Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

June 27, 2023 Eric Burke

I’d like to thank Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Poor air quality is becoming a fixture of life this summer, isn’t it? Alexa gave me another air quality alert today. Luckily for me, we have it pretty good compared to the folks just a little to the east and south of us. Being as we are only in the “moderate air quality” range here in the southern Twin Cities Metro, I can actually go outside without breathing becoming hard to do. But according to the maps, many of you will smell smoke when you step outside.

Which sucks. Because though you might want smoke on your food or your whiskey, you probably do not want it in your lungs. So stay safe, folks.

But speaking of smoke and whiskey, let’s take a look at Bib & Tucker Double Char. This Tennessee bourbon was aged for six years in standard 53-gallon charred White Oak barrels before being finished in a second heavily charred barrel for an additional 5-plus months. Now, as this is Tennessee bourbon, it does go through the Lincoln County process of being filtered through sugar maple charcoal prior to aging.

And according to the company:

For Double Char, to pay homage to the Lincoln County process, the second barrel is smoked with sugar maple before being filled with our 6 year aged bourbon. The perfect amount of time in the barrels, the char, and the sugar maple barrel smoking process delivers a bourbon with an inviting savory white smoke flavor not found in any other whiskey on the market.

I tasted this prior to reading the press release, and I personally didn’t detect any smoke, which is a good thing, as I tend to dislike smoky notes in my whiskey. But there was a subtle note that I could be convinced was smoke now that I’ve read it. It’s one of those interesting notes that is subtle enough that it only comes into focus once someone else points it out.

So let’s see how it tastes.

Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was provided free of charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $54.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.66

Details: 6 years old. 44% ABV. Batch 01. Bottle 29090. Distilled in Tennessee.

Nose: Mint, vanilla, cinnamon, fresh lumber, (seasoned) oak, and a touch of cherry.

Mouth: Sweet caramel and vanilla, vibrant cinnamon, and sharp oak.

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Notes of cherry, cinnamon, minerals, and vanilla.

Thoughts: I'm a bit shocked at how complex the flavor is, considering it's low proof. I'm a fan. If you like the usual suspects when it comes to supplying sourced bourbon from Tennessee, you'll probably like this too. Has a bit of a Dickel vibe to it.

Now you might ask how it compares to the standard Bib & Tucker 6-year-old. And since they were nice enough to send me a sample of that for comparison’s sake, let’s take a look. The noses are similar, but Double Char is sweeter on the nose. The mouths have similar notes, but Double Char is sweeter and spicier. Standard 6 has a longer finish, but Double Char compensates for that by having more complexity on the finish. Overall, if you like one, you'll probably like the other.

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Penelope Barrel Strength Bourbon, Batch 14

May 25, 2023 Eric Burke

This is part two of a two-part series on Penelope Bourbon and their recent purchase by MGP. On Tuesday we talked about Penelope Bourbon and why they are currently in the news. Today, we are going to take it easy and jump right into the tasting notes. We are coming up on a holiday weekend after all and I’m sure you are all busy.

In backup, this bourbon is very similar to the 80° proof Four Grain. It is still blended from three different bourbons from MGP. The final composite “mash bill” percentages work out a little differently at 74% Corn, 16% Wheat, 7% Rye and 3% Malted Barely. Guessing that is due to a slightly higher percentage of the MGP Wheated bourbon being used in this one. The proof is obviously different, what with it being barrel strength. The batch I’m looking at is batch 14 and that has a proof of 112° proof. This batch has also been aged for 4 years instead of 26 months.

On Tuesday, I said the following about the 80° proof version:

Thoughts: This is a well crafted bourbon. I can see why MGP would want to pick this brand up, especially since it seems like the blender is staying on. That said, I doubt I will be picking it up again. For almost $40, I want more than "26 months" in the barrel and 80° proof. Hopefully the new owners will adjust the price -to-value ratio a bit, though I'm realistic enough to have my doubts. That said, in a vacuum, it's a tasty bourbon... as long as you are the one buying.

So now that my two largest issues with the bourbon have been addressed, let’s see how it tastes.

Penelope Barrel Strength Bourbon, Batch 14

Purchase Info: $63.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.27

Details: 4 years old. 56% ABV. Batch 14. Blend of three bourbon mash bills combining to the ratio 74% Corn, 16% Wheat, 7% Rye, and 3% Malted Barley. Barrels have a #4 char, the heads have #2 char. Non-chill filtered.

