Old Forester "75th Anniversary of Repeal" gift set

December 3, 2015 Eric Burke

Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America
At the Second Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the fifth
day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-two.

Joint Resolution
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is hereby proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:

“Article

“Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

“Sec. 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

“Sec. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.”

On December 5th, 1933 Utah voted to pass the 21st Amendment, becoming the 36th and deciding state to do so. On that day the Prohibition was officially ended.

75 years later, the Brown-Forman company put out a special gift set of Old Forester to commemorate the passage of the 21st Amendment. Included in the box was a bottle of 100 proof Old Forester in 375 mL flask shaped bottle with an old timey looking label design, an etched Glencairn glass and a replica of the 21st Amendment.

7 years later, I picked up the gift set at a charity auction during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival for roughly $90. If I was just buying bourbon, I would have horribly over paid. It’s not very old or special, but I was supporting a museum I really enjoy attending (that doesn’t charge people to get in) with my purchase. I paid a relatively low sum to help keep the doors open and the lights on while getting a tiny piece of history back in return. Seems like a fair deal.

Old Forester 100° (circa 2008) “75th Anniversary of Repeal” gift set

Purchase info: ~$90 at the Master Distiller’s Auction to support the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, Bardstown, KY.

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Sweet and fruity with brown sugar and apricot layered over the top of the typical “Brown Forman” latex paint note.

Mouth: Spicy with a nice tingle to the mouth. Ginger, oak, vanilla and caramel.

Finish: warm ginger and molasses linger.

Thoughts: I like it. But I’m a fan of Old Forester so that doesn’t surprise me. But there is something that does surprise me. I used to love the Old Forester Signature (100 proof). I recommended it to everyone. But then about a year and a half ago, after not buying it for a while, I got around to reviewing it and found it immensely bitter. This made me sad. So now, I get to taste something from seven years ago and I didn’t find that bitterness. In fact, it tastes just like I remember. So somewhere along the way something happened to Old Forester’s 100 proof expression and like most things in whiskey these days, it wasn’t for the better. Which is too bad.

Anyway, this is what I’ll be celebrating Repeal Day with on Saturday, hope you have something just as fun.

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James E. Pepper 1776 Brown Ale, aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels

November 19, 2015 Eric Burke

James E Pepper Ale. Brown Ale aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels.

There is a store in Wisconsin that on certain days, probably get’s more business from Minnesota than it does from locals. I will admit to being one of many Minnesotans who likes buying a beer or whiskey from a store on whichever day I happen to be at it. Unfortunately, many stores in the state of Minnesota don’t feel it is in their best interest to serve their customers on the days the customers want to be served, preferring instead to lobby against changing a law who’s time has long passed it by.

See, in Minnesota, it is illegal for a liquor store to be open on Sunday’s regardless of the fact that it is one of the two busiest shopping days of the week. Many liquor stores prefer it that way. Why? you might ask. Well the thought is that they will make as many sales if they are open 6 days a week as if they are open 7 days a week. Plus they won’t have to pay anyone on that seventh day. It doesn’t matter what the customers overwhelmingly want. And sadly, politicians in Minnesota are just like they are everywhere else. People that pay, get the votes in the legislature and those who don’t, get the shaft.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, its two largest population centers are also on the border with a state who is more than happy to take the tax dollars on Sunday. There are 4.14 million people in the two largest population centers in Minnesota. There are 5.5 million in the state. And though people might not drive an extra hour to get a beer, many places in the Twin Cities metro are about a half hour apart meaning over 40% of the the population of the state* could conceivably make a run for the border while on regular shopping trips without going very far out of the way. Sending tax dollars out of state.

All because some store owners would rather enshrine their dislike of competition in law instead of giving customers what they want. It’s one of the reasons I try to choose places like Ace Spirits who would be open on Sunday if the law would let them. Plus, since I visit family in Wisconsin quite often on Sundays, the purchases I might have made in Minnesota are made at Casanova Liquors in Hudson, just before I hit the border.

