Stellum Black Bourbon

February 1, 2022 Eric Burke

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.

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.

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

January 25, 2022 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Front Label of Stellum Single Barrel. Selected by Top Ten Liquors. Single Barrel M2, Vega, 109.26 Proof, 54.63% ABV.

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.

Jefferson's Ocean, Voyage 23

January 6, 2022 Eric Burke

My stepfather is in recovery tonight after an eight-hour surgery today at the VA hospital. During this time my mother is staying with us. Because who makes their mother stay alone in a hotel while she worries over her hospitalized husband? As such, I’m going to be spending as much time as possible distracting her from her worry. As such, it’s going to have to be a quick one tonight. In fact, as he is going to be recovering for at least the next week, I may miss an article or more next week. Sorry about that, but family comes first.

But I thought tonight’s whiskey might be fitting. When my mom arrived earlier this week, she brought a little something to repay me for letting her stay and for driving her to the hospital and back every day. And as luck would have it, it is something that I’ve never purchased before.

Jefferson’s Ocean is the fourth whiskey from the Jefferson’s Bourbon line that I’ve reviewed. I did their two standard releases back in 2017 and 2018 and then their now discontinued 18-year-old version way back in 2014. Jefferson’s is a sourced whiskey and they are very open about that fact. I described them in a previous review as “good chefs” that use their ingredients (sourced bourbon) to make something better than the sum of its parts. And as I admire the blender’s skill as much if not more than the distiller’s skill, that seems good enough for me.

Ocean is a bourbon that they put on an ocean-going vessel and then send around the world for a bit. Tonight’s version started in Savannah, GA, and visited Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and the US West Coast before making its way back to Savannah. If you are super curious, you can read about its voyage here.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Jefferson's Ocean, Voyage 23

Purchase Info: I got this as a gift, but my mom says it ran her almost $90.

Price per Drink (50 mL): about $6.00

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Delicate and floral. Hints of caramel, mint, and fruit.

Mouth: Mint, baking spice, fruit, caramel, and vanilla.

Finish: Gentle and medium length. Notes of cinnamon, fruit, and eucalyptus.

Thoughts: This is a pretty underwhelming bourbon. Especially for the price it goes for. There is nothing wrong with the bourbon and I'll finish the bottle with no complaints. But it is just doesn’t taste like a $90 bourbon. In fact, it doesn't seem all that different than their entry-level Jefferson's Very Small Batch that goes for less than $30 locally. I like it, but due to the price, I'd give this one a pass unless you are a big fan of Jefferson's Bourbon.

Bib & Tucker 12-Year-Old Single Barrel Select, Total Wine Selection

December 28, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: A bottle of BIB & TUCKER 12-Year-Old Single Barrel Select sitting in the snow.

I am going to whine for just a moment. And boy oh boy, I’m certainly going to show my privilege. But my beloved Minnesota Golden Gophers are playing in a bowl game against West Virginia. The game is in Pheonix and starts at 8:15 pm local time. This means it starts at 9:15 pm in the home market of one of the teams and at 10:15 pm in the home market of the other. On a Tuesday. Now I’m not a TV exec or a Bowl Game President, but since most of the viewership of bowl games is happening via television broadcast, don’t you think it might have been smart to allow the fans of the two teams to actually watch the game? It’s driving me nuts. I hope it’s a boring game because I’ll probably be asleep before halftime.

Anyway. That is neither here nor there to you unless you happen to be a fan of either the Gophers or the Mountaineers. What you are here for is whiskey. And I have a pretty good one for you tonight. It’s gift-giving season at the moment so I chose one that would make a pretty attractive gift for the bourbon-lover on your list.

And yes, I know I’m doing this after Christmas…just go with it. Pretend the recipient has an upcoming birthday.

Last year we talked about the 6-year-old and 10-year-old versions of Bib & Tucker bourbon. I liked them both, though I mentioned that I thought they were a bit overpriced for me to buy for myself but that they would make a good gift. Let’s see if the older and more expensive version lives up to those standards.