Nose: Milk chocolate, red fruits, and caramel.

Mouth: Sweet with vanilla and chocolate, spicy cinnamon, and strawberry jam.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Notes of caramel, raspberry jam, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: Wow! What a step up from the 80° proof version. The nose is like a delicious dessert. That continues into the mouth with chocolate and a delightful jammy note. And then it continues again with a sweet and spicy finish. I'm actually shocked at how good this is. I'm going to keep an eye out for another bottle from this batch for the ol' whiskey closet. I really like this one.

Penelope Four Grain Bourbon

May 23, 2023 Eric Burke

So the big news in the whiskey world over the last few weeks is that MGP is buying another of their customers. This is a trend for them. They started the entire customer facing push by buying the George Remus brand a few years ago. Then they bought an entire liquor producer in Luxco. I’m sure there have been others, but the one we are focused on today is Penelope Bourbon. According to MGP, the acquisition is part of their “premiumization strategy.”

Started in 2018 by Mike Paladino and his wife Kerry, along with their friend Danny Police, Penelope was named after Mike and Kerry’s baby girl. Along the way, their MGP sourced bourbon has won quite a few awards over the years. Which it should, MGP makes damn fine bourbon. The big news these days is that the founders are now about $100 Million richer than they were back in 2018. I’ll let the MGP PR folks tell the tale. They get paid more to write than I do, might as well let them do it.

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGPI), a leading provider of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredient solutions, today announced that its Luxco, Inc. subsidiary has reached a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the equity of Penelope Bourbon LLC (“Penelope Bourbon” or “Penelope”) and its related assets. Founded in 2018, Penelope Bourbon is a family and founder-owned and operated American Whiskey company with a diverse portfolio of high-quality whiskeys in the premium-plus price tiers. The acquisition includes all intellectual property and inventory of bottled product, as well as Penelope’s aging whiskey inventory on a debt-and-cash-free basis. The upfront consideration is $105.0 million in cash to be paid at closing, with further potential earn-out contingent consideration of up to a maximum cash payout of $110.8 million measured through December 31, 2025 if certain performance conditions are met, reflecting the brand’s current growth potential.

Not going to lie…since MGP was the one making the whiskey, this seems like an awful lot to pay for a few labels. But heck, that’s why I am a dog sitter who writes about whiskey for free and not someone who has the extra cash to acquire a bourbon company, right?

So based on the fact that this news was big enough to even land in Chuck Cowdery’s latest newsletter, I decided to go pick up a couple of these oh so prettily named bourbons. I do love the name Penelope, after all. Up first is the “affordable” option. The 80° proof Four Grain Bourbon. Penelope blends three different bourbon mash bills from MGP to form their bourbons. They don’t say but based on the math, I’d guess it includes one of the “ryed” bourbon recipes, the 45% wheat recipe, and maybe the 99% corn recipe? No idea but they say that the final mash bill of this one is 75% corn, 15% wheat, 7% rye, and 3% malted barley. So based on the math I think we can eliminate MGP’s 49% malted barley bourbon.

In any case, let’s get to why we are here. How does this hundred million dollar baby taste?

Penelope Four Grain Bourbon

Purchase Info: $38.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.60

Details: Blend of three bourbon mash bills combining to the ratio 75% Corn, 15% Wheat, 7% Rye, and 3% Malted Barley. Barrels have a #4 char, the heads have #2 char. Non-chill filtered. 40% ABV. 26 months old.

Nose: Grain-forward, vanilla sugar, mint, and nutmeg.

Mouth: Thin and gentle with just enough spice to keep you interested. Notes of nutmeg, almond, and a touch of mint and orange zest.

Finish: Gentle and on the shorter side of medium length. Light notes of cinnamon, bitter citrus, and oak.

Thoughts: This is a well crafted bourbon. I can see why MGP would want to pick this brand up, especially since it seems like the blender is staying on. That said, I doubt I will be picking it up again. For almost $40, I want more than "26 months" in the barrel and 80° proof. Hopefully the new owners will adjust the price -to-value ratio a bit, though I'm realistic enough to have my doubts. That said, in a vacuum, it's a tasty bourbon... as long as you are the one buying.