One of the things I found on a Wisconsin trip this summer was 1776 Brown Ale, aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels. I held it in the closet until the weather was right for a barrel-aged ale and here it is.

James E. Pepper 1776 Brown Ale, aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels

Purchase Info: Casanova Liquors, Hudson, WI. I didn’t keep a receipt for this one, but it was roughly $10 for a bomber.

Details: Brown ale aged in rye whiskey barrels. 10.4% ABV. Brewed and bottled by Georgetown Trading Co., Sterling, VA.

Nose: Bready and vineous.

Mouth: Sweet caramel layered over typical bready brown ale notes. After a few sips you start tasting the spiciness of the rye.

Thoughts: This is sweet, but not as sweet as most barrel aged beers I’ve had. Whether that is due to the use of rye barrels or from a quirk of the aging process, I have no idea. I like the spiciness in the back of the mouth though. If you like barrel-aged beers, certainly check this out. If it were available in Minnesota, I would definitely pick up another bottle…just not on a Sunday.

*figuring that half of the population of the metro area of the Twin Cities and all of the population of Duluth could make Wisconsin part of their Sunday shopping trips without going too much out of their way. Yes, I get that socioeconomic factors might drop this down quite a bit, but even half of that would be still be 20% of the state population…

Oh no, it's Father's Day.

June 18, 2015 Eric Burke

It's almost Father's Day. And, if you're like me, you're thinking to yourself: "oh shit! I forgot to get my dad something!"

Now my dad is a brandy drinker so I am planning to just spend some time with him this weekend and hope I don't come off as cheap. But if your dad is a bourbon fan, the easy answer is that you could always buy him...well...bourbon. Of course, it's entirely possible that you are looking for something a little less boozy for dear old dad on his special day. Something that won't get you in trouble with mom for encouraging him. In such a case, you could give him something that will enhance his bourbon drinking long after that one bottle you thought of giving him would be emptied.

In that case, it just so happens I might have a few ideas for you. As you might have guessed from the number of reviews I post, I tend to have my share of bourbon along with your share and your neighbor's. And I just so happen to have a collection of favorite things that I can easily recommend to you.

First and foremost is glassware. Drinking out of good glassware is key to enjoying your bourbon. I'm not going to say that I haven't had a mini of Jim Beam out of a plastic glass in a hotel room, but it isn't the most pleasurable way to drink it.

If dad is a taster of bourbon, a set of glencairn glasses is key. I got my set of six off of Amazon years ago and have been very happy with them.
Of course, you don't want to taste whiskey all the time, sometimes you just want to drink it. And honestly, a glencairn isn't real easy to drink out of. In such a case, while I do like a nice heavy rocks glass, recently these small snifters have been the go to whenever they're clean. I bought one from Beam and one from A. Smith Bowman.
But if you don't really feel like giving dad something with a logo emblazoned on it, visit a local antique store or an estate sale and look at the glassware. I've gotten some really cool old glasses that I absolutely love that way. One thing those folks from 50-60 years ago knew was drinking and the glasses they used are some of the most comfortable I've held.

But maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves. Dad needs to get the whiskey into the glass somehow, right? And even before he does that, he may even want to do something with it. Maybe make it into a cocktail? So utensils are essential.

Sure dad could pull the cork out with his teeth and just splash some in the glass, but we aren't cowboys. This is the modern age and in the modern age we have things like measuring cups. My favorite is an OXO Stainless Steel one. This is the one I keep next to the bourbon shelf at all times.
And what about that cocktail? If dad is making a whiskey sour, he'll need a lemon juiced. I have about 4 different juicers in the house, but the one I find most convenient is this hand juicer I got at Sur La Table. It's heavy and isn't too expensive. Plus I can just rinse it off when I'm finished. Most of the pulp stays in the lemon half.
If dad is making something like a Manhattan though, he will need a spoon. I don't have a recommendation. I find that the choice of bar spoon is highly personal. Mine was a cheap one, it doesn't have the muddler end that everyone recommends. But it feels right in my hand and glides nicely in the mixing glass.

