Woodford Reserve Personal Selection

December 13, 2016 Eric Burke

So. It's official. I'm 40 now.

I mean, if you are counting from the time I was born, I was 40 a few months ago. But age is just a number, right? It's all about how you feel. And now I feel 40.

Last week, I went to the eye doctor for the first time in about 15 years.

...I know. I know. But yeah...

Anyway, I still have great vision, the lady tells me. Things are great, it's going to be great. There is only one little thing that I might need. It's optional, but it will help. You guessed it, glasses. Well, part time. For computer use, not for all the time.

When I was a much younger boy than I am now, I always wanted glasses. I understood that they were a pain in the ass, well I understood that people said they were a pain in the ass. But I liked that they were something that you could change about yourself. Get a new set of frames, and you looked completely different. It seemed like something that would be fun.

Yeah, I was an idiot. But I was young, and you do and think a lot of stupid things when you are young. Now that I have these things on my face, I just feel old. Not like I'm about to keel over, but like I'm an adult who needs to be responsible. It's just one more thing to keep track of. I actually wandered around the house today wondering where I had put them...only to find them right next to where I had been sitting.

I do find it funny, though. People always say that your body starts to go to hell at 40. I guess this is the first step. This year it's something minor like computer glasses. Next year I'll probably break a hip or something.

It's all downhill from here folks. What the hell, let's have a drink.

Woodford Reserve Personal Selection, Liquor Barn Series 10-1

Purchase Info: I seem to have lost this receipt, but I bought it at a Liquor Barn in Louisville, KY. (Fitting that I just spent over six paragraphs telling you I was feeling old, huh?)

Details: 45.2% ABV. Personal Selection from Liquor Barn. Series 10-1.

Nose: Green apple, wintergreen, brown sugar, and oak.

Mouth: Peppery heat, apple wintergreen, baking spices, and oak.

Finish: Spicy and of medium length. Lingering black pepper, cinnamon gum, and wintergreen.

Thoughts: I like this one a lot. It's spicier than I would have guessed it would be from its proof and provenance. The typical "Brown-Forman" note is downplayed to the point where I might not have guessed this was Woodford if I'd been given it blind. The folks at Liquor Barn did a nice job picking this one. Makes me wish I could find a store doing Personal Selections of Woodford around here in Minnesota.

I've told you about my Etsy store over at BourbonGuyGifts.com, right? It's only the internet's newest source for tasting journals and bourbon-inspired home decor made by hand, by me! You can also find things like vintage whiskey bottles as I trim my collection down.

Buffalo Trace Store pick: Westport Whiskey & Wine

December 1, 2016 Eric Burke

Back in September, I met up with a fellow blogger for his first trip to the Party Source. It's in the Kentucky part of the Cincinnati Metro area, and he'd just moved to Ohio. We'd never met in real life before, and I'm always up for a bit of whiskey shopping, so I was more than willing to make the drive from Louisville to Cincinnati.

And boy did I fill my cart. I didn't get anything too special, but everything I did get was unavailable here in Minnesota, so that made it special to me. I must have bought like eight to ten bottles of bourbon. I doubt I spent more than $12 on most of them. It was fun. A lot of chatting. A bunch of shopping. Good times had all around.

So of course, after heading back to Louisville, we decided that since we were driving right past Westport Whiskey and Wine that, well, we'd probably better stop in. I mean we are right there. It'd be a shame to have to drive all the way back over here, wouldn't it? (Not going to mention we were visiting a friend later in the week that lives about 15 minutes from there...)

Buffalo Trace Store pick: Westport Whiskey & Wine label

After we had convinced ourselves that this was, indeed, the best course of action we stopped in and took a look around. WW&W is not a huge mega-store. It's a nice sized store that has a decent selection and has had a private selection of one sort or another, every time I visit. I can't remember what we actually went in looking for, but I'm pretty sure we didn't find it. What I found instead was a liter bottle of a store pick Buffalo Trace. I hadn't picked up a Buffalo Trace for a while, so when they offered me a sample, I was pretty sure that I was going to buying it if it was at all good. And it was. It was very good.

