Another Empty? Old Grand-Dad, Bonded

Another Empty? Yes. I needed to make room on my shelf. I have a few bottles that have been around too long (too long = becoming the oldest bottle on the shelf with the least in it). The Rip Van Winkle was the first. This time around I emptied my bottle of Old Grand Dad, Bottled in Bond. I have a unique opportunity here to do something that I haven't seen done before. I wrote a review of this when I first got it. I'm going to post that here. Then I will add my current feelings about this bourbon, which have changed drastically.

It was last September. Yes. I've had this bottle a long time. 

Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond 100 Proof has an oily, thick mouthfeel with a sweet almost sugery taste that clings with you almost until the next drink. The finish is nice and long. It’s spicy turning sweet as it goes. 

This is better with an above average splash of water than it is with just the few ice cubes I normally put in a drink as the high proof almost feels like it burns your mouth. Odd since I’ve had higher proof ones that doesn’t act this way.

Overall, I will finish the bottle. As of now, it was an interesting experiment, but I probably won’t buy again I can find a lot more that I like better for the same price. Of course, that opinion might change after a few more drinks. I’ll update if it does.

So now an update from today. My opinion of this has changed. I didn't like it originally. I tried to find any way to use this that didn't involve drinking it. I cooked with it when I knew it wasn't going to be a main flavor component. I used it in experiments. Anything to not drink it. But then something odd happened. Sometime in the last 3-4 months this bourbon grew on me.

I like it. I will buy it again, though I'm thinking next time I do, it will be the 114 proof version instead. I still add a bit more water than usual to this in order to tame and soften the rough edges on it. But as far as I'm concerned this is one to come back to. The only downside? This bottle is butt-ugly (orange, gold and green) and really draws attention to itself on the shelf. Just not in a good way.

An empty and a short review: Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year

This is my first empty since posting the stash online. Kind of momentous in a way.

I tend to get all nostalgic when a bottle is emptied. When I have something in my possession for long enough, I become sentimental about it. I once had a pen for 4 years. Nothing special, just a bic clicker with the University of Minnesota logo screen printed on it. I almost cried when I lost it. Ok, not really. But I did feel this momentary pang of loss. Whiskey is much the same way. Though I've never had one last a year much less, the four of that lovely, lovely pen...sigh...ahem. Err. Sorry.

I try not to have multiple bottles of the same thing on the shelf. So when something is gone, there is a very real chance that it is gone for the foreseeable future. Add to that, the fact that this whiskey was just a bit special to me and you have something else that I felt just a bit of a pang over. At least until I drank it and realized I'd kept it just a bit too long. (You can do that, in case you didn't know, so drink up.) 

So why was this whiskey special? Not because it was particularly good. It is good, very good, but will never be a go-to-gotta-have-it-on-the-shelf sort of bottle. I liked it, I just never really found myself going to it all that often. It was special because I found this the on my first trip to one of my favorite liquor stores. While that probably doesn't mean much to folks who just make a stop off for a case of beer, it is a special occasion in the life of a whiskey drinker. It means you found a place where people don't stop and give you funny looks for standing next to the "hard-likker" or even funnier looks when they see you holding one that has a price tag above $25. A good liquor store is a place where you can get recommendations and even some conversation in while you are there. So I found this bottle when I found that place. And that made me think kindly of it.

But now it's gone. Things have been shuffled around so you would have never known it was there. It only lives now in my memory and in these tasting notes from very shortly after I opened it...due to that whole keeping it too long thing. So forgive their brevity, I'd assumed I'd go back and fluff them out some more later.

Buckwheat honey and brown sugar on the nose. Later a hint of fruitiness appears. Mouth is sweet with a hint of mintiness, very low burn. The finish lasts a decent length of time.

I like this whiskey, I don't love it. I thought I loved it at first, but found myself consistently choosing others over it. And that's not how you define love. Still, it's very good and I suggest you try it if you run across it and haven't yet.

Review: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste

I bought this book with high hopes. I read The Chuck Cowdery blog religiously. I subscribe to the Bourbon Country Reader and Have bought two of his other books previously.  After all of that I find it hard to believe that my expectations were actually exceeded. I've read every book on bourbon I can find at my local library. I have a small collection of books on the subject sitting behind me on a shelf that I've read cover to cover and go back and reference now and then. This is better than all of them. 

So what is it? Well, the title is The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste: The True Story of A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Distilled in the Spring of 1972. Admittedly, the title is a mouthful. It was written, as you might have guessed by my intro, by Charles Cowdery. 

The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste is a complexly winding tale of not just the bourbon itself, but of the one-time Michter's distillery in Schaefferstown, PA. The tale of a very famous bourbon that became a legend almost by accident is fun. But the tale of the distillery, the people who owned it, ran it, and worked in it is fascinating. 

This book stirred complex emotions in me as well. It introduced me to and made me start to lust after this bourbon that I would never have, that was distilled before I was even born. It told me I would never have it. Even though I loved the writing, I stopped reading the book at one point because the disappointment of me never tasting this beautiful thing he was describing was proving too much for me to bear. But I came back to it because the history was too tempting. I needed to know the rest of the story. And I'm glad I did. By the time I had finished the book, it had reassured me that while I was missing out, it would be all right since there are bourbon's I am tasting now that will go on to be legends in their own right. Some of which, I'd already stashed away for future celebrations.