And once dad has made or poured his drink, it would be nice for him to have something to sit and read. The book I'm reading right now is Bourbon Empire by Reid Mitenbuler. I'll have a real review coming soon, but spoiler alert, I'm really enjoying it.

So if you don't want to get dad bourbon (due to mom's disapproving looks, or because he has so much good stuff you'd never be able to afford to top it) think about some of these other ways to enhance dad's bourbon experiences. Most of these things I like more than some of the bourbons I've reviewed lately.

Old Forester Ready To Drink Mint Julep

June 4, 2015 Eric Burke

It’s summer and to some of us in the bourbon world, that means it’s also Julep Season. My wife is a big fan of the mint julep. It carries all the lovely flavors of a good bourbon and adds in some sweetness and delicate mint. I normally take my julep without the mint, sugar, julep cup or most of the ice when I make one for her but I can be persuaded on a particularly hot day to partake.

But sometimes making a julep can be a bit too much for me. On a lazy Saturday afternoon? Sure. On that same Saturday when I’ve been working on the landscaping all day? Not a chance. I prefer my cocktail to be whiskey in a glass on a day like that.

I saw somewhere that last Saturday was National Mint Julep Day. I have no idea if that is actually a thing or if it was just a random person on Twitter proclaiming their love for the julep, but it was enough to make my wife want one. The trouble was it was a Saturday that I spent all day shoveling a pickup-load of mulch into various places in my yard and I wasn’t in the mood for making one. So it was with no little interest that when we went to the liquor store for beer that evening that I noticed the Old Forester Ready-To-Drink Mint Julep. My wife seemed satisfied, so we picked it up.

I was curious about just how “ready-to-drink” this was after my wife told me it was better on the rocks than just chilled. And so as a service to you, my dear reader, we took it upon ourselves to do a completely scientific (not at all scientific) discovery as to how ready to drink it really was. We tried it chilled in a Glencairn, 2 ounces made into a mint julep and then in desperation with an additional half ounce of good bourbon dumped in.

Old Forester Ready to Drink Mint Julep

Purchase Info: $24.99, 1 Liter. Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 30% ABV, Caramel Colored

Nose: Heavy spearmint gum and something resembling whiskey

Mouth: Sugary sweet and thick. Spearmint gum and no hint of whiskey.

Finish: None to speak of.

Thoughts (neat): Well this isn’t very good, but then it’s hardly a fair test, is it? Whether it says “ready to drink” or not, I doubt it was intended to be tasted out of a Glencairn glass. Let’s try it next in it something like it’s natural environment. Let’s make a mint julep out of it. It’s already sweet and minty so I’m just going to pour it over crushed ice in a julep cup and shove in a large sprig of mint:

Thoughts (in Julep): Wow, this is still way too sweet for me. My wife tells me it’s better, I’m starting to doubt her good sense. The overpowering mint has been cut some, but a medicinal bitterness remains. In desperation, I decide to mix in a half ounce of good bourbon.

Thoughts (in julep with additional bourbon): So this isn’t terrible and on a hot day, where I’m too tired to make a julep, it should do. In a pinch. If you are out of beer. And don’t have a car. And live too far away from the store to walk.

Never mind, just shove a mint sprig in your bourbon and call it good. (Maybe even Old Forester.)

I do love the frost that collects on these cups though...

Bourbontucky on DirecTV

February 3, 2015 Eric Burke

Do you have DirecTV? Can you get it? Do you have a friend who has it who would be willing to let you camp out on their couch for an hour and a half? You might want to look into it.

DirecTV recently produced a bourbon documentary and is currently showing it on the Audience channel (channel 239). I watched it this past weekend and it is well worth watching.

The show is roughly divided into three parts.