Bib & Tucker 12-Year-Old Single Barrel Select, Total Wine Selection

Purchase Info: $99.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67

Details: 49.5% ABV. Barrel number: 102418. Bottle number: 6. Age: 12-years-old. Distilled in TN.

Nose: Pear, cinnamon, caramel, and vanilla.

Mouth: Pear, milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and baking spice.

Finish: Medium heat and length. Notes of caramel, chocolate, honey, and fruit.

Thoughts: This is a tasty whiskey. It's probably not $100 tasty. At least not to me, considering what a 12-year-old from Knob Creek or a 15-year-old from Dickel is going for. However, it is tasty and the bottle is pretty so I'd be perfectly fine buying this as a gift for someone.

Stellum Bourbon

August 12, 2021 Eric Burke

Last week I regaled you with the mundane tale of how I, almost accidentally, got my hands on a couple of bottles of Stellum Whiskey. I'm not going to bore you with that again, but I think I might jump straight into the "About This Bourbon" section of the post.

Stellum is a line of whiskeys produced by the same folks that make the Barrell line of sprits. Like the Rye, this bourbon is a blend of bourbons produced in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I'll let them give you the flowery version. From the Stellum website:

Stellum Bourbon finds its flavor in the tension of three Indiana Bourbon mash bills, two of which are high-rye, with the third being almost exclusively corn. Older barrels from both Kentucky and Tennessee are folded in slowly, through a multi-step blending process. This brings added layers of depth and complexity, ultimately allowing us to round out a uniquely Stellum flavor profile.

They don’t come right out and say MGP, but in my opinion, there is a good likelihood of the “Indiana Bourbons” they describe come from MGP. A look at the MGP site shows two “high-rye” bourbons (mash bills: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, and 4% Barley Malt and 60% Corn, 36% Rye, and 4% Barley Malt) and a 99% corn bourbon (mash bill: 99% Corn and 1% Barley Malt). The interview Fred Minnick did with the bourbon’s creator describes it as such: “The Stellum Bourbon blend is focused on a 5–6-year-old IN/KY/TN profile using 3 different Indiana mash bills and includes barrels from 4-16 years old.” Stellum bourbon is officially non-age-stated, non-chill filtered, and cask strength at 114.98° proof.

Stellum Bourbon

Purchase Info: $52.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Lakeville Liquors, Lakeville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.53

Details: Distilled in Indiana, Kentucky & Tennessee 57.49% ABV.

Nose: Cap'N Crunch, caramel, cherry, cinnamon.

Mouth: Spicy and hot. Caramel, cherry, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple.

Finish: Long and warm. Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cherry.

Thoughts: This is really good. It has a nice balance of sweet and spicy when neat. A little water doesn't hurt this one at all. Water brings the sweetness to the forefront and allows the spicy notes to play a supporting role.

Stellum Rye

August 5, 2021 Eric Burke

Sometimes one thing just leads to another, you know? You can wake up in the morning thinking to yourself that you have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and that there is nothing on your calendar. And then you can end the day having spent $450 on a meat grinder and another $120 on whiskey. And that was me last Saturday.

I woke up Saturday morning. Early of course because hungry dogs had me up at 5:30 am. I groaned and tried to convince them to go back to sleep, to no avail. So the only thing to do was see if my wife would make us coffee while I took the pups out to go potty. It has been so dry in Minnesota that I think the only moisture my lawn gets is from the dogs urinating on it. Which probably means that the lawn is done for. But at least the weeds are still green. So there’s that.

As I was cleaning up after the dogs, my wife came out to add something to the ol’ honey-do list. She said, “remember to do some research on a meat grinder today.” Now, as you might expect from someone who does what I’m doing right now, I like to do research on the internet. I find reading reviews, combing through forums, and looking at specs to be fun and enjoyable. And I’ve been smoking a lot of meat lately. Which means I have a freezer full of trimmings. So looking at a meat grinder to turn those trimmings into tasty food was something I was looking forward to.