The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste is available as an ebook for $7.99 on both the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook stores. It is not available in paper form.

This book deserves to be considered amongst the best spirits stories ever written. Lots of well researched history and wonderful story telling. I loved it and highly recommend it.

Happy Independence Day!

On this day it is an American tradition to cook meat at high heat over an open fire, gather with friends, drink and end the night with many loud explosions. (Also known as a cookout and fireworks.) But since this isn’t a cooking (without spirits), gathering or fireworks blog, let’s address our topic and help you decide what you should be imbibing on what, at least here in Minnesota, is looking to be a mighty fine day.

Bud Light is the best selling beer in the American market. But is it really all that patriotic to drink a beer owned by a Belgian/Brazilian company? Of course it isn’t. So what are proud, patriotic Americans to do when their favorite beverage is under foreign ownership? Well, in typical fashion, I have two answers for you. I’m all about choice after all. 

One, you could turn to one of your local craft brewers. Hard working people making tasty beers just for you. Here in Minnesota, I’ll probably have a Summit or a Schell’s or a Surly (Minnesota's beers all start with S? Oops there's Fulton, never mind). You probably know your locals better than I do. Though if you don’t, go down to your local beer emporium and search them out. You’ll be happy you did.

The other option I have for you is my favorite drink and namesake of this site: bourbon whiskey. Widely called America’s Native Spirit (erroneously thought to be because of an Act of Congress), it has a history as old as the United States itself. It, along with it's sibling rye, were developed right here in the USA, or at least what would become the USA. Beer is a worldwide phenomena. Vodka is European, Tequila is Mexican, Sake is Japanese. Scotch, Irish and Canadian whisk(e)y are, well, Scottish, Irish and Canadian.

But back to bourbon and rye. Or as I like to call them, Liquid Patriotism. To even be called bourbon it has to be produced in the US (amongst other rules). And though you've all heard of Jim Beam, Makers Mark, and Wild Turkey, might I suggest that we support the small businesses in this category too? Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn makes a bourbon. So does Kentucky’s MB Roland. I've had, and like, the Iowa Bourbon from Cedar Ridge. FEW Spirits in Evanston, IL makes both a bourbon and a rye. And I even hear rumors of a bourbon being produced in my home state of Wisconsin by Milwaukee’s Great Lakes Distillery. Though I find no evidence of that on their website.

So there you go:  a plethora of choices. And whether your choice is big, small, foriegn or domestic—please enjoy it, and your celebrations, in moderation and safety. I’d hate for you to lose a hand with those firecrackers. I mean, what would you drink with?

Photos of Wood, Printed on Wood

When I'm here, I'm a guy who shares his love of bourbon, american whiskey and other spirits in their many forms. Whether that is drinking, cooking, tasting, visiting, touring or just thinking about them doesn't really matter much. But when I'm not here, I do other things.

I'm a designer during the day. I make the things that most sane people actively try to ignore (advertising, in it's many forms) hence the drinking. I kid...mostly.

I'm a builder of pretty furniture-type things when my wife insists. 

I'm a photographer when the spirit moves me. I even have another site (yellowswanphoto.com) where I keep the photo blog I've been keeping for...wow...almost five years now. 

And it's my love of photography (and the many power tools I own) that made me want to try doing something a little different with their presentation. I found this blog post while trolling through the interwebs (How to Transfer Prints to Wood) and was immediately struck with the desire to try it myself. Unlike what the author of the post said, I prefer doing my black and white prints on a color laser printer as it has a bit more fine detail and the reddish color that results is a pretty good match for the wood tones with no need for staining the wood after. 

After searching for a suitable test photo, I landed on a couple of my favorites from my Bourbon Trail vacation in 2011. I mean they are photos of wood, printed on wood. It just made too much sense.

 

This is a photo taken in the Wild Turkey Distillery's bottle filling facility. 

You'd never guess it, but this was taken while visiting the Woodford Reserve distillery last year. Or maybe you would guess it.

These photos were each transferred to a 1"x6" pine board picked up at my local Home Depot that I then cut down to 4.5" tall. Be aware if you try this yourself, if you aren't careful with putting on a smooth layer of glue, you get places where the photo just won't transfer which is much more awesomely random than trying to distress it after the fact. I had others that were perfect...and boring.

So yes, even though this is only tangentially related to bourbon or whiskey, I felt it might be of interest to those who had an interest in bourbon. And heck it's my blog anyway.

Bourbon Banana Bread

I'm a real jerk sometimes. I look at my dwindling stocks of something and decide that I just can't share with everyone. Sometimes, I go ahead and do it anyway, like this weekend when I saw thatI only had maybe enough of my chamomile infusion to make maybe one more cocktail and almost refused to make one for a guest. 

My wife got to me before I could do that though. 