10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Bottled-in-Bond Edition

March 14, 2023 Eric Burke

Well, well, well…lookie who we have here. Is it bracket time again already?

No, I mean that seriously. I’ve been so caught up with getting all the paperwork for my new dog-sitting business in order that I completely forgot that it was March (and hence bracket season) until last Wednesday when my wife reminded me. In the time since, we chose the theme, bought all the whiskey, seeded the brackets, and, yes, did all the tastings. Oh, and also worked on the previously mentioned paperwork.

Now you might be thinking, “didn’t this used to be called the bottom-shelf brackets? I see some pretty expensive whiskeys up there.” Well, you’d be right about that. After dumping out approximately seven liters of bourbon last year, I felt like I needed to overcorrect in the other direction and instead decided to throw out the price restrictions entirely. Instead, I decided to follow a different theme: Bottled-in-Bond. Now, my local store has a pretty good bourbon section. And unlike Total Wine (where honestly, I spend most of my liquor money), it has a very good selection of Bonded Bourbons (or, in the case of Jack and Dickel, close enough for this little blog). So I bought them all there. And I didn’t even buy all they had, just the least expensive ones. I could have spent $90 for a sourced bourbon or $65 for a 10-year-old Henry McKenna, but I didn’t.

In yet another “burn it all down” moment, I tossed out my usual seeding rules too. This year I went strictly by price. The most expensive price per milliliter was seeded number 1, and the least expensive was seeded number 4 for each division. Here’s how it worked out this year:

George Dickel Bottled in Bond (7.07 cents per mL)
Old Forester 1897 (6.67 cents per mL)
Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond (6.26 cents per mL)
New Riff (5.60 cents per mL)
Jack Daniel's Bonded (5.00 cents per mL)
Old Grand-Dad Bonded (2.93 cents per mL)
Old Tub (2.80 cents per mL)
Evan Williams Bottled in Bond (2.20 cents per mL)

Which gives us the breakdown above. As you can see, there are a lot of new faces this time. Based on the removal of the pricing restrictions, only two entrants have been here before. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond and Old Grand-Dad Bonded have both competed previously. And they both won.

This one was a lot of fun. Who you got? Any upsets that you see on the horizon? Let us know down in the comments. I’m very excited to share the results with you.

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Jefferson's Ocean New York Edition and Jefferson's Ocean Rye

February 28, 2023 Eric Burke

I’d like to thank Jefferson’s Bourbon and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Jefferson's Ocean New York Edition along with a sample bottle of Jefferson's Ocean Rye

Last week, I got myself a shipment of whiskey from the PR agency that represents Jefferson’s Bourbon. I’ve enjoyed Jefferson’s in the past but as I was often critical of the cost of the bourbon, I was a bit surprised when they offered me a sample of their new releases. But since “too expensive” is relative, I try to not let that stop me from exploring a new bourbon. Especially when they are providing the sample for review.

Tonight’s two whiskeys are again from the Jefferson’s Ocean lineup. Because we have a lot to cover, let’s just let Jefferson’s tell you what they want you to know about each whiskey and then we can discuss what they taste like.

First, Jefferson’s Ocean Rye:

Welcome aboard rye’s first voyage, joining our Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea family as our 26th voyage. This double-barreled rye whiskey travels the world on ships at sea, blending the bold flavor of Rye with the rich caramelization that comes from the unique sea aging process.

And now Jefferson’s Ocean New York Edition

Prior to landing in New York, the barrels of bourbon traveled around the world sailing through rough and smooth seas while experiencing a wide range of temperatures. When they finished their voyage, they arrived at Manhattan’s first distillery since prohibition. From here, New York’s famous water was used to cut the bourbon to a 98 proof and it is non chill filtered creating a bigger and bolder liquid.

Ok, now that that’s behind us, Let’s see how they taste.

Jefferson's Ocean Rye

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.33

Details: 48% ABV.

Nose: Wintergreen, cinnamon, bubblegum.

Mouth: Cinnamon spice, nutmeg, bubblegum, and cardboard.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of bubble gum, spearmint, and baking spice.

