My Wandering Eye: Copper & Kings "Floodwall" Apple Brandy

My Wandering Eye is an ongoing series reacting to the 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. My hope is to 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. And one thing to remember is that these reviews will all be written from the perspective of a bourbon drinker.

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A few weeks ago, I was out doing some shopping for next month’s brackets. As I was waiting for a store employee to find a particular size bottle of bourbon from their overstock, I decided to wander around the other aisles and see what my wandering eye might behold.

As is often the case, I wandered over to the brandy aisle. Brandy and rum will often scratch the same “aged spirit” itch that bourbon does so when I’m in a bourbon frame of mind, I tend to go to one of those aisles when wandering. I wasn’t planning on buying anything. I really just wanted to see what they had.

Let me detour here to tell you about the most wonderful brandy I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming. I was in Louisville at Proof on Main, the bar in the 21C hotel. It was a weekday, early enough that the post-work crowds had only started to trickle in. My wife and I had walked down from our hotel (or maybe we were staying there this time, I don’t really recall) for a contemplative dram while we planned out our next day’s activities. The bartender was a young guy, but not really a bourbon drinker. He did, however, have a bottle of pear brandy from Copper & Kings that a friend had gifted to him behind the bar. And since it was slow, he poured a sample for my wife, another patron, and I. This brandy had the most amazing nose I’ve ever had the pleasure to behold. It was long enough ago that I don’t remember the details, but I do remember that I nosed that for the next half hour. It was good enough that I didn’t want to drink the sample because that would mean I couldn’t nose this anymore. Eventually, though, it was gone and I was just left with that amazing memory.

So back to the store. As I walked down the brandy aisle, I noticed an Apple Brandy from Copper & Kings. I’d had a few of their grape brandies and though they were good, I knew that they could do some truly amazing things when working with other fruits. And before I knew it, the apple brandy named after the Louisville Floodwall was in my cart too.

Copper & Kings "Floodwall" Apple Brandy

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

Price per Drink (50ml): $2.33

Details: 50% ABV. Non-Chill filtered. No post-distillation addition of apple flavor or essences. No Boisé. No added sugar or caramel color.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, apple

Mouth: Dried apples, vanilla, baking spices

Finish: Gentle and flavorful. Notes of caramel, apples, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: From start to finish, this is basically a dessert in a glass. Think of an apple turnover or a caramel apple pie. I could even be talked into tasting the crust. This is delicious. Of course, it doesn’t rise to the level of the pear brandy in my memory, but I didn’t really expect it to. I will, however, be enjoying the heck out of this whenever it is in my glass.

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Baker's Single Barrel

It has been one thousand, nine hundred, and thirty four days since I last reviewed Baker’s Bourbon. In that time the brand has gone through some changes. It got a new bottle design, which I LOVE! But more importantly, it was revamped to be a single barrel product.

I’ve always liked Baker’s. If Knob Creek wasn’t super cheap a short walk from my house, it would be my go to product from Beam. When I first heard of it last year, I was a little nervous about the switch to Single Barrel, but also excited. Would they change it? Would it be better? Worse?

Of course, the roll out to the new product was super slow in my neck of the woods. I’m guessing that retailers were looking to sell out of the old Baker’s before they put the new one on the shelves. And this past weekend, I walked into the liquor store and finally saw it on the shelf.

I immediately noticed a couple things about it. One was the word “minimum” in the age statement. The other was that this particular bottle was aged over 8 years. My nervousness evaporated and my excitement took over. Unlike most producers, not only did Beam keep the age statement, in the case of this bottle they actually increased it.

Baker's Single Barrel Bourbon

Purchase Info: $46.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.13

Details: 8 years, 3 months old. Barreled in 10/2011. Aged in warehouse CL-Z. 53.5% ABV

Nose: Dusty oak, peanuts, brown sugar,

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with peanut, cinnamon, honey and oak

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Lingering notes of peanut, honey, mint and cinnamon red hots.

Thoughts: I really like this. I've always found Baker's to be sweet, but I've never gotten such pronounced honey notes on it before. This is great.

But you might be asking yourself how it compares to the Small Batch? Well, when I heard that Baker’s was changing to Single Barrel, I poured off a healthy sample so that I could answer that very question.