Or the time when I decided that I could only share my bourbon banana bread with just a few of the people at work instead of the entire team. And sadly that didn't even include my really good friend (who I couldn't figure out a way to call over without alerting everyone else as well). 

So since she is leaving this week for a job that promises both more stress and more fun I feel it is only right that I make up for that earlier slight by bringing in two whole loaves of the tasty treat. And since I'm trying to be a nice guy for a change, I figure that I should also share with you, my fellow bourbon lovers. My guess is that you already have the most important ingredient on hand.

Bourbon Banana Bread

Dry ingredients

2.25 cups flour
1.67 cups turbinado sugar
1 tsp salt
2.5 tsp baking powder
1.25 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp SaCo cultured buttermilk blend

Wet ingredients 

3 bananas (2 mashed, 1 diced)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp high-proof bourbon (I used Knob Creek single barrel because 120 proof means more flavor and less water)
1.5 tsp vegetable oil
.5 cup (4 oz) plain non-fat yogurt
.67 cup skim milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray 
2. Melt butter in a frying pan and add diced banana. Cook over medium heat, turning frequently, until the bananas start to caramelize. Sprinkle a little turbinado sugar over them and pull off of heat. 
3. fold together mashed and caramelized bananas
4. Mix together dry ingredients
5. Mix together wet ingredients. 
6. When the oven is preheated mix together wet and dry ingredients
7. immediately pour into 2 loaf pans
8. bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the top comes out clean

Once you mix the wet and dry ingredients together, speed is essential as there will be a chemical reaction going on between the baking powder, baking soda, the buttermilk powder and the wetness that will cause the mixture to be very light and foam-like. This is what provides lift to the bread and if you wait too long, you will have flat loaves. Still yummy, but harder to show off. 

Chamomile Cocktail

I originally found this basic recipe on the site Mix n Sip while researching how to serve the Chamomile/Coriander infused vodka I developed. (Oh yeah, I created a blend of chamomile infused vodka, coriander infused vodka and lemon infused vodka that is out of this world good.) I promised a friend of mine, who is leaving for another job, a unique cocktail at the party I'm throwing Friday night. So here is my recipe.

Chamomile Cocktail

1.5 oz Chamomile infusion (my recipe)
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz rich simple syrup
Mint sprig

Muddle mint in shaker, fill half full of ice, add ingredients, shake 10 seconds to incorporate mint oils, strain, garnish with another mint sprig. 

I'd serve it in an up glass, but that's just me.

New Stash Addition and Review: Bulleit Rye

Can I tell you a little something about this week? This week, I moved my daughter into her first place that wasn't a dorm room. She's decided not to go back to college and wants to start her own life. Which, I can respect. I did something similar after my first year of college. Took me three years, but I finally went back. And I ended up on path I would have never even thought of if I had stayed in school and not taken the break. 

So, I'm moving her out of our house. She's about half packed. (Hopefully she'll be back for the other half soon.) I'm carrying her boxes along with her boyfriend who is just the tiniest bit closer to my age than hers. Just past the halfway point, in fact. And, of course, fatherly disapproval is in full effect. So we're moving things, I'm trying to be nice (and mostly succeeding) when he asks me if I'd seen the last MadMen. I love that show, so the question gets me talking. We have a little chat, nothing worth hugging it out over, but things are going good. When we get home, I tell my wife to let our kid know that the ban on her boyfriend coming over has been lifted. Not because I'm all of a sudden going to be friends with this "old man" (28) dating my daughter (20), but because I felt I needed to revisit my feelings regarding him. To keep the kid happy. And maybe to keep her visiting more often.

Which brings me to the new addition to my stash. Bulleit Rye is another thing I felt like I needed to revisit to see where my feelings currently were at. Unlike the kid's boyfriend, my initial feelings for this whiskey were very positive. But not unlike the kid's boyfriend, my first impressions were made at a time when I didn't know a lot about what I was judging. I'd just started my whiskey journey when I first tried Bulleit Bourbon. The Rye came out very shortly after that and I tried it as soon as I could get my hands on a bottle. I fell in love. It was the first rye, I'd had and I loved it. The flavors were so different from all the bourbons I'd been drinking. It was exciting and strange. I tasted more than just vanilla or carmel. There was something else. Something that overpowered all of that. And it excited me.

Fast forward a bit. I've tried other ryes now. I like them all, but most seem like they could almost be bourbons. My guess is a few percentage points the right way on either corn or rye on the mashbill and a lot of them would be bourbons. They are sweet and just not as exciting as that first rye was. So a revisit was in order. And let me tell you, my memory wasn't fooling me. I still love this rye. 

Nose: Clean, almost antiseptic. Cherry and pipe tobacco.

Taste: Initially just more cherry and tobacco, but after citrus, mint and some cinnamon candies come out to play after a bit.

Finish: This sticks with you a while. The flavor is there for long after the warmth fades.

Rating: For the price of this whiskey, there is no reason for it to not always be on your shelf. It works great in cocktails and I love to drink it neat. Inexpensive, tasty and versatile.  Love this one.

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Hello from the Future! I just wanted to let you know that I have revisited this review. Come see how I liked Bulleit Rye in 2018!