very warm and long. Lingering peanut butter and baking spice.
5858 Finish: Warm and long. Lingering sharp oak, baking spice, and peanut.

Thoughts: Both of these are good, doubly so if you are a Knob Creek Rye fan. I am getting a lot more peanut in them than I would have expected, especially since I don't remember ever getting that on the batched version. As for how they compare, 5722 has a much richer nose and is hotter with a lot of peanut notes. 5858 is sweeter with a nicer mouthfeel, but the nose isn't as nice as 5722. I'm happy to have bought either of these. If I were buying just one, I'd get the 5858.

One of the reasons I buy Rye is to use it in cocktails. I found that this one didn't work as well in typical Rye Cocktails, but worked great in ones that often call for bourbon. When I made a Sazerac, I would often mix it in a 50/50 ratio with Bulleit Rye to up the Rye notes.

As to the question of if either of these is worth twice the recent local price of the standard Knob Creek Rye. I'll just say, I'm happy to have purchased both of these once, but I'd be hard-pressed to justify a second bottle of either at current prices. If Knob Creek Rye goes back to its regular price, that might change though.

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Tattersall Straight Rye Whiskey

May 8, 2018 Eric Burke

About two and a half years ago, I paid a behind-the-scenes visit to Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I walked away impressed with what they were doing and how they were doing it. The one thing I was a bit sad about was the lack of whiskey. But, knowing that better times (or at least times filled with more whiskey) were ahead, I wrote the following:

The notable exception is whiskey. Right now the cocktail room uses a bourbon that is sourced from a distillery in Kentucky and bottled by them for use in their cocktails.

Don’t be sad though. They have started production on a rye whiskey as well as wheated and rye bourbons. The rye whiskey will be 100% rye using rye grain and rye malt and aged for at least two years. They want to put out a straight product.

Well, it looks like days full of whiskey have arrived for Tattersall as their two-year-old rye whiskey is now for sale at many fine liquor stores in the state of Minnesota. As soon as I saw the announcement I ran out to buy a bottle.

Tattersall Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: $34.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV. 100% Rye mash.

Nose: Dark rye bread

Mouth: Nice, thick mouthfeel. Rye bread, molasses, mint, and nutmeg.

Finish: Not very hot but the flavors of wintergreen and molasses last a very long time.

Thoughts: This is a very interesting whiskey. Based on the timeframe and the fact that they say it is 100% rye, I have to assume that they stuck with the rye and rye malt recipe that they mentioned to me a couple years ago. If so, I think you should try this whiskey. Maybe at a bar, but give it a try. I admit this will not be to everyone's tastes but I like it. I like the idea of more rye styles than barely legal rye (51% rye) and 95-5 rye (MGP) being on the market even more.

Curious on what else Tattersall is doing? Well, when this came out they also put out a whiskey made from Stargrazer, a beer from local brewer Bauhaus Brewlabs. And looking back at that old post I found this tidbit:

For the bourbons, though they wouldn’t tell me the ingredient ratios, they did let me know that they are using different malts for both the wheat and the rye bourbons as well as a specialty yeast that was developed in Scotland.

Hmmm.... this might be one to keep an eye on.

My Wandering Eye: Copper & Kings Phoenix Barrel (Ace Spirits pick)

May 3, 2018 Eric Burke

My wandering eye is a series reacting to the crazy rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going be asked to drop $40 to $70 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. See if another spirits category offers something that is downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits, but to maximize the quality, I’m getting at a particular price point.

Image: A bottle of Copper & Kings brandy. An Ace Spirits pick from the C&K Phoenix Barrel line.

As I've mentioned before, my father is a brandy drinker. His favorite way to drink his brandy is on the rocks in a glass full of ice cubes. Since the brandy he drinks is almost always 80 proof, I never understood why he liked it that way. But heck, if one drinker doesn't like the way another drinker drinks spirits, they are both right.

But I have to say, I've finally found a couple of brandies that beg to be served with ice. And tonight's is one of them. This particular brandy comes out of the bottle at 128 proof. And boy, oh boy, does it pack a punch!