Comparison to Small Batch: The noses are very similar with the Small Batch being a touch fruitier. The Small Batch is mintier and doesn't show as much peanut. The finishes are also very similar. Over all not much has changed and that's great news.

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Corner Creek 10 year old

I’ve been running this site for almost eight years now. I started slow, really only reviewing something about once every couple of months on average. (In a good month, there would be two posts at the beginning, so it isn’t quite as bad as it seems.) For the last six years or so, I’ve been pretty consistent about putting out two posts a week. And during that time, about 80 percent of them have been reviews, which is odd as I never set out to do a review site.

The idea for this site was a long time coming, but it boils down to one fact: I like to tell stories. I’d had a blog previously where I told stories. Twos of people read it. Occasionally a really popular post would go up, and maybe five people would. After that, I had a photoblog. I didn’t really care if anyone visited that site. The goal was for me to improve my photography skills. I took photos, post-processed them, and chose one for publication. I did that every day for three years. After I got to the point where I felt pretty good about my photo skills, I ended the photo a day project, and I told stories about photos instead.

Then I discovered bourbon. I learned everything I could about bourbon and other whiskeys. I read every book I could get my hands on, read every blog, listened to the podcast. Along the way, I realized something: I didn’t really like whiskey reviews. I liked the people that wrote them. I enjoyed the content around them. I liked the stories and personalities. But I didn’t like the reviews. They were either too sterile or too poetic for me. Some were basically just a rehashing of the press release. So, I went back to the idea I had with my photo site. I was going on a bourbon journey. I was trying to learn all there was to know about bourbon. And along the way, I’d share what I learned with everyone else. I didn’t plan on writing reviews, but Google seemed to like it the few times I did. And unlike the previous sites, I thought I might be able to contribute to the wider community. So since Google liked them, I decided to include them in the posts. I’d craft each story in such a way that it would weave into and set up the review. In a way, it was a lot like the photo-a-day project. Each time I did it, it got a little easier. And I became a better writer. And eventually, the reviews became fun. The stories and the reviews didn’t need to be woven together because frequently, the review would inspire the story.

So all of that is the background to this past weekend. I realized that my editorial calendar had run dry. Somehow, I just never planned past my tax appointment last Thursday. It was an odd feeling. And when put on the spot, I couldn’t think of anything that I wanted to write about. Not off the top of my head. So I decided to check the archives and see if there was something that I had overlooked over the years. Some easy to find bourbon that somehow slipped through the cracks.

And I realized that I didn’t have a list of what I had reviewed previously. Not one. Just the website itself. I’d been keeping track of everything in my head. Which if you know how my memory works, you’ll understand that it is the least safe place I could keep track of things. So I spent all weekend cataloging eight years’ worth of blog posts. And I found some things that I’d overlooked over the years. I filled a whiteboard with ideas.

Then I went to the store and immediately bought two bottles that were not on my list at all. Just because they looked interesting. Sigh. One of those bottles is a 10-year-old version of the Corner Creek that I featured in September of 2018. I did a pretty good intro to the brand there so I won’t rehash it here.

Corner Creek 10 year

Purchase Info: $50.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50mL): $3.40

Details: 10 year age statement, 44% ABV.

Nose: Mixed berries, baking spice, brown sugar, mint

Mouth: Nicely spicy with notes of baking spice, juicy ripe fruit, mint, and caramel.

Finish: Nice finish. Medium length with notes of mixed berries, menthol, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is pretty good. I like it. Very fruity with notes of mixed berries throughout the experience. The finish isn’t hot, but the menthol notes last a while.

When I revisited the standard Corner Creek, I called it a “change of pace” bourbon due to the very fruity nature of it. This lands in the same place. Very fruity. I wouldn’t want it all the time, but when I’m looking for something that is a little off the standard bourbon flavor profile, I’ll probably reach for this one.

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Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Batch A120

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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Writing from the bar tonight. I normally don’t, but today is tax day today. Well tax appointment day anyway. The day where I find myself strangely relieved that I only owe the various government entities $3500.

