Larceny Barrel Proof, A122

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

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My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year. As you might have guessed over the years, date nights have gotten fewer and farther between as we developed busier schedules and became more comfortable in our relationship. Then of course the pandemic happened and they ended entirely. But as we now start to make the effort to reenter society something momentous has happened.

That’s right, two date nights in the span of five days. The first one was your typical “married people” date night. We went to the Container Store to pick up some home organization and went out for pizza. The only thing that really made it a date night was that we left the house together and that it took over an hour. But that happens rarely enough that I’ll take it. Tonight however is a real dinner and a movie date night.

I love going to the movies. I love the grandiose lobby decor, the popcorn smells, the giant screen. Everything. Well…I don’t care for the teenagers cracking jokes and talking throughout the movie, but that is why I tend to go on Tuesday nights. Fewer people around…especially kids.

That’s right, get off my lawn.

Anyway, I’m going to see The Batman tonight. Pretty excited about that. Though even though I just gushed about how much I love the theater-going process, I’d probably rather watch it at home if the option was available. At the theaters, I can get a beer to drink during the show. But at home, I can have a tasty whisky, which I prefer. Maybe one like the sample I was sent for tonight’s review.

Larceny Barrel Proof is a bourbon released three times per year, usually in January, May, and September. If you can find it, it is usually pretty affordable with a suggested retail price of $49.99. That if carries a lot of weight though as I’ve never seen it on a shelf before. Larceny Barrel Proof uses Heaven Hill’s wheated Bourbon mashbill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. Every release so far has been super tasty, let’s see if that trend continues.

Larceny Barrel Proof, A122

Purchase info: This was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $49.99.

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 62.2% ABV

Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak.

Mouth: Caramel, oak, and red fruits.

Finish: Warm and sweet. Medium length. Notes of Cinnamon, caramel, and oak.

Thoughts: This is good, but not great. The oak notes are the main event here and I prefer oak notes to play more of a supporting role most of the time. If I saw it on the shelf for retail, I'd still grab it without hesitation, but it isn't as complex or as tasty as previous releases.

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Copper & Cask Single Barrel Rye, Top Ten Liquors Selection

About a month ago, I had the world’s tiniest cheese fire in my oven. A pizza had dripped a little too much and…poof, up it went. The oven hasn’t really worked correctly since. Which kinda sucks. Nothing like baking something only to hear your oven shut off halfway through.

Well, it finally kicked the bucket yesterday. I shut it off, and it lost power. Never to turn back on. Or so I hope, I hate that oven. But I spent way too much on it to want to get rid of it. But I am doing my due diligence by having a former co-worker of my wife, who happens to be an appliance repair person, come over and pronounce judgment on the soul of the stove. If it can be resurrected, yay! I don’t have to spend lots of money on a replacement. If it can’t, yay! I get rid of something I really don’t like. Either way, I’m going to be both pissed off and extremely happy.

In the meantime, I get to cook outside. My wife had me set up an outdoor kitchen last summer with a propane burner, a pellet grill, and some prep tables. Thankfully, the weather has been above freezing. It may not have been worth it to cook a box of mac n cheese outside if it had gotten too cold. Tonight I’m testing out the pellet grill as an outdoor oven for a pan of lasagna. I’m going on the assumption that using the Yoder as an outdoor oven will work just fine. Even if I do get a bit of a smoked flavor on the lasagna. So if nothing else, I’ll learn some things about my secondary kitchen setup.

If you squint a bit, you could see tonight’s whiskey in the same light. I’d gone into the store looking to grab more of the bourbon that I reviewed last week. But even though I was in the same chain, I was in a different location. I was a bit bummed until I saw this bottle of Copper & Cask Straight Rye Whiskey. It was also MGP, also a store pick, also cask strength. I mean, I was pretty sure that everything would turn out great. I love MGP 95% rye. I love it even more at cask strength. But, who knows right? I’d only had one bottle of any whiskey from the collaboration in the past, maybe that bourbon was a one-off fluke. But I picked it up anyway. If nothing else, I’d learn a bit more about the brand, the store, or both.