I picked up this particular version of Copper & Kings brandy solely because I really liked the last cask-strength brandy of theirs that I had from Ace Spirits. When I got it, I realized that this wasn't the same style as the previous bottle I had from the two of them. This one was something called the Phoenix Barrel. And it was described as "Oloroso Sherry Wood Fired New American Oak Cask." My first thought was "that is a lot of words strung together."

Now, I know I am not the smartest man on the planet but, I did pretty well back in the day when I studied Astrophysics and Literature, and I can usually figure these things out. But not this time. So I did just what any consumer would do: went to their website.

What I found there, made that string of words make perfect sense. (Isn't it funny how when you are given the answer, it often seems pretty obvious?) This project involved charing barrels on a fire that was burning broken staves that had previously been used in Oloroso Sherry casks. Did it do anything? No idea, but it makes a good story none-the-less.

But most importantly: how does it taste?

Copper & Kings Phoenix Barrel (Ace Spirits pick)

Purchase info: $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 64% ABV, Aged in a barrel charred on a fire burning Oloroso Sherry casks staves.

Nose: Brown sugar, caramel, red fruits, apple, and baking spice.

Mouth: Very warm, but not as hot as I'd have expected it to be at almost 130 proof. Caramel, red fruits, and baking spices show up after you get past the heat.

Finish: Hot and lasts for days. Lingering caramel, ripe fruits, and a little mint.

Thoughts: I like this but it is certainly a bourbon drinker's brandy. Maybe too much so? I'm not getting a lot of "brandy character" out of this. My wife agrees. She likes it too. And this might be the first brandy that dedicated bourbon-drinker has liked.

Pure Kentucky

April 26, 2018 Eric Burke

So I'm watching the NFL draft tonight. I'm nominally a Green Bay Packer fan, but honestly, I don't really care that much about NFL football anymore. Growing up, the NFL was all I cared about. But today? I think I watched two games last season and one was the Super Bowl.

These days college football is the only sport I care about. I'm so obsessed that I even read off-season blog posts about recruiting. But that is just the off-season because honestly caring about recruiting is creepy. During the season, even if your team isn't in the running for a championship, there are those players that everyone talks about. Those that you just know are going to be playing on Sundays. And that's why I'm watching the NFL Draft. It is fun to watch the kids that you've been following all year see their dreams come true. After today though, I'll probably only see them play occasionally.

Sometimes a person likes something that it seems like they shouldn't, if you don't know the whole story.

And you could say that statement makes tonight's whiskey fit the theme. This is a bourbon that I've walked past for years. But I finally bought it. I tend not to like bourbons that are overproof. This is 107 proof. Even though I almost always like the single barrels that Willett puts out, I've been much less high on the brands they blend barrels to make. But...

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Pure Kentucky

Purchase info: $35.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: Non-age stated. 53.5% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, nougat, cinnamon, clove, mint and a nutty note.

Mouth: Nice heat as you might expect from 107° proof. Thick and chewy mouthfeel. Flavors follow the nose with caramel, cinnamon, clove, pepper, and mint.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering nougat, baking spices, and nuttiness.

Thoughts: To finish the thought from above even though I've been less than high on other brands that Willett blends barrels to create, I like this one. It is thick and chewy. The proof is high, but not too high. There is good caramel. It reminds me a bit of the Willett distilled Old Bardstown, though I don't know if it has any Willett distilled juice in it. I'm going to say that I like this in spite of all the things that say I shouldn't. I liked my first bottle of Willett-distilled Old Bardstown but wasn't a huge fan of the second one from a year later. This reminds me of that, but I still like it. The proof is a little high for me to drink neat, but that is how I like this one. It's a nice change of pace bourbon.

Bulleit Rye: Revisited

April 24, 2018 Eric Burke

In light of recent allegations made by the daughter of Tom Bulleit of his homophobia and mental and physical abuse toward her, I have made the decision that BourbonGuy.com can no longer endorse products bearing the Bulleit name. An update has been added to reflect this change.

Image: A bottle of Bulleit rye with the word "Revisited" over it.