Part one is all about the bourbon. The history, the distilleries. There are interviews with about every distiller you’d want to hear. It has Jimmy Russell, Fred Noe, Jim Rutledge, Harlen Wheatly, and Chris Morris. They talk to corn farmers, coopers and still makers. You see beautiful video of bourbon in glasses, production floors, aging warehouses, and corn falling through a grate. You learn about the yeast, the fermentation, the stills, bottling and some history. In depth looks at Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses and Makers Mark are interspersed with stories from Jimmy Russell, Fred Noe and Jim Rutledge. We learn why Four Roses will not put out a flavored bourbon and how Jimmy Russell used to keep an eye on Fred Noe while on the road. The highlight of this section was footage of the Heaven Hill fire. This is something you hear about every time you go to Kentucky, but which I’ve never seen footage of. Video of rivers of fire running downhill into buildings. Stories of cooperation and genuine love. Horrific and beautiful at the same time.

Part two is about other people in Kentucky who are making money off of bourbon. A Louisville bar owner tells you about Beam decanters. Specifically mentioning one that I happen to have. A chef in Louisville talks about how he collaborated with Jefferson’s to make a bourbon. Bourbon Barrel foods is mentioned. Wes Henderson from Angel’s Envy talks about finishing and blending. DISCUS and Bourbon Women help to transition to part three.

Part three is all about bars and retailers across the country. This is the part you can fast forward through. Every interview was about as follows: "We couldn’t give this stuff away ten years ago, now we charge way too much for you to try it. We like bourbon. Yay bourbon." It comes from retailers in DC, bars in LA and hipsters in Brooklyn.

Part four is about the consumers…oh wait. Nope. This is the documentary's major failing. While everyone interviewed was a fan of bourbon, none were people who weren’t also advertising their business where they make money off of bourbon. It would have been nice to hear from fans of the product who have nothing invested but love.

Overall, if you can, I’d recommend pouring a good bourbon and figuring out a way to watch this one. It looks like it is currently showing on DirecTV On-Demand or on Audience (Channel 239) on February 9.

Shrubs: An old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times by Michael Dietsch

December 18, 2014 Eric Burke

A few years ago, as I was first exploring the fine world of bitters, infusions, tinctures, cocktails and ultimately flavors, I ran across a reference to a colonial era drink called a shrub. The site described it as: “drinking vinegar.”

The history geek in me teamed up with the cook in me to decide that this was certainly something that we would all be trying to make. I liked vinegar well enough. Normally in something or on something. Sometimes that something was oil with bread sometimes it was green leafy spinach. In either case, vinegar was something that made other things taste good. But these recipes made it seem like the star of the show. What would that be like?

Terrible. That’s what it was like. I’d never been more nervous to try something and yet had those expectations be so completely optimistic. I was sad, but resigned myself to keep an eye on this thing figuring I must have done something wrong.

A couple months ago, I ran across a book by Michael Dietsch called Shrubs: An old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times. I’d been seeing articles in the cocktail blogs I follow mention shrubs. I’d seen small outfits actually sell them. I’d never seen a book solely about them before. I resolved to set my previous shruby experience behind and buy the book.

I wasn’t disappointed. The book gives you a brief history of shrubs, the evolution of the name, etc. It points out that a shrub was kind of just the name for stuff you drank. Be it alcoholic or not. Then it gives recipes. Oh, so many recipes. Both alcohol and vinegar based recipes. I was in heaven. If there is one thing I like more than a history book it’s a cookbook. And if the final product is drink related, even better.

I figured the only real way to review this book was to try a couple of the recipes. I went for one alcoholic and one not. For the alcoholic version I chose the Country Gentleman’s Brandy Shrub from page 74. And for the non-alcoholic I tried the Cranberry-Apple Shrub from page 97. Both were basically chosen at random with an eye on ingredients I had in the house.

Country Gentleman’s Brandy Shrub

Nose: Perfumy in a lemon sort of way. Kind of like a gentle furniture polish.

