Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

In light of recent allegations made by the daughter of Tom Bulleit of his homophobia and mental and physical abuse toward her, I have made the decision that BourbonGuy.com can no longer endorse products bearing the Bulleit name. An update has been added to reflect this change in policy.

I visit Kentucky, on average, a couple of times a year. Often it isn't the destination, but I find a way to make most of my Eastbound road trips route through it. I'd try to route the other road trips through there as well, but I haven't figured out how to frame the argument that Kentucky really is on the way to Colorado from Minnesota.

Every time I visit Kentucky, I'm struck by the same thought: "How broke would I be if I lived here?" I mean there are bourbon events, bourbon bars, even bourbons that are only available there. If I had all of that around me all the time...

Well, I'd probably still be a hermit. But I do think that my budget for the occasional special bottle or dram would strain a little harder than it does in Minnesota. What, with all the temptation and all. 

I think about things like this, like moving to a warmer climate, a lot at this time of year. Don't get me wrong, all things considered, I like Minnesota. But I hate winter. I mean I really hate it. And when the temperature dips, not just below freezing, but into the sub-zero range it gets a bit rough. (That's somewhere around -20 C for those of you who use that other measuring system). Today I had to bundle into boots, hat, heavy coat and gloves just to get the mail. 

That got me to thinking about one of the Kentucky-only bottles that I'd picked up on my last trip south and I decided it was time to take another look at it.

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

Purchase info: $48.99 for a 750mL bottle. The Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 59.6% ABV. Non-age stated. 

Nose: Rich with ripe cherries, cocoa nibs, herbal mint, and oak.

Mouth: Peppery heat with caramel/vanilla, oak, JuicyFruit gum, cloves, mint, and anise. 

Finish: Long and lingering with fruit, mint, cinnamon, and anise. 

Thoughts: This is hands down the best whiskey in the Bulleit family. The more concentrated flavors from the higher proof really shine in the glass. Toss in a price in the $40-50 range and this is a real winner. I can't recommend this enough.

2019 update:

As stated above I have made the editorial decision that I can no longer endorse or recommend products from the Bulleit family of labels. This is an extension of the policy in my Statement of Ethics where I do not allow homophobic comments. In this case I’d rather not continue to help enrich a man alleged to have physically abused his own daughter over her sexuality. The review has been left intact for transparency’s sake.

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!

Kentucky Gentleman, or "Don't Get Distracted at the Liquor Store"

Sometimes I go into a liquor store, and I know exactly what I want. Other times, I know roughly how much I want to spend. When I visited the Party Source with a fellow blogger back in September, neither of these were true. 

I was in Kentucky to stock up for a few months of blog posts, see some friends and drink some bourbon. And when we made plans to visit the Party Source, I knew I would probably be picking up a few things that I had on the list to bring home. I figured this would be a good time to get some of the non-limited, everyday items out of the way. What I didn't expect to do was get so carried away with tossing things into the cart that I didn't bother to read the labels...either that or I was too busy chatting and wasn't paying close attention. In any case, I found myself with two miniature bottles of Kentucky Gentleman in my cart. 

Now if you know what Kentucky Gentleman is, you are probably wondering what could have caused me to pick that up? To you I will say, please see above. If you don't know what Kentucky Gentleman is, be assured you are not alone. I knew it was a cheap whiskey brand and I knew that it probably wasn't worth buying a full bottle of. 

It turns out that Kentucky Gentleman is not a bourbon. It is: "A Blend of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Spirits from the Finest Grains." In other words, it's bourbon mixed with neutral grain spirits (NGS or as it is more commonly known unfiltered vodka). It's an American-style Blended Whiskey made from 51% three-year-old bourbon and 49% NGS. And to be honest, it's the first one I've reviewed and possibly the first one I've had since I got serious about whiskey. 

So...yay? There's learning to be done here.

Kentucky Gentleman

Purchase info: $0.99 for a 50 mL at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 51% three-year-old bourbon and 49% neutral grain spirits.

Nose: Delicate with light mint and faint baking spices.

Mouth: Flat in the mouth with faint mint and baking spices.