It has been two thousand, one hundred, thirty-seven days since I last published a review of Bulleit Rye. It was so long ago that I was still writing posts about the new additions to my whiskey stash (often without reviews). It was my sixth ever official post (fifteenth overall) and only the third instance of the hand-drawn review symbols that have become a mainstay of the site ever since. It was also the first review to earn a "love" rating. Back then I had this to say about it:

"For the price of this whiskey, there is no reason for it to not always be on your shelf. It works great in cocktails and I love to drink it neat. Inexpensive, tasty and versatile."

So almost 6 years ago, I thought that this was the bee's knees. The best rye I'd had. And even at that early date, I'd had quite a few different ryes. Something about that 95% rye mash bill made me very happy. Even now, I tend to prefer the MGP Indiana-style rye over all others. Kentucky Ryes are just spicy bourbon. Canadian 100% ryes can be good, but these days it feels like they are either under-proofed or overpriced. I haven't had enough of the "Rye Mash with Malted Rye" style 100% Rye to make a firm judgment, but the ones I've had so far have been more interesting than good.

It is safe to say that over the years, this has been the most common rye to hit my shelves. I use it in cocktails, I drink it neat, and I use it in blending experiments (which only makes sense since it was originally developed as a component of a blended whiskey). But one thing I haven't done for almost 6 years is sit down and do a thoughtful tasting of it. I'm curious how my palate has shifted in the intervening years.

Bulleit Rye

Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: MGP distilled. 95% Rye Mash. 45% ABV.

Nose: Mint, cherry, and pipe tobacco.

Mouth: Spicy with mint, dill, cherry, and pipe tobacco.

Finish: Medium length with lingering spice, mint, and cherry.

Thoughts: This is the first Revisited whiskey that I have downgraded the rating on. It's not that I like it any less than I did six years ago, I've just raised the bar for those that I "love." It's interesting how little the notes on this whiskey have changed for me. I still get cherry and pipe tobacco. A combination, it is safe to say, I have never gotten on another whiskey. Yet I got it here almost 6 years apart. That is a testament to the prowess of both MGP and Diageo. I really like this one. And honestly, I'll repeat my message from six years ago, tortured grammar and all: "For the price of this whiskey, there is no reason for it to not always be on your shelf."

Update:

Actually, it turns out that there may be a reason to not have this on your shelf. There are options for the MGP 95% rye on the market that don’t involve the moral balancing act required by the Bulleit brand. On one hand, MGP rye is delicious, on the other I’d rather not continue to enrich a man alleged to have physically abused his own daughter over her sexuality. So, I will be seeking out this juice from other brands, you however are free to make your own choice in the matter.

Drinking Distilled: A User's Manual by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

April 19, 2018 Eric Burke

You may have heard that last weekend, almost a foot of snow fell in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. I'm not suspecting that it made your local news, but the howls from the residents were loud enough that they were probably heard at least a couple states away. Now all my neighbors decided, even though the plows were staying home, that they needed to try to keep their driveway cleared of snow.

I, on the other hand, had the good sense to realize that since the snow wasn't going anywhere, and the plows weren't going anywhere, then neither was I. Plus with the blizzard conditions outside, there was the off chance that if I put off getting the snowblower out that some of that nasty white stuff might just end up in the neighbor's yard. So instead of burning gasoline in a futile attempt to beat nature, I decided to curl up with a good book. Luckily, a good book had arrived earlier in the week.

Drinking Distilled by Jeffrey Morgenthaler is a short, though highly entertaining look at drinking distilled spirits. The book is structured as to give advice to the drinker and is divided into four sections. "General Information," which covers topics from toasting to glassware to barfing is the first section. Following that is "What You're Drinking" which gives a little background various spirits and cocktails. It's entertaining, even if it does spread the misinformation that bourbon needs to be over two years old. The third and fourth sections are "When You're Drinking" and "Where You're Drinking" which combine to give advice, cocktails, and proper edicate for various times and places you might be having a drink.

All in all this is a fun book. It is a quick read (I did it in the course of one afternoon while ignoring the snowstorm outside) and extremely entertaining. Heck, you might even learn something...just not how long bourbon needs to age (for the record there is no minimum age for bourbon, though I really wish we'd follow along with the rest of the world and their three year minimum).

Rebel Yell Single Barrel: 2018 edition

April 12, 2018 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.