Or well as good as anything can be in a tiny disposable plastic shot glass.

Buffalo Trace Private Selection, Westport Whiskey & Wine

Purchase Info: $37.99 for a one-liter bottle at Westport Whiskey and Wine, Louisville, KY.

Details: Barrel # 111, 45% ABV

Nose: Cinnamon sugar, crisp apples,and almonds.

Mouth: Fresh Green apple, almond, and baking spices rounded out by vanilla and oak.

Finish: Warm with lingering vanilla and apple.

Thoughts: This is a tasty variation on the Buffalo Trace flavor profile. This is a good example of why I like store picks.

If you've had standard Buffalo Trace, then the store pick is...

Fruitier on the nose with more prominent cinnamon. The mouth is softer with more fruit and spice, but with less pronounced almond notes. The finish is a little warmer.

Have I told you about BourbonGuyGifts.com? It is one of the ways you can support the blog and still get something back. I hand-craft items from barrel bungs, barrel staves and more to make coat racks, candle holders, tasting journals, drink coasters and more. Check it out, won't you?

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2016

November 29, 2016 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Common Ground PR for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

sample bottle of Yellowstone Limited 2016

So there I was, at the Lux Row Distillery announcement, trying to act like a real reporter instead of the clown at the back of the room for once. I don't usually cover events like this, but since I was going to be in town for it anyway, I thought it might be interesting to attend one so I could see how they work.

As I stood there, taking notes, a couple joined us. The male half was wearing a Yellowstone shirt. He introduced himself as Paul Beam, and we chatted for a bit. Paul is half of the team of brothers that started the Limestone Branch Distillery. After a while, my friends from MB Roland wandered over along with Steve Beam, the other brother from Limestone Branch.

Over the course of the week, as I hung out with my friends from MB Roland, I got to chat with Steve Beam quite a bit. I learned a lot of things I can't share...which is really no problem since I tend to have an awful memory. In any case, I decided that I liked Steve Beam. He was a nice, though opinionated, guy who was fun to hang out with over a few bourbons.

And so, when I got the press release that the Beam's and Luxco were releasing another of the black labeled limited edition Yellowstone bourbons for 2016, I wasted no time in accepting a sample to see what he and his brother had been up to.

The 2016 edition of Yellowstone Limited Edition features two bourbons, a 12-year-old and a 7-year-old, that were mingled and allowed reentered into new toasted wine barrels for additional aging. Now I want to be sure I am clear here (mostly because my wife misunderstood me the first time I read this to her as well). These are new, toasted barrels that were intended for wine...not barrels that once held wine. Big difference there.

But there is still one question to be answered, was it any good?

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2016

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by Common Ground PR, but the suggested price is $99.99.

Details: 7 years old. 50.5% ABV. Finished in toasted barrels.

Nose: Fruit and mint lead with caramel, oak, and cardamom pods coming after.

Mouth: Peppery heat with the initial sip. Oak, caramel, cinnamon spice, anise, and mint follow.

Finish: Long with a nice warmth. Fruit and spices linger.

Thoughts: This is a very good bourbon. There is enough proof to make itself known, but not enough to overpower. The age gives nice oak and spice. The fruitiness is present, but not overly so. Very good bourbon.

So you are wondering about price, aren't you? Well, I think in today's market, this is good enough to warrant the price being asked. Being a freelance designer and writer, I probably won't see it in my budget anytime soon, but if I had $100 extra and saw it sitting on the shelf, I'd certainly think about it.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Clyde May's Straight Bourbon

November 10, 2016 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Clyde May's for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

What are we reviewing tonight?

A Kentucky bourbon, named for a moonshiner whose claim to fame is making an "Alabama-style" whiskey, which is then bottled by a Florida company.