Finish: Short and unbalanced. Medicinal vodka and whiskey notes fight for prominence (and the loser is my mouth).

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Thoughts: So...this is not the worst whiskey I've ever reviewed. That honor still goes to the Hayes Parker Reserve. But this is really close to the worst I've reviewed. To be fair, I'm tasting this neat in a Glencairn, which is just the opposite of what it was intended for, which brings me to my major problem with this whiskey. 

I'm just not sure what it actually is intended for. 

I know that this style of whiskey has long historical roots. I know that it was a way to stretch supplies after prohibition. I know that Seagram's built their business on it. And I know that maybe 40 years ago, people may have hoped it would compete favorably with vodka. 

But today, why does anyone buy this stuff? If I want ok whiskey, I have plenty of ok whiskey to buy, much of it sold at the same price point. If I want vodka, same thing. Hell, if I want something that has just a little more flavor than vodka to put a spin on a vodka cocktail, I can buy plenty of new make spirits. 

I'm sure that this fills a hole for someone, but I think I've learned that there isn't a hole in my life that an American-style Blended Whiskey can fill.

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Heaven Hill Black Label, 80 proof

"Best of the Great Kentucky Bourbons"

I just noticed that's what the neck label says about this bourbon. Oh man! Wouldn't it be a nice surprise if a company was selling their best whiskey for a price an average person could afford? This bottle was $7.99. And before you say I shouldn't expect anything good to come in under ten bucks a bottle, I'll have you know I picked up multiple bottles of the 90 proof, six-year-old Heaven Hill for just a dollar-fifty more. And yeah, I probably shouldn't give any more away on that one since I haven't written that post yet.

What this post is about is the Black Label version of Heaven Hill. Unlike some of its brand-mates, this one is NOT six years old. It is NOT 100 or even 90 proof. It is NOT Bottled in Bond. It is NOT even of an age where they give the age in years. Heaven Hill, Black Label version, is listed as thirty-six months old and bottled at only 80 proof. Needless to say, when I was picking up multiple bottles of Heaven Hill with green and white labels, only one bottle of Black Label came home with me.

Heaven Hill Black Label, 80 proof

Purchase Info: $7.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY

Details: 40% ABV, three years old.

Nose: Dried grains, mint, orange peel and a hint of oak.

Mouth: Sweet in the mouth. Cinnamon candies, dried grains, and vanilla.

Finish: Short and kind of bitter with lingering dried grains. 

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Thoughts: Very grain forward with an unpleasant finish. Even for less than ten dollars, this is hard to recommend. Especially with the other Heaven Hill products in the general price range. Even with that said, this is only a meh bourbon. I've had plenty I dislike more.

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!

Outryder Bottled in Bond and a question on labeling a whiskey "bonded"

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 Verde Brand Communications for providing this sample to me with no strings attached. 

Do two different types of whiskey represent the same kind of spirit? That is tonight's question. Is a bourbon whiskey and a rye whiskey the same kind of spirit? Or are they both just "whiskey?"

The reason I ask is that as we see new bonded products come onto the market, we need to take a look at what makes a product able to be labeled as Bottled in Bond. We all know the high points: 100 proof, at least four years old, the product of one distilling season. But I once made a poster out of the Bottled in Bond Act. And if that were all it was, I wouldn't have needed to make it two by three feet in size. It's a long act, and it goes into a lot of detail. 

The part of the 1897 Act that peaked my interest was as follows: 

"Provided, That for convenience in such process any number of packages of spirits of the same kind, differing only in proof, but produced at the same distillery by the same distiller, may be mingled together in a cistern provided for that purpose, but nothing herein shall authorize or permit any mingling of different products, or of the same products of different distilling seasons." 