On tax day, I figure I’m either going to be very happy or very sad. Either of those emotions call for post-appointment beers. If I’m happy when I leave the appointment, they are celebratory beers. In not, then I have the beers to console me. Either way, beers are certainly called for.

Of course, another way that I could commiserate the news that I get the opportunity to pay the government multiple thousands of dollars would be with tonight’s bourbon. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is released about three times a year. Each time the proof is different, but the age is always twelve years old. This time around, the proof is really high at 136.6° proof. Though as I think about it, this is still lower than the last release of last year. Luckily I keep a little of the last batch on hand to see if the comparable proof level equates to a comparable flavor.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Batch A120

Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. Locally Elijah Craig Barrel Proof sells for as low as $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle when not on sale.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.33

Details: 68.3% ABV, 12 years old

Nose: The high proof on this one means that you'll want to let it sit for a few minutes unless you want a snootful of acetone. After a few minutes rest, notes of green apple, caramel, baking spice, and oak appear.

Mouth: Hot and spicy with notes of cinnamon and oak.

Finish: Long and very warm. Lingering oak, browned butter and caramel.

Thoughts: If you drink this neat you are either a crazy person or you have previously burned off your taste buds. This is a delicious bourbon, but it is begging for a little water.

So how does it compare to the last release of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C919)? I think that A120 is more balanced than the previous batch. C919 is sweeter but, oddly, also has a more bitter finish. A120 is hotter, even though it has a slightly lower proof. Overall, both are delicious but if I had the choice, I'd pick A120.

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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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Maker's Mark Private Select: Liquor Barrel & LBWC Selection

So I’ve reviewed Maker’s Mark Private Select before, but this isn’t officially a “revisited” post. Two reasons: one is that it has only been a little under 800 days and I really try to go longer than that between those. But the main reason is that this is a private selection and because of how Private Select is made, there is very little overlap between selections made by different selectors.

Curious how it is made? Well, I did a pretty good intro to the product back when it was introduced, but let me summarize for you. Much like Maker’s 46, this is Maker’s Mark that has been “infused” with 10 finishing staves. Unlike Maker’s 46, there is more than one style of stave that can be used. In fact, there are five and the selector can choose any combination of 10 staves for their unique product. A summary of the staves and what they bring to the party are as follows:

• Baked American Pure 2 is an American oak stave designed to bring oak, vanilla, and sweetness to the finished product.

• Seared French Cuvée is a grooved French oak stave that was designed to bring butterscotch, caramel, and nuttiness.

• Maker's 46 is French oak designed to bring spicy vanilla. This is the same stave used for standard Maker's 46.

• Roasted French Mocha is French oak designed to bring dry, dark chocolate, coffee, and char notes.

• Toasted French Spice is also French oak and was designed to bring fruity Spice notes. 

Now, I’ve had Maker’s Mark Private Selects that I’ve really liked and some that I just found meh. Because everyone is a unique creation, buying these can be hit or miss. That said, I’ve had many more that I really liked than those that I found lacking so, at least for me, the track record is high enough that I keep buying them. And when I saw that my local corner liquor store had their own selection, and knowing that I have loved more of their private selections than I’ve liked, I knew I had to give this one a look.

And I decided to bring you along for the ride.

Maker's Mark Private Select Selection by Liquor Barrel Staff & LBWC

Purchase Info: $65.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50ml): $4.40

Details: 54.45% ABV Staves: 3 Baked American Pure 2, 3 Seared French Cuvée, 1 Maker's 46, 1 Roasted French Mocha, 2 Toasted French Spice

Nose: Sandalwood, oak, baking spice, hints of caramel

Mouth: Spicy and warm with lots of oak, baking spice, and a hint of caramel

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Cinnamon oil, black tea, dark chocolate, and oak notes linger.

Thoughts: On the first pour of this one, I was convinced that I wasn’t a fan. I was getting a vegetal note to the finish. The oak was too prominent and it was just too hot for my tastes. Fast forward a couple of pours and things have settled down dramatically. The vegetal notes have transformed themselves into a black tea note. The overwhelming oak notes have subdued and been joined by dark chocolate notes. This is really good.

And this is why I try to never review anything from the first pour out of the bottle. Well, unless the bottle is small enough that there is only the first pour in there. You really need to live with a whiskey to see if you like it sometimes.