Thoughts: Lots of bubble gum on this one. At least to my palate. This isn't a world-beater by any means, but it isn't bad. It just doesn't align with my palate. I prefer my rye whiskies to have a little more ' 'rye" flavor to them. So I'm neutral on this one. I'd drink it if you were pouring, but probably wouldn't choose it off the shelf if I was pouring

Jefferson's Ocean: New York Edition

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. They did not provided a suggested retail price but the Bourbon Review is reporting it as $99 for a 750 mL.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67

Details: 49% ABV. Cut to proof with New York water.

Nose: Cinnamon, vanilla, red berries, and hints of oak and wintergreen.

Mouth: Spicy cinnamon, red fruit, brown sugar, wintergreen, dried grain, and raw almond.

Finish: On the longer side of medium length. Notes of nutmeg, wintergreen, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: I'm very pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm not usually a huge fan of Jefferson's Bourbon, but this one is pretty good. It has a nice spiciness. Unlike the other Jefferson's Bourbons I've had recently, this doesn't stray too far away from the stereotypical "Bourbon" flavor profile. I usually describe Jefferson's as a "change of pace" bourbon because it is a bit different than the other bourbons on the market. This needs no such disclaimer. I'm a fan. Though the $100 price point of the Jefferson's Ocean New York Edition release does leave a bit to be desired. Especially if you are on a dogsitter’s budget like I am.

Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

February 2, 2023 Eric Burke

IMAGE: The front label of Calumet Small Batch, a blend of 15 year old and 8 year old Bourbons

I’ve been noticing something about myself lately. I almost never buy a bourbon that is between $52 and $72 unless I am buying it to review on the site. It was brought to my attention last night when I realized that even though I adore Old Forester 1920, I think that I’ve only actually purchased it two or three times since it was released in 2016. It’s price lives in a price blind spot I have that spans the previously mentioned $52 to $72 range.

So what causes this blind spot? Well, mostly money. As you might guess, in order to keep content going on the site, I end up buying a lot of bourbon. So much so that when I am looking for something that I don’t need to review, I often get lazy and get a handle of Wild Turkey or Maker’s Mark. In my market those are in the $40 to $50 range. But occasionally I want something different. But those familiar prices stick in my head as I scan the shelves. Even if the “something different” is $50 for a 750 mL bottle, my brain sees it as “not too expensive.”

However, when I am looking for something a bit special, I start looking at items that I’ve seen before, but passed over because of price. Maybe it is a store pick or a bottle that has a bit more age on it. In either case the price will probably be some where north of $75. Which as you may have noticed leaves about a $25 window that I almost never buy anything from. And I need to change that. Might be time to start looking specifically at that price range. Which has things like tonight’s bourbon, Calumet Small Batch.

We’ve discussed some of the very expensive 14, 15, and 16 year old expressions that Calumet has released, but until now I’ve not looked at any of the lower priced bottles that have come out since they changed their bottle design to the “wine bottle” shape. So let’s see what the company has to say about their Small Batch bourbon.

Each small batch (50 barrels) is crafted from a blend of premium Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Bourbon Details: Distilled/Aging Location: Kentucky. Batch Size: 50 Barrels. Potency: 86 Proof (43% Alc/Vol). Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley. Bottled By: Three Springs Bottling Company, Bowling Green, KY.

Ok so now that we discussed price and provenance, let’s get to the important part: how does it taste?

Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: 43% ABV. Blend of 15-year-old and 8-year-old bourbons. Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley.

Nose: Wintergreen, Flintstones vitamins, cotton candy, caramel, and oak.

Mouth: Vanilla, caramel, nutmeg, and black tea.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of oak, cherry, and baking spice.

Thoughts: I really like this one. It has enough oak influence to keep it feeling fancy, but not so much that it is over powering. I enjoy the sweetness in the mouth and the heat of the baking spice. Even at 86 proof, it doesn’t taste overly diluted and has a nice spiciness to it. As I discussed above, $60 is a lot of money. And it is a little more than I’d like to pay for this one. It feels like it would fit better in the $40 to $50 range. Luckily I found it at Total Wine for $49.99. And for $50, I'd be happy to buy this one again.

Hirsch Selected Whiskeys: The Horizon

January 3, 2023 Eric Burke

Over the last two weeks, about two to three feet of snow have fallen at my house. As I don’t have anywhere to go, I wasn’t nearly as upset about that as I would have been in past years. In fact, since my mail delivery has been sporadic, at best, since May I really only need to leave my home to clean up the snow. Unless the Postal Service actually delivers that day, that is. (Want to get me worked up…ask me about the absolute joke of a Post Office that Prior Lake, MN has…anyway).