As I finished my research, I realized that my local Fleet-Farm had the model I was looking for. In-stock and on sale. You know I decided to brave the smoke outside and go get it. And of course, Fleet-Farm is right by a local Municipal Liquor store. It’s a small store, they don’t have everything, but they try to make their selection complement that of the Total Wine up the road by carrying items that Total Wine doesn’t. So I decided that since I was out braving the smoke anyway, it would be a waste of a trip if I didn’t stop in.

And that is where I found tonight’s whiskey. And one of next week’s as well. I picked up the Stellum Rye and the Stellum Bourbon, but I’m going to stretch the content out as much as I can. Stellum is a brand created by the makers of Barrell Bourbon. It is a cask-strength, non-chill filtered blend of Straight whiskeys from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. According to an interview conducted by Fred Minnick with Barrell founder Joe Beatrice, the constituent whiskeys are between four and ten years old. And according to the Stellum website, the rye we are exploring tonight is made mostly of the 95% rye Indiana mashbill with small amounts of more “barley forward rye and choice barrels from both Kentucky and Tennessee.” The suggested retail price is $54.99 and should be available on an ongoing basis in 45 markets across the US.

I am a big fan of MGP’s 95% rye whiskey, especially at cask strength, and while they didn’t confirm that the 95% Rye from Indiana that they used was actually from MGP, I’m just going to go on the assumption that it is. So I was very excited to taste this one. Let’s see how it tastes.

Stellum Rye

Purchase Info: $52.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Lakeville Liquors, Lakeville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.53

Details: 58.12% ABV. Distilled in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Nose: Cooked cereals, mint, cinnamon, clove, and maple.

Mouth: Very hot in the mouth. Notes of honey, cherry, mint, cinnamon, and tobacco.

Finish: Spicy and warm. Medium length. Notes of cinnamon, mint, and brown sugar.

Thoughts: I'm really digging this one. As I said, I'm a big fan of the MGP 95/5 Rye recipe and am very glad that they made it the star of this blend. The other parts of the blend work to add sweetness and round off the sharp edges that 95/5 can sometimes come with. Big fan. I really like this one. I highly recommend it if you want a high-proof variation on MGP-style 95% rye.

Calumet Farm 15-year-old Single Rack Black Bourbon "Whirlaway"

July 29, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: the 15-year-old bourbon from Calumet Farm.

Last Friday I sold my truck. After living the last 18 months, we realized that we were ready to become a one-car family. Especially since the used truck market is super hot right now. Sure, we wouldn’t be able to haul a load of dirt from the garden center, but that might be a blessing for my back. I’m not getting any younger, if you know what I mean. Plus if we needed to haul something renting the occasional trailer would be much cheaper than the repairs a well-used decade-old pickup would bring. Plus no insurance payment on it.

While we planned to use most of the money we got from the truck as a down payment for the new vehicle we have on order, I did convince my wife that we could probably splurge a little in celebration. I mean we got exactly what we were looking for from the dealer. Even knowing that we could have gotten more selling it outright, it felt like a win. I really dislike dealing with strangers and the convenience was worth it. The result of that splurge was tonight’s whiskey.

Calumet Farm 15-year-old Single Rack Black Bourbon is a product of Western Spirits Beverage Company. Much like the 10-year-old Bourbon, I reviewed back in 2018, each 19-barrel batch is created from the barrels aging on one rack in the aging warehouse. It is non-chill filtered and 105° proof. The mash bill is 74% Corn, 18% Rye, and 8% Malted Barley. It is bottled by Three Springs Bottling Company in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Oh and since Calumet Farm is a farm that breeds racehorses, this bottling is named in honor of one of the farm’s Kentucky Derby winners. You can read more about Whirlaway the bourbon and Whirlaway the horse here.

Calumet Farm 15-year-old Single Rack Black Bourbon "Whirlaway"

Purchase Info: $129.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Blue Max, Burnsville, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $8.67

Details: 52.5% ABV. Rack#: 275402.09. 19 Barrel Batch. Non-chill filtered.

Nose: Caramel, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, apple, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy and thick. Caramel, brown sugar, oak, apple, cinnamon candies, and leather.