In today's regs, that boils down to the following from Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 5, Subpart D: 

"§5.42   Prohibited practices.
(b) Miscellaneous.
(3) The words “bond”, “bonded”, “bottled in bond”, “aged in bond”, or phrases containing these or synonymous terms, shall not be used on any label or as part of the brand name of domestic distilled spirits unless the distilled spirits are:
(i) Composed of the same kind of spirits produced from the same class of materials;"

So I ask again. Would a mingling of a bourbon with a whiskey with a different majority grain qualify? Or is the interpretation of "spirit" more loosely applied so that the generic term "whiskey" is enough to be eligible? I'm not a lawyer, so I'm going to leave this up to you to decide. Please feel free to leave your opinion in the comments below. I really don't believe that there was any intent to deceive and I applaud people trying to get more bonded products out into the market. I'm just asking the question on whether the labeling was approved appropriately. 
  
But enough about what's on the outside of the bottle, let's talk about what's on the inside. Outryder from Wyoming Whiskey is a blend of Straight whiskeys distilled in November of 2011. One whiskey is a bourbon with a mash bill of 68% corn, 20% winter rye, and 12% malted barley. The second has no majority grain and has a mash bill of 48% winter rye, 40% corn, and 12% malted barley. The suggested retail price is about $55.

Outryder

Purchase info: This sample was provided to me for review purposes. Suggested retail price is $54.99.

Details: 50% ABV. A blend of two different mash bills. One Bourbon, one American Whiskey.

Nose: Reminds me of a Canadian Whiskey. Bubblegum, mint, butterscotch and sawdust. 

Mouth: Follows the nose with bubblegum and mint. This is supported by eucalyptus, black pepper, baking spices and black tea.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering butterscotch, eucalyptus
and spice.

Thoughts: This is pretty good and is worth taking a look at if you see it somewhere. I like it and if I found myself in Wyoming, I could certainly see it coming home with me as a souvenir.

I'm assuming you are done shopping for others at this point. But there is nothing to say that you shouldn't get yourself a little something now that you've spent the last month or more getting things from others. If you are in the market for handcrafted bourbon related items, stop by BourbonGuyGifts.com to see what I've been making lately.

Catching Up With Old Friends

It's the season of holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Festivus, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice, Yule, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and...I continually marvel that some people are offended by Happy Holidays when this is literally the alternative if you want to be kind enough to wish someone blessings for the holiday they celebrate instead of the one that you do.

But whichever of the many options you celebrate at this time of year, it is often a time to gather with friends and family. For many people, that means visiting with people that you see only once a year, or even once every few years. It's a nice time to reunite with old friends, even if it just with a card, dropped in the mail. 

As such, I've chosen to catch up with a couple of friends of mine tonight. It's been a while since we really spent some time together and I'm eager to visit with them and see how they are doing. As they were previously some of my favorites, I really hope they are still doing well. And yes, of course, I'm talking about bourbon here. 

Tonight I'll be catching up with Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, who I haven't seen since August 2013, and Four Roses Small Batch who was last treated very unfairly by being compared to two Limited Small Batch Releases in January 2013.

Four Roses Small Batch

Purchase Info: $31.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Ripe, juicy berries, almonds, and mint. This really reminds me of an alcoholic herbal tea blend. 

Mouth: Follows the nose with ripe berries and herbal mint. Brown sugar, vanilla and a hint of oak that comes along for the ride. 

Finish: Medium to short, but settles nicely in the chest with lingering sweet fruit.

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Thoughts: Not to get too deep into the Four Roses marketing speak, but I've always found this to be a very mellow bourbon. Easy to drink with nice fruit and herbal flavors. I'm still a big fan of this one. 

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Purchase Info: $74.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center Gift Shop (September). 

Details: 69.7% ABV...you'll probably want at least a little water with this one.

Nose: Nutty oak, Cinnamon candies, caramel, vanilla, and baking spices. 

Mouth: This is a hot one that you don't really want to drink neat or hold in your mouth very long, as might be guessed at very near to 140 proof. Beyond heat is a sweet bourbon with lots of caramel, nutty oak, and baking spices. 

Finish: This finish is long and very warm with lingering oak and spices. 

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Thoughts: I've been enjoying the heck out of this one since I opened it. At this proof and price, I don't go to it often, but that's because I don't want to empty it too fast. Big, big fan of this.

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!

Woodford Reserve Personal Selection

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. 

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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

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...)

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

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. 

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. 

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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!