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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.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Copper Mule Cup from MoscowMuled.com

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from the proprietor of MoscowMuled.com. They were wondering if I would like to take a look at them and maybe showcase them on the site. Now, I’ve never had the chance to make the Moscow Mule cocktail. Mostly because I do not stock vodka in my house. So I was going to pass on this opportunity.

But before I did, I wanted to do my due diligence and checked out their site. When I got there, I realized that these were beautiful mugs. I also saw that they were relatively inexpensive at less than $20 for a set of two. I sent the link over to my wife, and she responded with, “ooh! Pretty!”

Now, if you’ve met my wife, you will know that she loves glassware. We have so much that we can’t use them all. And when I suggested that maybe we sell or donate some of our extras, she responded with, “but they are our friends!” So she might have a glassware problem. That said, I suffer from at least a touch of it myself, so who am I to talk?

Once my wife was on board, I got to looking through the site a little more. One of the first things I noticed during this expanded look through the website was a link in the top navigation that says “Giving Back.” Moscow Muled, as a company, is set up as a Social Enterprise. This means that their primary goal is not just to make a profit, but also to make the world a better place. In this case, Moscow Muled gives 15% of its profits “to several non-profit organizations that work to stop impaired driving.”

I thought that was pretty cool. So I let the company know that instead of taking up their offer of a review unit, that I’d be placing an order instead. And I did. $19.50 + $5.50 shipping, and a couple of days later, I had two very pretty mugs arrive in my mailbox.

So how are they? Well, I really like them. They are really pretty (have I mentioned that yet?). An iced drink stays cold forever, even though these are not insulated mugs. At 16 fluid ounces in capacity, these hold enough for spirit, mixers, and a generous amount of ice. The company says you can use them for hot or cold drinks, but they do transfer heat or cold quite well, so I’m not sure I’d really want to use them for a hot drink. It was bad enough holding them after washing in hot water. My only nitpick is the size of the handle. I have pretty big hands and think that these would be much more comfortable to hold if the handle was a little wider as it rested on my pinky finger. Overall though, this was $25 well spent. After having used them quite a bit in the last couple of weeks on Kentucky Mules, I honestly wouldn’t have blinked if they had charged one and a half to twice that.

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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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Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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Much of my family is under the impression that because I am self-employed, I can just take any day off. The reality is, of course, that I never really have a day off. Even while on vacation I am taking phone calls from clients and answering emails.

But guess what?

Tomorrow I am taking a real day off! (Well, unless something urgent comes up. Damn my Midwestern work ethic…) But the plan is to take tomorrow off to research some projects I’m working on for the Etsy store. So I guess I’m not really taking it off so much as allocating the day to a more fun kind of work. And I can’t wait! I’ll be in the garage playing with wood and tools. I’ll be online researching 3D printers and materials casting/metalwork. It will be so much fun. I can’t wait!

Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.00

Details: 47% ABV. Mash bill: 51% rye, 35% corn, 14% malted barley. Initially available in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Oregon.

Nose: Cinnamon, caramel, and mint, with hints of cedar and bubblegum.

Mouth: Cinnamon, mint leaves, spearmint, almond, and oak.

Finish: Nice and spicy without being super hot. Lingering baking spice and mint.

Thoughts: I like this, it’s a pretty tasty rye. I’ll probably consume this most often either neat or in a cocktail. Like with most "Kentucky-style" barely-legal ryes, I wouldn't reach for this when making a cocktail that calls for rye (like a Sazerac) but I'd use the heck out of it in cocktails that call for bourbon that can handle some extra spice.

In the name of Science! I tried this next to a couple of other ryes I had in the house (Rittenhouse, Old Forester, and Jack Daniels). I’d say that, for obvious reasons, this is most like Rittenhouse. Now, this is lower proof than Rittenhouse but the press release reads as if it is a bit older. And my experience mirrors that. Tasting them side by side, both my wife and I like the Elijah Craig better than the Rittenhouse. My favorite of the group was Old Forester, then Elijah Craig, with Rittenhouse and Jack Daniels bringing up the rear.

Final verdict: if it is in your area, it is certainly worth as look as the price is great for how good it is. If you are a fan of barely legal ryes this is a good one. I, however like a bit more rye in my ryes.

