J.P. Wiser's Double Still Rye

If you are a fan of more than just bourbon, you’ve noticed that non-bourbon whiskey folks sometimes make a big deal out of what kind of still they are using. Whether it is a column or pot still. How many times it is run through said still. Certain scotches even advertise the length of the neck of their pot stills. 

And while I suppose that such things can make a difference, I’d love to see a real side by side of whiskey distilled in a pot still to whiskey distilled in a column still to the same proof, aged in the same locations for the same amount of time and blended to the same flavor profile, etc. In any case people much smarter than me care about these things so I mention this as a way of introducing tonight’s review. 

J.P. Wiser’s Double Still Rye is a Canada-only product that was sent to me in the same box as the Wiser’s Hopped I reviewed last week. It is a blend of two Canadian rye whiskies. One distilled in a pot still, one in a column still. 

J.P. Wiser’s Double Still Rye

Purchase info: This was obtained from a friend in Canada, but it can be purchased at the LCBO for roughly $30 Canadian for a 750 mL bottle.

Details: 43.4% ABV

Nose: Caramel candy, mint and just a hint of pickle juice.

Mouth: This has a soft mouthful with a nice tingle that runs down the sides of the mouth. More caramel candy, some cloves and a nice nuttiness. 

Finish: A lingering cool minty tingle paired with a nice nuttiness. 

Smile because I like this.

Thoughts: This is a nice whiskey. It is not my favorite product released under the Wiser’s name, but if it were available in the US, I’d probably pick it up now and again as a change of pace. As it is, it’s a Canada-only release and I won’t be making a run for the border to grab it. In fact, it might not make the cut to come home with me next time I go. It’s a tasty whisky, full flavored. It’s just nothing to go out of your way to obtain if it isn’t readily available. 

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A visit to Tattersall Distilling, Northeast Minneapolis.

Cocktails in the Tattersall Distilling Cocktail Room. (Photo Credits: Producer: Sam Kovar. Photographer: Tom Okins.)

Tattersall Distilling Cocktail Room. (Photo Credits: Producer: Sam Kovar. Photographer: Tom Okins.)

Most of the distilleries I’ve been to are just that, distilleries. They might have a sample area or a gift shop where they can interact with the prospective customers. But at the end of the day, they are there to make a product. This is all well and good. But if you are a small operation, you need to get your name out there. You can’t just hope that people will be walking past the shelf and happen to look at your bottle. 

I’ve recently discovered that there is another way to go about it. I recently met a friend for a drink at Tattersall Distilling in Northeast Minneapolis. That’s right, I went to a distillery for a drink. You see, Minnesota recently passed a law allowing distilleries to apply for a license to have a cocktail room on premise. Tattersall was blessed with that all important quality in business—timing—and took full advantage of the new law when they opened. 

The distillery at Tattersall Distilling. (Photo Credits: Producer: Sam Kovar. Photographer: Tom Okins.)

Tattersall was opened by Dan Oskey and Jon Kreidler about a year, year and a half ago. Friends since childhood, the pair decided to make a career change and attended the Michigan State Distilling School. After learning their craft, they got to work getting the distillery up and running. Oskey was a highly renowned bartender, helping to develop the cocktail program at multiple local establishments including The Strip Club in St. Paul. Kreidler was, to quote their website, “a financial wizard.” But it wasn’t just the two of them, drawing on a wealth of talented friends that included marketers, architects, and others, they set out to build not just a distillery, but an experience. 

Tattersall is located in a building with a long history. Built in the 1910s it was a place where they were making the top secret Norden bombsight during World War II. The guard tower still stands above the outdoor patio. With exposed Bethlehem Steel beams, high wood ceilings and concrete floors it was the perfect place to house a distillery and the very cool cocktail room. 

Outside on the patio of Tattersall Distilling. (Photo Credits: Producer: Sam Kovar. Photographer: Tom Okins.)

The cocktail room is the heart of the business. It is a cool, industrial place to grab a high quality craft cocktail made by bartenders poached from some of the top cocktail establishments in the area. Beyond the glass walls is the distillery itself where patrons may occasionally get to watch the products being made on beautiful Vendome stills. 

Though they sell many of their products at local liquors stores and restaurants in Minnesota, the biggest selection is available in the cocktail room itself. It was explained to me this way: the distillery makes all the items that the cocktail room needs. They make gins, vodka, numerous liqueurs and bitters. The notable exception is whiskey. Right now the cocktail room uses a bourbon that is sourced from a distillery in Kentucky and bottled by them for use in their cocktails. 

Barrels aging at Tattersall Distilling. (Photo Credits: Producer: Sam Kovar. Photographer: Tom Okins.)