Copper & Cask Single Barrel Rye, Top Ten Liquors Selection

Purchase Info: $49.96 for a 750 ml bottle at Top Ten Liquor, Chanhassen, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 54% ABV. Barrel #: MI-136. Distilled in Lawrenceburg, IN. Filled: Dec. 2015, Bottled: Oct. 2021, 5 years old. Mash bill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley.

Nose: Cedar, mint, almond, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Spicy. Notes of cinnamon, almond, and cedar.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Notes of mint, cinnamon, and cedar.

Thoughts: Cask-strength MGP rye is very possibly my favorite pour. And this was an affordable bottle. Two great things that go great together. I really like this one. Probably not enough to go buy a case of it for the closet, but that mostly comes down to my wife not being nearly the fan of 95% rye that I am. I am hoping to grab a couple more bottles before they are out though.

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Copper & Cask Single Barrel Bourbon, Top Ten Liquors Selection

Before we begin, I’d like to acknowledge that there are way more important things going on in the world today than talking about Bourbon. The news out of Eastern Europe is heartbreaking. And knowing that I have occasional readers from Ukraine, I just want to say that I hope you are currently, and remain safe.

Those of you who have been around the Bourbon World for a while will remember a time when Willett Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbons and Ryes were affordable, but always delicious whiskeys. They stopped being affordable so long ago now that I’m not actually sure they are still making them. When prices passed $200 in the gift shop, they fell off of my radar. But back in the day, I really enjoyed picking up a 5- or 6-year old bottle of Bourbon for $50 or less whenever I visited Kentucky. Sure it was sourced, but the people they were sourcing from make delicious whiskey. And the folks at Willett have a fantastic ability to choose delicious single barrels. Excuse me while I reminisce about the “good old days.”

Actually no. I’m of the opinion that we are still in the midst of the good old days of bourbon. Sure, the prices were lower a decade or more ago, but there was comparatively little variety. I used to be able to keep a list in my head of which bourbon was cheaper at which store. Now I have a hard time remembering all the brands that a single store carries. I mostly brought Willett up because I recently picked up a store-pick of Copper & Cask Bourbon that reminded me of those old Willett bottles.

There is very little about Copper & Cask online. The label is owned by Latitude Beverage Co. out of Rhode Island. They are an independent bottler/rectifier with an extensive wine portfolio and a few spirits brands under their belt. The bottle of bourbon I picked up was sourced from MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. According to the back of the bottle, the juice inside is MGP’s 21% Rye bourbon mashbill. It is non-chill filtered and bottled at cask strength. Best of all, I got it for under $50.

This particular bottle was part of a barrel selected by Top Ten Liquors here in the Twin Cities. According to store employees, it is the best of the three barrels of bourbon that they have selected from Copper & Cask. So keep that under advisement as you read my thoughts on this particular bottle. Your mileage may vary.

Copper & Cask Single Barrel Bourbon, Top Ten Liquors Selection.

Purchase Info: $49.96 for a 750 mL bottle at Top Ten Liquors, Rosemount, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 56% ABV. Barrel number: MK-152. Filled June 2015, bottled October 2021, 6 years old. Mash bill: 70% Corn, 21% Rye, 9% Malted Barley.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, almond, and wintergreen.

Mouth: Nice and spicy. Notes of caramel, vanilla, wintergreen, and almond.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Notes of cinnamon and oak.

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Thoughts: This is so delicious that I went back and grabbed a case for the ol’ whiskey closet. It’s a very good, cask-strength MGP bourbon. And like I said, it reminds me of bottles that you could get from Willett circa 2012: top-quality sourced MGP bottled at cask strength. That’s a recipe that is darn hard to beat.

Keep in mind though, your mileage may vary, this is both a single barrel product and a store pick. I’m looking forward to finding other bottles of this in the future just to see how the quality varies.

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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.