Image: Sample bottle of Rebel Yell Single Barrel

I got a new oven today. I'm not terribly happy about it. See I liked my old oven. It was full of bells and whistles that made life easier. Of course, the part that broke was the very part that controlled all those bells and whistles. And it would have been a significant portion of the purchase price to get it fixed.

So I got a new oven. And even though it isn't quite as good as the old one used to be, it is infinitely better than the old one has been for the last two weeks since the new one does such fancy things as heat up and cook food.

I'm pretty sure there is some sort of life lesson there. I put off getting a new oven for two weeks because I couldn't find one that I liked as much as the last one. Finally, I just picked one. It isn't perfect, but as they say, the perfect can be the enemy of the good.

I've never had a perfect bourbon. Mostly because I have no idea how I would define such a thing. I have had very good bourbons, however. And tonight's bourbon is a fine example of that. I'm pretty sure this bourbon will not be as good as my old oven...I loved that thing. But I'm almost positive I will like it more than the new oven.

Rebel Yell Single Barrel, 2018

Purchase Info: Common Ground PR provided this sample. Suggested retail price is $59.99.

Details: Barrel#: 5083254. Aged since September 2006. 50% ABV.

Nose: Brown sugar, oak, cherry and under it all are hints of wintergreen.

Mouth: Nice warmth with good spiciness. Red fruits, caramel, worn leather and baking spices.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Dry with lingering baking spice.

Thoughts: Another very good release from the line of Rebel Yell Single Barrels. I'll be looking to grab a bottle when it hits shelves.

Blood Oath Pact No. 4

April 5, 2018 Eric Burke

Today I had 5 dogs in my house.

So, ok, this isn't terribly unusual for me. In addition to being a freelance designer, occasional paid writer and guy with an Etsy store, I am also a dog sitter. I never really intended to be a dog sitter. What I actually wanted was a third dog. A proposal which my wife opposed. Instead, she suggested that I sign up on Rover.com to watch other people's dogs. Not only would this give me extra dogs in my life, but it could also bring in money.

My accountant wife is a big fan of paying the bills while also having enough left over to support the whiskey habit.

So, I never intended to be a dog sitter, but I've found that I really enjoy it. Sometimes the dogs are easy and I barely notice they are there. Other times, they are like today. 120 pounds of playful baby Great Dane and two other guest dogs that oscillate between playful and in my lap. Neither of these is conducive to me getting the real job of freelance designer done.

But here's the thing, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love dogs. All dogs. It doesn't matter if they are playful babies that are just under half my weight or little three-pound old lady dogs that are super sassy. Dogs are my jam.

So what does this have to do with whiskey? Other than making me want one? Nothing. I just wanted to share that I have a house full of dogs and you don't. Well, let's see, there is a small connection that could be made, though it may be stretching a bit. I also never intended to be a fan of Blood Oath. The first time I bought it, I regretted it. I thought that Pact 1 was very meh and not worth the $100 asking price. So much so that I skipped trying Pact 2 when I saw it at an event for FREE. But then I relented and got a sample of Pact 3 last year. I really enjoyed it. So much so that I went out and bought a bottle when I saw it on the shelf. And so when I saw that a sample of Pact 4 was available, I jumped on it. Let's see if the taste they gave me makes me want to drop another Benjy on this year's version.

Blood Oath Pact No. 4

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

Details: 49.3% ABV (98.6° proof, just like blood in Fahrenheit, get it?) finished in toasted oak barrels.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, oak and cinnamon.

Mouth: Cinnamon and nutmeg bring some heat to the party followed by sweetness and oak.

Finish: Spicy and warm with sweet caramel and citrus.

Thoughts: This was a sample, but once again, I'll be on the lookout for a bottle at retail. I'm really digging this. I think I may like this just a little less than last year, but that could just be a glitch in my memory as well since this is pretty tasty.

Blog

Knob Creek Rye, Single Barrel: Barrels #5722 and #5858

Tattersall Straight Rye Whiskey

Copper & Kings Phoenix Barrel (Ace Spirits pick)

Pure Kentucky

Bulleit Rye

Update:

Rebel Yell Single Barrel, 2018

Blood Oath Pact No. 4