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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.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

My Wandering Eye: Chateau de Laubade Vintage Collection

My Wandering Eye is an ongoing seriess reacting to the 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. My hope is to 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. And one thing to remember is that these reviews will all be written from the perspective of a bourbon drinker.

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A few years back I turned 40. To celebrate such a milestone, I thought that a spirit that was distilled in my year of birth would be a fun way to go. And I was right, it was delicious. I loved it. And so when I was doing a little holiday gift shopping this year, I noticed that the same brand had a “gift set” of 200 mL bottles that ranged from about 20 to about 40 years old. I was very intrigued. So much so that I took a photo, texted my wife and said “if I get enough from tips and gifts this Christmas, I’m buying this as a present to myself.” Luckily my family and clients were nice to me this year and I was able to do so.

Chateau de Laubade Vintage Collection

Purchase Info: $199.99 for five 200 mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: Distilled in the year on the label. Bottled in June 2019. 40% ABV.

Price per Drink (50mL): $10

Bas Armagnac Laubade 2000

Nose: Oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried fruit

Mouth: Follows the nose with oak, nutmeg, cinnamon, and dried fruit.

Finish: Medium length and warmth. Lingering baking spice notes that fade to reveal dried fruit.

Thoughts: This is really good. If the others are as good, this is going to be a very nice Christmas present.

Bas Armagnac Laubade 1998

Nose: Dried fruit, brown sugar, hints of BBQ smoke

Mouth: Dried fruit, brown sugar, baking spice

Finish: Fairly gentle with lingering dried fruit and an oak "twang"

Thoughts: Proving once again that age is just a number, this is much more fruit-forward than its younger brother. As such, I like the 2000 edition better.

Bas Armagnac Laubade 1995

Nose: This is a toffee bomb. under that are dried fruit, anise and hints of mint

Mouth: Surprisingly, there is no toffee on the mouth. Instead, this is herbal and almost savory. I'm getting anise, oregano, clove, mint, and dried fruit.

Finish: Warm and herbal with lingering clove, anise and dried fruit notes.

Thoughts: This is very herbal and I really like it. This has the warmest finish of the group so far.

Bas Armagnac Laubade 1988

Nose: Pipe tobacco, brown sugar, dried cherries, leather

Mouth: Cinnamon, dark chocolate, oak, dried fruit

Finish: Gentle but the flavors linger a long time. Notes of cinnamon, cocoa powder, oak, and dried fruit.

Thoughts: This is the first in the set where the barrel really starts to take over the flavor profile. The dark chocolatey notes mix with the cinnamon and dried fruit to make this a very dessert-like drink. I really like it.

Bas Armagnac Laubade 1979

Nose: Dry oak, almond, mint, and cherry

Mouth: Cherry, oak, almond, cinnamon, and citrus

Finish: Fairly gentle with lingering notes of cinnamon and cherry.

Thoughts: This one is a bit of a let down after the last one. This one trends back toward the fruit influence in the flavor. It is still very good, but I think the 1988 is more in line with my tastes.

Rankings

My Ranking: 1988, 1979, 1995, 2000, 1998

Robin’s Ranking: 1988, 1995, 1979, 1998, 2000

Final Thoughts

I had a lot of fun with this one. Was it a good value? Well, no. Not if you just look at the price of the components. I mean this is $200 for one liter of brandy. And the oldest 200 ml in there would sell for about $200 for a 750 ml, the second oldest going for $120 and the youngest ones are all $80 or under. So no, it really isn’t a good value on the face of it.

But a fun experience is worth some money. I’ve often wished that Four Roses would offer a collection of 50mL bottles from each of their 10 recipes for sale in the gift shop. Comparing all 10 side by side is a super fun experience. I know, I did a series of posts on it back in 2014. So, if you look at how much I enjoyed the experience of tasting these brandies side by side, then this gift set certainly is a good value. I would never be able to afford a full bottle of each to do the comparison so I think I’m happy to pay the premium for the experience. Especially since I either liked or loved every one in there.

Plus, I bought it with gift money. I’m supposed to buy myself something I wouldn’t have otherwise, right?

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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.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.