Ok. Seems fair enough. Quick question, though. What's an "Alabama-Style" whiskey?

According to the literature the producer sent to me, it's aged whiskey that had dried apples in the barrel along with the spirit, essentially an apple flavored whiskey.

Does that mean we are reviewing a flavored whiskey?

Nope. We're reviewing a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey that happened to be produced by the same company, under the same brand.

Why?

Why what? Why did they use the same brand or why are we reviewing it?

Second one.

Well, they were nice enough to send me a bottle. I was intrigued by the fact that it was non-chill filtered even though it was under 100 proof. And I liked that they didn't claim they distilled it. They followed the law and named the state of distillation on the label. All good things.

Ok. Is it any good?

Yes. See below.

non-chill filtered distilled in Kentucky bottled in Florida

Clyde May's Straight Bourbon

Purchase Info: Bottle provided by the producer for review purposes. Suggested retail price is $39.99.

Details: 46% ABV. Non-Chill Filtered. NAS though the provided literature claims 5 years.

Nose: Mint, Juicyfruit gum, oak

Mouth: Sweet and minty with a nice bit of oak tannins along the sides and back of the tongue.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering oak tannins and baking spices.

Thoughts: This is a decent bourbon. It reminds me a bit of something from the Ezra Brooks line, which sort of makes me wonder if it didn't start life as a Heaven Hill product. As such, you may be uncomfortable spending $40 on a bottle. But I like it. And as it's competitive with many other sourced bourbons, I can see myself spending the money on it every once in a while.

Coopers' Craft Bourbon

November 8, 2016 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Green Olive Media for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that this past weekend I bought a barrel. It's for a series of projects that I'm currently working on behind the scenes. The thought of purchasing a barrel is one that I think a lot of whiskey fans at least consider at one point or another. For me, it's because I want to use the wood. As such, after I got it home, I immediately took it apart.

Taking the barrel apart gave me an appreciation for the people that put the things together. The barrel heads are pretty heavy. The staves are pretty heavy. And you need to balance things, so the whole mess doesn't fall over. Holding the pieces in my hands was much more informative to the process than watching the demonstrations at a cooperage. It's really pretty cool.

It was one of those weird coincidences that life sometimes throws at you when I noticed that this week's first post was about a bourbon that is dedicated to those people that make barrels for a living. Coopers' Craft is a bourbon released by Brown-Forman. As they are the only Kentucky Bourbon maker that also owns it's own cooperage, it is fitting that they exploit that for marketing purposes. But don't think that this is just Old Forester in a different bottle. According to news reports when the product was released, this has a slightly different mash bill than Old Forester. More corn, less rye.

Does that make for a better bourbon than Old Forester, though? Let's find out.

Coopers' Craft Bourbon

Purchase info: This review sample was supplied by Green Olive Media. Suggested retail price is $29 for a 750 mL. (I did purchase two 50 mL bottles at the Party Source in Bellevue, KY for $0.99 each.)

Details: 41.1% ABV

Nose: Wintergreen candies, honey, vanilla pudding and oak.

Mouth: Vanilla Pudding, baked apple, baking spices and oak.

Finish: Short finish with vanilla, grapefruit peel, baked apple and oak.

Thoughts: This is an ok bourbon when taken neat. It's nothing to write home about, honestly. It's good for playing cards or chatting with friends, but nothing for deep contemplation. Think something on the level of Evan Williams black, except with more oak and less grain. So fine, but not great neat. But here's the thing, this really shines in an Old Fashioned. I made mine with Angostura Bitters and the smoky simple syrup made from the Smoked Sugar from BourbonBarrel Foods. The wintergreen from the nose really shows up in the mouth as well. It's sweet but interesting.

I'd say this is a very nice mixer that'll work neat in a pinch.

Belle Meade Bourbon, Madeira Cask Finish

November 3, 2016 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank simoneink for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

Belle Meade Bourbon, Madeira Cask Finish

Every time I post a review of a cask-finished bourbon there is one reaction I can be sure to get from at least a portion of the audience:

"Ugh, flavored whiskey."