LAWS Whiskey House 4-Pack Virtual Tasting Experience

Seven months ago, I reviewed two bottles of Bourbon created by LAWS Whiskey House out of Denver, CO. One was a store pick of their bourbon and the other was a two-year-old version of their standard release bourbon that was included in the LAWS 4-Pack Virtual Tasting Experience. I said in that post “I’m going to just focus on the two Bourbons tonight and leave the rest for another day.” Well after seven months, that day has come. And while I encourage you to go back and read that post, I’m just going to post the tasting notes of the Bourbon below so that they are all in the same place.

LAWS Whiskey House uses local ingredients in its whiskeys. This package looks to have been created to show off that fact. It contains a Straight Malt Whiskey, a Straight Rye, and a Straight Wheat Whiskey along with a Bourbon that uses all three. According to the side of the box, the distillery is in Denver and all of their grains and water come from within four hours drive of the distillery. The corn is Homestead Corn sourced from Whiskey Sisters Supply near Burlington, CO. The other grains (San Luis Valley™ Rye, Centennial™ Wheat, and Henry Road™ Barley Malt) are sourced from Cody Family Farms near Alamosa, CO. How’s that for transparency?

One thing to keep in mind is that this tasting set has all the whiskeys age stated as “aged at least 2 years.” It looks as if the current releases of these products are currently three years old so there will probably be differences in tasting notes between the two releases. With that said, let’s jump right in.

LAWS Whiskey House 4-Pack Virtual Tasting Experience

Purchase Info: $34.98 for a multi-pack of four 100mL bottles of their core whiskey line at Hazel’s Beverage World, Boulder, CO.

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.37

Details: 47.5% ABV. "Aged At Least 2 Years."

LAWS Whiskey House Four Grain Straight Bourbon (Originally published 7/13/21)

Nose: Dried Grain and maple.

Mouth: Cinnamon spice, dried grain, mint, applesauce, and black tea.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Notes of dried grain and wintergreen.

Thoughts: This doesn't really do it for me. I'm getting better with well-constructed grain-forward bourbons, but this takes grain-forward to an extreme. I've eaten dried cereal grains before, and while it isn't an unpleasant experience, it isn't something I am looking to do for fun. This tastes like that did. Nice, clean grain flavors, but not something I am looking to have more of. Now, from what I understand, they are trying to showcase their locally sourced heirloom grains with this product. They did that very well, it just isn’t for me. But it might be something to check out if that idea appeals to you.

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LAWS Whiskey House Centennial Straight Wheat Whiskey

Nose: Spearmint, cinnamon candies, a hint of dried grain.

Mouth: Nice spicy cinnamon notes along with almond and honey.

Finish: Medium length and warmth. Notes of dried grain, cinnamon, and candied fruit.

Thoughts: I like this one. Probably not enough to buy a full bottle, but I certainly don't regret letting it into my house. It tastes more mature than the bourbons did. As such I like it better than I did the bourbon. The dried grain notes are clean and not overpowering when they are present. Yep. Pretty darn tasty.

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LAWS Whiskey House San Luis Valley Straight Rye whiskey

Nose: Cedar, cinnamon, ginger, sandlewood.

Mouth: Follows the nose. Spicy with ginger, cinnamon, mint and cedar.

Finish: Medium length. Notes of brown sugar, cinnamon, and dried grain.

Thoughts: This is really good. Kinda wish I'd have bought a full bottle of this when I had the opportunity. I might have to remedy that if next time I travel through a state that distributes it. The only hint that this whiskey is only two years old is on the finish. It shows some dried grain notes at that point, but not before. Overall it's a good, if young, rye whiskey.

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LAWS Whiskey House Henry Road Straight Malt Whiskey

Nose: Cooked cereal grains.

Mouth: Dried hay, butterscotch, and cinnamon.

Finish: Medium length. Strong notes of butterscotch and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This one is quite a bit too grain-forward for me. I don't like it at all, but I also have a known bias against malt whiskeys so take that how you will. On top of that, I’m not a huge butterscotch fan. So I guess it just hit all the wrong notes for me. Overall, I am just not a fan of this. Doesn’t mean you won’t be though if those are notes that appeal to you.