Mouth: Thick. Lemonheads candy is the best way to explain it. Lemony. Sweet, yet tart at the same time. Hint of spice.

Finish: Slight lingering warmth, more lemon.

Thoughts: This is an amazing liqueur and one that not only gives me a use for the handles of brandy my dad keeps giving me, but that might make go buy one if I run out. I may need to make sure this is kept on hand.

Cranberry-Apple Shrub

Nose: Strong Apple Cider Vinegar. (To be expected, I only bottled it up a couple days ago)

Mouth: Thick. Tart and vinegary, but not overwhelmingly so. Vinegar balanced by the apple and cranberry.

Finish: Not Applicable.

Thoughts: This isn’t bad by itself. I wouldn’t seek it out that way, but I could choke it down. Where this shines is as a cocktail ingredient. I used it in place of vermouth in a manhattan and it was fabulous. It mixed with the Very Old Barton and bitters exquisitely. I’m very impressed.

If you are into flavor, the way I am, you owe it to yourself to buy this book. If you want something that will help you impress foodie friends, buy this book. Looking for cocktail ingredients that you haven’t had before? Buy the book.

You get the picture. I thought it was great.

An interview with Robbie Delaney of Muddy River Distillery & a review of Queen Charlotte's Reserve Carolina Rum

June 10, 2014 Eric Burke

Author’s note: Before I left Muddy River last November, Robbie was generous enough to gift me with two bottles of his product, one each of Carolina Rum and Queen Charlotte's Reserve. I do not normally accept such gifts, but made an exception. Although I do not consider this payment, the FTC does. As such I am disclosing the info now. And though I had tasted all of the products and made judgements about liking or not liking them before I knew the gift was being made, the tasting notes below are from this week. Please use this info to inform the relative accuracy of my thoughts on them.

Back in November, I stopped for a tour at Muddy River Distillery just outside Charlotte, NC. When I got home, I realized that I really liked talking to Robbie. That's Robbie Delaney. He’s the proprietor, the distiller and the tour guide. I enjoyed our conversation enough that I thought you might enjoy it too. I asked him to answer a few questions for the blog. He was gracious enough to do so and they are below.

So Robbie, tell me a little about yourself. How did you get your start in the spirit business? What made you decide to open a distillery?

I learned the meaning of hard work growing up on a horse farm in Wake Forest, NC. I became a General Contractor and traveled throughout the southeast working on projects and grew tired of living out of a suitcase. In early 2011 I read an in-flight magazine article about craft distilling. Construction was a little slow and so I gave distilling a shot. I read up and learned how to distill and designed and built Muddy River’s 3 reflux column stills. Everyone thought I was crazy. After getting the federal and state permits and a lot of hard work, Muddy River was the first rum distillery in NC. We began legally distilling in February 2012 and released our first product, Carolina Rum-a silver rum, in September of 2012. With almost 2 years of distilling under our belt, we released Queen Charlotte’s Reserve, an American white oak barrel aged rum, in October 2013.

What is your specialty?

RUM. Carolina Rum is our smooth, slightly sweet rum and Queen Charlotte’s Reserve is barrel aged at least 8 months in unused American white oak barrels that are charred on the inside.

Is the distillery your full time job now?

Yes, both Caroline and I are full time now. I run the distilling, bottling, and tours. Caroline does sales, marketing, social media, and accounting for the company.

What's a typical day like for you?

An 18 hour day. Not because it has to, but because that’s how we make great liquor. We start by turning the machines on to heat up, run them, then clean and fill for the next day. Our typical activities include making mash, cleaning (the most important job), bottling, making liquor, tours, and a million other activities required of a small business.

So operating your own distillery seems like a cool job. What’s the best part?

People are interested in what I do for a living. It’s a big honor when someone wants to hear about your craft and enjoys drinking your products. We make amazing rums, and that is fulfilling in itself.

Tell me about the biggest challenge you've faced so far.

Properly managing growth. We’re trying to grow modestly, but we have sold out of product a few times.