And they have a point, to an extent. Bourbon is put into a second barrel to pick up some of the flavors of that cask. When the cask previously held another spirit (or wine or beer), those are the flavors you are trying to get. Is this bad? Not in my estimation, but then I tend to like cask-finished bourbons and ryes. I even like the occasional infused bourbon. I get that not everyone does but to each their own. I'm not here to judge what a person likes. I'm only here to judge a bourbon.

In this case, the bourbon in question is Belle Meade Bourbon finished in used Madeira barrels. It is a limited edition release from the folks at Nelson's Green Briar Distillery in Nashville, Tennessee. Belle Meade Bourbon is the brand name that they use for the sourced bourbon that they sell while they work on making their distilled-in-house whiskeys. Sku tells us they source from MGP in Indiana.

At this point, I'm sure you know what bourbon is. (If not, shoot me an email. I'll personally bring you up to speed.) You might be asking yourself what Madeira is, though. I know I was. The only thing I knew about it was that it is a type of wine and it was a favorite of George Washington and other Founding Fathers. And since it is the finish that is the difference in this one, I thought it might be worthwhile to take a minute to discover just what Madeira is.

Madeira is a Portuguese fortified wine (a wine, like sherry or port, where the wine has had spirits added to it) produced on the Madeira Islands which lie off the coast of Morroco. Initially, the islands' winemakers added grape spirits to the barrel to help it survive the sea voyage to the intended destination. During the trip, the wine would be subject to subtropical heat which would give the wine a different flavor. And although it's no longer necessary to fortify the wine to allow it to survive a sea voyage, Madeira producers still add spirits to the wine. They even intentionally heat it to maintain the flavor profile that their predecessors accidentally developed centuries ago. (Here is a more in-depth link to learn more about Madeira.)

Belle Meade Bourbon, Madeira Cask Finish

Purchase Info: This review sample was supplied by simoneink. Suggested retail price is $74.99.

Details: 45.2% ABV. Bourbon finished in a Malmsey Madeira cask.

Nose: Sweet and delicately fruity with dried fruits, brown sugar, and oak.

Mouth: Fruity and peppery in the mouth. Plums, black cherries, baking spices, maple, and cocoa.

Finish: Warm and of decent length. The whiskey and the wine notes both hang around a while.

Thoughts: On my first sip of this, I was struck by a distinct brandy flavor at the front of my mouth. As it moved back, the whiskey showed itself. It was kind of like a spirit mullet. After a few more sips, this experience settled down, and I was able to start to pick out individual notes.

Overall this is a nice spirit. I found it to be quite tasty. If it sold for $45-$50, it would be an easy one to recommend. As it stands, I doubt I would personally spend $75 on this one. But price/value is subjective so if you are looking for something tasty and different, and if $75 is easy for you to come by, then give this a shot. I will say that it was good enough that I would consider spending the $35 they ask for the regular release the next time I'm visiting a place where it is sold.

Willett-Distilled Bourbon: Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond

October 13, 2016 Eric Burke

Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond Willett distilled bourbon.

Tomorrow I’m heading back to northern Wisconsin to shoot my youngest brother’s wedding. Yep, among my many skills is the skill of photography. But I don’t normally take photos of people. I shoot landscapes, animals, etc. Things that are outside and surrounded by all sorts of natural light. So this will be fun.

If by fun you mean learning as you go, flying by the seat of my pants and hoping no one notices that I only kinda know what I’m doing. All while trying not to screw up the only memento that my brother and his new wife will have of their happy day. And also while trying to explain that no, you can’t do night time shots during the day. That no, rain isn’t the end of the world. And that yes, trying to take all your wedding pictures in the rain as it is getting dark is probably asking for them to not turn out as well as they would have if you’d have done it before the ceremony, before it rained, except that you were too superstitious to let him see you.…

Shit.