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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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Stellum Black Rye

Going to be a short one tonight, I’m actually not here. Well, I’m not here when you are reading this…probably. This time travel thing is confusing sometimes. Anyway, at the time I would normally be writing this, I will be bringing supper to my Grandmother who I don’t get to visit very often. But since I’ve been missing a lot of time lately due to family and illness, I wanted to bang something out early.

Tonight we are looking at the last entry in the Stellum lineup that I have access to. We haven’t covered a single-barrel rye, but I think this should cover the brand for a while. Here is what the producer has to say about the brand on their website:

Stellum Black Rye is an evolution of the Stellum Rye flavor profile. Think of it as Stellum Rye in high-def. We used a meticulous blending approach to layer older reserve barrels into the original Stellum Rye blend. The result is a surprisingly mellow cask-strength rye whiskey combining iconic rye spice with a deep complexity that reveals new facets with every sip.

I was impressed, but “priced out” on the Black Bourbon, let’s see how the Black Rye does.

Stellum Black Rye

Purchase Info: $93.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.27

Details: Distilled in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 57.13% ABV.

Nose: Cedar, cola, ginger, clove, and herbal mint.

Mouth: Very warm in the mouth. Notes of cedar, honey, mint, and cinnamon.

Finish: Warm and dry. Medium to long. Notes of oak, cedar, mint, cola, and cinnamon candies.

Thoughts: Another very tasty offering from the folks at Stellum. I probably won't be spending the money on this again. Mostly because I really liked how the standard Stellum rye prominently featured the MGP-Style 95% Rye flavor profile. This is more of a balance of the various flavor profiles along with the addition of mature oak notes. Like I said, very tasty. I just happen to like the more inexpensive offering better.

For once, my bank account will be happy with my taste buds.

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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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Stellum Black Bourbon

I got the following comment from ZX when we took our initial look at the flagship offerings in the Stellum lineup:

Bit the bullet on these this morning before your review posted. $50 each at the Kroger. Total Wine wants $63. Huge fan of Barrell before they priced me out of the market. Excited to try these!

So what are we looking at tonight? Why a Stellum offering that is priced roughly the same as the Barrell bourbons, of course! I thought I’d just take the one thing that ZX was most excited about by the brand and completely ignore it.

I’m going to let you know right off the bat that I was pretty excited to try this guy. I really liked the standard release and the single barrel was good enough that I’m going to be grabbing another for the closet here before too long. I wasn’t thrilled with the $100+ price tag, but I wanted to at least give it a try to see if the “more mature” bourbons in the blend would justify it.

Let’s dig in.

Stellum Black Bourbon

Purchase Info: $104.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price per drink (50 mL): $7.00

Details: Distilled in Indiana, Kentucky & Tennessee 54.61% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon candies, caramel, chocolate, mint, and just a hint of smoke.

Mouth: Very spicy. Cinnamon, chocolate, oak, and mint.

Finish: Medium to long and warm with notes of cinnamon, mint, and after a while, cedar.

Thoughts: This is a very lovely bourbon that I will not be buying again. It was a nice one-time splurge but at over $7 per drink, I just can't see myself getting a second bottle. The standard Stellum Bourbon is a very tasty pour and is within, though at the high end of, my usual price range.

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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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Stellum Single Barrel Bourbon, Vega Release - Top Ten Liquors Selection

Something strange happened to me as I was researching last week’s post on the latest Elijah Craig Barrel Proof release. I found a new liquor store chain in my area. This is not the sort of thing that happens to me very often. I mean I try to keep tabs on this sort of thing. But I was looking for a press release, which lead me to the website of a liquor store industry publication who had a cover story about a Twin Cities liquor store chain.