So you’re trying to make sure you don’t grow too fast?

Yeah, I could spend all my time and marketing efforts trying to sell the first bottle to a million people. But if I can’t sell the second, I’m just a flash in the pan. You need to develop a brand loyalty. And you do that by doing things making a good product. Doing things right. Making small cuts. Using only new barrels. Instead of concentrating on expansion, we focus on selling the second bottle.

Wait, you use new barrels? As a bourbon drinker I’m used to the distillers using new barrels and then selling them to rum distillers, among others.

I buy bourbon spec barrels from the cooperage. And I only use them once. I find that it helps to cut the sweetness a bit. It doesn’t taste like your rum and coke is made with two sweetened products. Not that I would recommend adding Coke to Queen Charlotte’s Reserve.

That’s got to be expensive.

It can be, but if you live frugally, cut costs where you can and then sell it after your done with it, it’s doable. You can make back most of the cost by selling it afterward so you’re just sitting on the investment for eight months to a year. It goes back to growing modestly and making sure you can sell the second bottle.

Anything new on the horizon?

Our next product will most likely be a spiced rum. We have had a lot of people ask for one. We’ve been working on a recipe for a long time, but it has to be great before we put a product on the shelf. We’re still working on perfecting our recipe.

Any advice for readers who might be interested in following in your footsteps?

With the distilling industry growing so quickly, you have to make a top notch product in order to survive. You can sell one bottle, but it has to be good in order to have customers re-buy your product.

Do you offer tours?

Yes! Visit our website to sign up under the “Take a Tour” tab. There is a calendar with all the dates and times tours are offered. www.muddyriverdistillery.com/rumdistillerytour/

In North Carolina you are in ABC stores. Outside of North Carolina, can readers buy your products?

Yes, look and ask for us in the North Carolina section in ABCs, if you don’t see us in the rum section. And we’re in bars and restaurants throughout NC. We are in SC a little bit, but we’re working to keep up with NC and haven’t pushed to spread out much in SC.

Anything else you'd like to plug? Website? Twitter?

Website: www.muddyriverdistillery.com
Facebook: Muddy River Distillery
Twitter: @1stCarolinaRum
Instagram: muddyriverdistillery

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions.

Queen Charlotte’s Reserve Carolina Rum

Purchase info: My bottle was a gift from Robbie and Muddy River Distillery, but if you are in North Carolina, you can pick it up at an ABC store for $27.95 as of this writing.

Details: Aged in new charred oak barrels. 42% ABV

Nose: Delicate sweetness. Honey, dried grasses and a hint of smoke.

Mouth: Warm and tingly with a delicate sweetness. Vanilla, baking spices and a hint of mint.

Finish: Warm with a decent length. Fades to a pleasant bitterness.

Thoughts: I really like this one. This is the first rum I would drink straight. The one I’m tasting tonight was a gift from the distiller, but the next time I’m in North Carolina I’m stocking up.

5 Bourbon Barrel Aged Stouts That Will Warm You Up

February 23, 2014 Eric Burke

It’s February in Minnesota. It’s cold. It’s snowy. I had the feeling today as I drove to the dog park that I was driving through the photos you see of Northern Canada or Alaska. The ones where you are so far north the trees no longer grow and the towns are just a collection of buildings. The only colors are blue sky and white snow. There’s snow on the road, snow on the buildings, snow on the few plants you can still see peeking out. Six foot piles along the sides of every driveway. The debris from too few snow plows lining roads that are becoming increasingly narrow.

I guess they don’t call it Minnesnowta for nothing.

But there is good news. There is a cure for the deep-set chill of a Minnesota winter. Beer. Strong, dark beer. Beer that is chocolatey or wine-like. Beer so thick you might be forgiven for thinking that you are actually drinking bread.