Finish: Spicy and long. Notes of dark chocolate, caramel, cinnamon candies, mint, and a touch of apple.

Thoughts: I don't say this often for products I paid more than $100 for, but this was probably worth every penny. It is absolutely delicious and I will be hiding this on the special shelf so that it lasts a long time. I’m really enjoying it. Just giving this a “like” rating due to the price, but it’s good enough that if it were cheaper it’d be getting a heart. But since I don’t love the price, it gets a high “like.”

Sample Roulette: Vacation Edition

June 29, 2021 Eric Burke

Well, I’m back.

We had an amazing trip. One that was far too full of fun to spend time doing whiskey tastings. Well, almost. I did happen to toss a few blind samples in my bag to try. I was on a fun adventure and these little bottles had the possibility of being very adventurous.

I mean, these were samples that I had poured from 2011 until 2017 during my “hoarding phase” of whiskey fandom. During that time, I kept samples of everything I bought. It didn’t matter if it was a limited edition or a $10 handle. All of them had a sample poured and stashed in a little box. Last year I realized I no longer wanted to keep them and started to drink them. I’d covered the original labels with painters tape in order to make them blind, just because it was more fun that way.

So while we sat in my room that overlooked the shores of Lake Powell, planning the next day’s adventure, we took a little time to have a little whiskey adventure as well. Let’s see what I brought with and if any of it was as good (or as bad) as I remember.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 1:

Nose: Corn, toffee, and a mineral note.

Mouth: Spicy, Cinnamon, Cardamom, and a delicate fruit note.

Finish: Hot and Spicy. Notes of cinnamon and cardamom.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: I really like the spice of this one. My wife doesn't like cardamom so she isn't as big of a fan. That means I will get the rest of this pour. Yay!

Reveal: George Dickel 14-year-old private Select

Post-Reveal Thoughts: The bottle that this sample came from was purchased at a grocery store near New Orleans back in 2014. I remember it being very good and I still found it so. This makes me very excited to crack into the bottle of the 15-year-old Dickel that I found in Colorado on this trip.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 2:

Nose: Floral mint, brown sugar, and cherry.

Mouth: Cherry, brown sugar, cocoa, and nutmeg

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of cherry, nutmeg, and mint.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is really good. I'm feeling like this might be a really good Canadian Whisky. It has a mouthfeel that, while not thin, is on the thinner side. Good sweetness.

Reveal: Jefferson's Presidential Select, 18-year-old

Post-Reveal Thoughts: When I first reviewed this, I wasn’t a fan. I found it too woody and stated I wasn’t a fan of bourbon with an emphasis on wood notes. I guess I have mellowed with age when it comes to that particular flavor note because it didn’t even show up in my notes seven years later when I did this tasting. Interesting.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 3:

Nose: Dried grain and spearmint

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel, dried grain, spearmint, lots of cinnamon, and sugar sweetness.

Finish: Warm, but not too warm. More dried grain and cinnamon.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is pretty meh. Probably won't be finishing this one. Vacation is too short to spend time on meh whiskey.

Reveal: Old Fitzgerald Prime.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I don’t have much to add to that statement. I put this one away back in 2014 and gave it a meh then. I still think it’s pretty meh.

I always find this to be a fun exercise. You never know when you are going to put something truly terrible in your mouth and it makes every pour a little more exciting when the product is good. And this round we got two likes and a meh. Not bad for three shots in the dark.

Blog

Stellum Black Bourbon

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

Jefferson's Ocean, Voyage 23

Bib & Tucker 12-Year-Old Single Barrel Select, Total Wine Selection

Stellum Bourbon

Stellum Rye

Calumet Farm 15-year-old Single Rack Black Bourbon "Whirlaway"

Blind Whiskey Sample # 1:

Reveal: George Dickel 14-year-old private Select

Blind Whiskey Sample # 2:

Reveal: Jefferson's Presidential Select, 18-year-old

Blind Whiskey Sample # 3:

Reveal: Old Fitzgerald Prime.