My curiosity being piqued, I read the story only to find out that this particular chain had popped up way back in 2019. I’m sure there is some reason why I wasn’t out exploring between then and now, but I’m just going to chalk this up to the fact that they didn’t have a location in my immediate area. They do happen to have one very near to where my wife works. So being the good husband, I sent her shopping for me on her way home from the office. Mostly to scope out the place and see if it is worth making a journey to a location that seems bigger but is more out of the way. Her response was a definitive yes.

And on top of that, she brought home a present for me, which happens to be tonight’s bourbon. It is a store pick of Stellum Single Barrel bourbon. This one from the most recent “Vega” release of single barrels. We’ve covered Stellum before, but the brief version of the brand is that it is created by the same folks that produce the Barrell line of whiskies. Like that brand, Stellum is sourced from multiple distilleries in multiple states and then blended to make a unique product. Seeing how this bottle is a single barrel, it is labeled as having been distilled in Indiana. We can probably make an assumption as to which very large distillery it came from.

So let’s see how it tastes.

Stellum Single Barrel Bourbon, Vega M2 selected by Top Ten Liquors

Purchase Info: $54.95 at Top Ten Liquors, Rosemount, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.67

Details: 54.63% ABV. Selections made in the Spring and Autumn of 2021. Mash bill: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Barley Malt. Distilled in Indiana.

Nose: Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, caramel, and cedar.

Mouth: Spicy with oak, cedar, baking spice, caramel, and red fruit.

Finish: Medium to long and warm with notes of cinnamon candies and caramel.

Thoughts: This was very good. I’m particularly enjoying the sweet, spicy notes. The rye presence shows itself nicely. If you have a local store that has a pick from the Vega release, I'd grab it. This is a delicious example of very good MGP (I’m assuming) bourbon.

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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, posters, and more.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof: A122

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

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Have you ever seen a photo of a pile of sleeping puppies and thought to yourself, “Boy I wish I was part of that pile of cuteness?” Well, I’ve had a taste of that the last few nights sleeping with two 7-month-old puppies and a 10-month-old puppy. And if these guys are anything to go off of, that image isn’t nearly as comfortable as it looks. There is a LOT of movement in that pile. Sure, they will go to sleep resting their head on your shoulder. Making you think that they are going to be still and sweet all night. But then BAM! It’s one am and they’ve decided that it is playtime again. And even once they settle back down? So much kicking! Those sweet little puppy dreams aren’t nearly as sweet when what they are “running” across is the small of your back.

Damn things are really cute though. I’m guessing that is how they keep their mommies from eating them…

Anyway, that’s been my week. I hope yours has been filled with as much cuteness and happiness and not nearly as many claws, teeth, or puddles of pee.

As for tonight’s bourbon? Well, there isn’t a lot to say. I mean Heaven Hill didn’t even include a press release with this one. It’s the most recent version of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. It’s delicious as always. But we had a pretty special one last time around. Let’s see how A122 compares.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, A122

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided by the producer for review purposes. I have found previous editions locally for as low as $69.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine.

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.67

Details: 60.4% ABV. 12 years old. Non-chill filtered.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, oak and nutmeg.

Mouth: Very warm in the mouth. Notes of caramel, vanilla, oak, chocolate, and baking spice.

Finish: Warm and long with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel.

Thoughts: Very good as usual. thick, rich, creamy, and nice and spicy. Both in the heat and the baking spice usages of the word.

Comparison to C921: A122 shows a lot more nutmeg on the nose whereas C921 is sweeter. C921 is sweeter compared to A122 and not as blindingly hot. The finishes are both long and warm. They are both very good, but if forced to pick I'd grab C921 over A122 because it just hits all the right notes for me. It has heat, but it isn't overpowering. There is sweetness but it isn't cloying. A122 by comparison feels extra hot in the mouth, which isn’t a problem since I’ll be adding water or ice to it when I drink it. And A122 really seems to focus on the baking spice notes, which is good too. I guess I just liked the last version better. I mean C921 won my 2021 Bourbon of the Year for a reason. It was hard to top.

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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, posters, and more.