But, you might be asking yourself, this is a bourbon blog? Well, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. The result of a barrel only being able to be used once to make bourbon is a lot of used barrels. Just because many of them go to Scotland or Canada to age their fine whiskies, doesn’t mean that all of them leave the country. There is a demand among small brewers for bourbon barrels to help age their beers as well. What follows are five beers that have been aged in bourbon barrels. And because it is the dead of winter, and we all need it, each of them are sweet, strong stouts.

Each of these were poured in identical tulip shaped glasses and tasted one at a time over the course of a single day. I’m rating them with the 1-5 style rating I used in Untappd when I checked them in.

Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewery: Central Waters Brewing Company. Amherst, WI

Purchase Info: Purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

ABV: 9.5%

Initial Thoughts: Pours with a thick milk chocolate colored head.

Nose: Dark and fruity with wine-like qualities. After a bit that fades to be replaced with chocolatey cereal notes.

Mouth: Moderately thick mouthfeel with a good bit of carbonation. Fruity and sweet with a big hit of alcohol flavor.

Final Thoughts: I could taste that this was a high ABV beer before I looked at it. The alcohol flavor was that strong. The more I tasted of this, the less I liked it. I don’t know that I would want more than one of these in a session.

Rating: 3/5

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout

Style: American Stout

Brewery: Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company, Lexington, KY

Purchase Info: Purchased at Liquor Barn, Lexington, KY

ABV: 8%

Nose: Sour. Cooked cereal. Corn chips.

Mouth: Thin in the mouth. Nice carbonation. Nicely balanced sweetness and bitterness with hints of coffee and chocolate.

Final Thoughts: Balanced. Not heavy. Unlike many stouts, I could drink more than one of these in a session. Being a higher ABV beer, this is dangerously drinkable.

Rating: 3.5/5

Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout

Style: Oatmeal Stout

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Booneville, CA

Purchase Info: Purchased at Casanova Liquors, Hudson, WI

ABV: 6.9%

Initial Thoughts: Pours with a nice thick head.

Nose: Dark and fruity. Red wine. Then malty cereals

Mouth: Acidic. It bubbles and froths in the mouth as if it’s making more head on your tongue. finishes with acid bitterness and malt.

Final Thoughts: This barrel-aged stout is more acidic than most, almost a sour. I think this would be more refreshing on a hot summer day than most stouts due to that.

Rating: 3.5/5

Bourbon Sidamo

Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewery: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Richmond, VA

Purchase Info: Purchased at Total Wine and More, Richmond, VA

ABV: 10.3%

Initial Thoughts: Looks thick on pouring.

Nose: Sweet maltiness that fades quickly. Chocolate.

Mouth: Thick. Initially chocolatey. Finishes wine-like with an alcohol sharpness.

Final Thoughts: This proves that aging doesn’t always work . This doesn’t taste aged, it tastes old. I’d like to try the non-barrel aged version of this to see how it compares.

Rating: 2.5/5

Dark Hollow

Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewery: Blue Mountain Brewery, Afton, VA

Purchase Info: Purchased at Corks & Kegs, Richmond, VA

ABV: 10%

Initial Thoughts: Pours with zero head.

Nose: Cereal maltiness initially. After sitting a bit: dark fruit.

Mouth:Nice and thick with very little carbonation. Sweet fruit balances bitterness with a hint of smoke.

Final Thoughts: Everything is working here. The fruity flavors balance the bitterness with just the right hint of smoke. High ABV but drinkable, with no alcohol flavor. As I initially stated when I first tasted it: “This might be the best beer I’ve ever had. It’s at least in the conversation.”

Rating: 5/5

Beer is an amazingly adaptable drink. It is highly influenced by your glassware and what you serve it with. Wine flavors when imbibed on its own might give way to chocolate flavors when served with food. The Central Waters one did that with pizza after the tasting was done. If you just take a sip, you might like it better than if you are spending time with it. The Hardywood did that for me as I tried to finalize my rankings. Ultimately what you like is highly influenced by how, where and with whom you drink it. On a cold, snowy night in Minnesota, all of these are good enough to warm you up.

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