I don’t normally do this, but this might be one of those times that the flask comes with. If there is any chance at all that I end up with a Bridezilla on my hands, I want to be prepared. Especially since I’m going to be … well … faking it and trying not to scream for most of the day.

So what will be in that flask? Well there is a good chance that it will be the recently released Old Bardstown Bottled-in-Bond, Willett-distilled bourbon. It's 100 proof to help fortify the will. And it's inexpensive enough that I won’t feel too bad taking a snort from the flask. Plus I have a couple bottles of it so I won’t miss it too much.

Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: $22 for a 750 mL bottle at the Willett Distillery Gift Shop

Details: 50% ABV. NAS (but bottled in bond so at least four years old). Distilled at DSP-KY-78 (Willett).

Nose: Grassy, caramel, mint, spiced gum drops and oak.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with caramel and vanilla backed by allspice, black pepper, mint and a grassy note.

Finish: Sweet and of medium length. Lingering allspice, mint and dried grass.

Thoughts: Twenty. Two. Dollars. For. A. Craft. Distilled. Bourbon! And it’s good!

OK to be fair this is no world beater, but at $22 it doesn’t have to be. What it needs to be is solid, tasty and work well either neat or in a cocktail. This does that. It’s a nice addition to the ranks of tasty, inexpensive bottled-in-bond bourbons. If you visit Kentucky, make sure this is in your bag when you leave.

1792 Full Proof

October 11, 2016 Eric Burke

It wasn’t long before my trip to BourbonFest that I got a note from a friend of mine letting me know that he saw the 1792 Full Proof at a municipal liquor store near his house. Ordinarily, I might have passed on driving the 70 miles or so (round trip) just for the opportunity to spend money on bourbon. Especially since I would be driving about 1600 miles (round trip) in the coming weeks also for the opportunity to spend money on bourbon. But, I like 1792 and quite liked the last of their limited releases that I’d tried. Plus to be honest I was feeling more than a little bored on that late August morning. So I made the trip up there and decided to do a little shopping.

Though I tend to like 1792, it really was a previous 1792 limited release that I had picked up (the Port Finish release) that made me decide to make the trip up there to grab this one as well. I'd liked the Port Finish quite a bit and it showed me that the blenders for 1792 know what they are doing with these releases. And plus 1792 Full Proof sounds like it's just 1792 with less water. More proof is hardly ever a bad thing since at worst you can dilute to your favored proof level and get more pours out of a single bottle.

1792 Full Proof

Purchase info: $44.99 for a 750 mL at Top Valu Liquors, Columbia Heights, MN

Details: 62.5% ABV (My research on this one indicates that this was the proof that this was entered into the barrel, not the proof that it was removed from the barrel. So it was probably diluted to 125 proof).

Nose: Juicyfruit Gum, brown sugar and baking spices.

Mouth: Whoooo…that’s a hot one without water. This is fruity with cloves, cayenne, caramel and oak.

Finish: Hot with medium length. Lingering fruit and oak.

Thoughts: I’m really impressed by these 1792 limited releases. The price is right and both of the ones I’ve tried have been very tasty. Where the Port Finish was much sweeter than the regular 1792, this 1792 Full Proof is just the regular 1792 on steroids. It has the same wonderful dry and evaporative qualities as 1792. Just more so. It is a very lovely, though hot, whiskey neat. I tend to give it just a little ice to dilute it and help tame the heat. It’s very tasty so if you like 1792, grab this if you see it. If you don’t like 1792 however, I’d give this a pass. It’s that, just more so.

Blog

Woodford Reserve Personal Selection, Liquor Barn Series 10-1

Buffalo Trace Private Selection, Westport Whiskey & Wine

If you've had standard Buffalo Trace, then the store pick is...

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2016

Clyde May's Straight Bourbon

Coopers' Craft Bourbon

Belle Meade Bourbon, Madeira Cask Finish

Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond

1792 Full Proof