Well, last week on one of my short forays out into the world beyond my four walls, I stopped at a liquor store.

I know…I was shocked too.

Now I was just looking for a little bit of something to warm me up. I’d stocked up on enough “content” for the next month, I just needed something to have a little taste of now and then. I was thinking maybe some Wild Turkey 101 or some Maker’s Mark. Things that I love to drink, but can’t write about too often. Of course, on this particular day, my local corner liquor store had a brand rep in doing tastings. I took a look at what they were pouring and realized that I hadn’t had it before so I took the sample.

When asked how I liked it, I had to be honest and let him know that I couldn’t really answer him since I had only brushed my teeth a few minutes before leaving the house. But since he mentioned that the whiskey came from MGP in Indiana, I was pretty sure that I would have really liked it had my mouth not been full of toothpaste residue.

In any case, I brought the bottle home, and somehow, it has made it to the front of the editorial calendar for the year. Pure luck, that. We planned on doing lots of tastings over the holiday break and didn’t get around to it. And apparently, we started at the end.

My apologies to those brands who were nice enough to send me samples that have been jumped. That’s just how things work out sometimes.

The Horizon by Hirsch

Purchase Info: $32.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.20

Details: 46% ABV. 94% 4-year-old MGP 21% Rye Mash Bourbon and 6% 8-year-old MGP 36% Rye Mash Bourbon.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, mint, and cinnamon candy.

Mouth: This is pretty dry and spicy. Notes of cinnamon, cedar, almond, and mint.

Finish: Medium warmth and on the longer side of medium in length. Notes of mint, cinnamon, and honey.

Thoughts: This is not too bad at all. It's almost a little too dry for me in the mouth but redeems itself on the finish. And since I spend much more contemplating the finish between sips than I do holding it in my mouth when I consume whiskey, I'm ok with that. All in all, I'm very happy with the purchase. Thanks for the recommendation Mr. Brand Rep!

Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Whiskey

December 6, 2022 Eric Burke

This review sample was kindly provided by the PR team for Uncle Nearest Whiskey with no strings attached.

IMAGE: a bottle of Uncle Nearest sitting in the morning sunlight. With a dog in the neighbors yard in the background.

We’ve talked a lot about Uncle Nearest in the last couple of months. Why is that? Well, they are putting out a lot of new products this fall as part of their “12 Days of Christmas” celebration. So far they’ve released a distillery-only barrel-proof rye whiskey, a 100 proof rye and now a Single Barrel version of their Tennessee whiskey. Plus there are rumors of one more on the horizon.

Uncle Nearest is a brand that celebrates history (if you don’t understand why I say that check out my breakdown of that history from early 2020) and I’m thinking that releasing three to four brand new whiskeys in the span of a couple of months has got to be right up there when it comes to historical firsts. This particular release is a high-proof, single barrel version of the whiskey used to make their initial two products. Here is what the company website has to say about it:

This single barrel is different. It has the most distinct flavor profile of any of our whiskeys and was bottled at barrel strength to capture every nuance of this one-of-a-kind spirit. Our distillery’s triple filtration process ensures perfection in every sip. Distilled, aged and bottled in middle Tennessee, home of premier master distiller and teacher, Nearest Green. The smooth character of our whiskey is what distinguishes it from all others. The legacy of our namesake is what makes it unrivaled. This product is available in: AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, IA, IN, KY, LA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OK, RI, SC, SD, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY

So, now that we all know why we are talking about Uncle Nearest again tonight, let’s see how this one tastes.

Uncle Nearest Single Barrel

Purchase Info: This sample was provided for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $79

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.27

Details: 60.5% ABV. Barrel #7.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, oak, and light mint.

Mouth: Spicy and hot. Notes of caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of oak, almond, and chewable vitamins.

Thoughts: This is really good. It's too hot for me to drink neat, as is to be expected at 120° proof. But it takes just a little water to tame the heat a bit and bring out more leather and biscuit notes. I like it.

Blog

Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

Penelope Barrel Strength Bourbon, Batch 14

Penelope Four Grain Bourbon

Jefferson's Ocean Rye

Jefferson's Ocean: New York Edition

Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

The Horizon by Hirsch

Uncle Nearest Single Barrel