Don’t be sad though. They have started production on a rye whiskey as well as wheated and rye bourbons. The rye whiskey will be 100% rye using rye grain and rye malt and aged for at least two years. They want to put out a straight product. For the bourbons, though they wouldn’t tell me the ingredient ratios, they did let me know that they are using different malts for both the wheat and the rye bourbons as well as a specialty yeast that was developed in Scotland. Kreidler tells me that the barrels are sourced here in Minnesota and will be aged in “as big of barrels as they can buy, though no smaller than 30 gallons.” 

Tattersall Distilling Chief Officer, Jon Kreidler. (Photo by Eric Burke.)

Overall I like a lot of the things that Tattersall is doing. With the cocktail room, they know where their money is coming from so they won’t have to cut corners and just sell “what they have.” They can take the time to develop products that are innovative, unique, and most importantly good. Knowing that even with their training, they don’t have all the answers, they brought in consultants who did—on every topic from distilling a clean product to how to set up an industrial factory floor. Knowing that the cocktail room was going to be the lifeblood, they hired the best folks they could to make those cocktails and invested in a cool and cozy spot for people to drink them in. 

Overall if you are in the Minneapolis metro area, I’d highly recommend stopping in. I had an Old Fashioned and it was quite good. Tours are given Saturdays.

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JP Wiser's Hopped Whisky

I spend a lot of time reading about whisky. Mostly bourbon, but I branch out in my reading too. I like Rye and Canadian so I read about those as well. A few times a day, I share the ones I find interesting on Twitter. Back in August I read about something interesting that was coming out in Canada. 

I thought a hopped whisky sounded interesting. I know that the most general description of whisky is distilled beer. And I know that certain distillers, like Maker’s Mark, use hops in their yeast. So it didn’t seem like too far of a stretch to see a hop flavor in the whisky itself. If you follow the link above, it sounds like Wiser’s uses the equivalent of dry-hopping a beer (adding the hops after the beer has cooled) to minimize the bitterness hops can provide.

In any case, I assumed that I would put it on the list for the next time I visited Canada and that would be that. But wouldn’t you know it, a friend of mine near Toronto decided it would be fun to send me some to see what my reaction would be. 

JP Wiser’s Hopped whisky

Purchase Info: gift from a Canadian friend, but it sells at the LCBO for $27-$29 Canadian.

Details: 40% ABV

Nose: Sweetness and hops combine to resemble nothing less than dry erase markers. After a while I get a lot of cocoa on the nose.

Mouth: Sweet, chocolate, bready. This is a lot like a chocolate stout with no carbonation and a thinner mouthfeel. There is also a touch of maple.

Finish: Gentle warmth with more chocolate.

A Smile because I like this

Thoughts: I like this a lot. Chocolate stout is one of my favorite beer styles and this hits a lot of the same notes. Aside from the carbonation, it’s almost more like drinking a beer than a whisky. Looking forward to trying this in a couple whisky cocktails to see what it does.

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Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, 2015

There is a strange phenomenon I’ve noticed when I discuss tasting notes with people. We will often use the most awful sounding descriptors to mean the most pleasant things. I’m reminded of a tasting that I and a few brand new friends of mine had in my hotel room while I was in Toronto last. The statement of “this reminds me of candle wax, terrific!” was heard. We were drinking some good single malt (yes, even for me such things pop up now and then). I thought it odd, but since I had less enthusiastically decided on band-aids to describe the same note I didn’t feel I should judge. Since that time, I’ve kept my eyes and ears open while on blogs and in discussions and again and again, this same thing happens. 

I say that by way of introducing this year’s Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. I’ve read a lot of descriptions of Old Forester and Woodford Reserve that talk about a “plastic” note or an “artificial” note. They don’t tend to mean this in a good way. Others call it apples, pears, floral or fruity. These are obviously more complementary. It took me until last year to accurately describe what I was sensing. To me it seems like the smell of freshly painted latex paint. And thinking back to that Toronto hotel room, I mean it in a complementary way. Like a freshly painted room can smell fresh and clean, so does Old Forester to me.

In any case, think about this as you read the notes below. I really like this bourbon, but as you read the notes, you might not realize that.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, 2015 release.

Purchase info:  Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN. 750 mL bottle for $74.99.

Details: 50% ABV. 12 year age stated

Nose: Strong latex paint (or whatever you call the typical Brown Forman note) along with some vanilla, mixed berries, caramel and brown sugar.

Mouth: Syrupy mouthfeel. Caramel, brown sugar, baking spices. 

Finish: Sweet with lingering heat, latex paint and fruitiness.

A happy face because I like this one.

Thoughts: If you are an Old Forester fan, Birthday Bourbon seldom disappoints. Its got all the same notes as any Brown Forman bourbon. They are just stronger and more concentrated and it’s older so there is typically more oak. This release is no exception. It’s Old Forester, just more so. I would say that though I think I liked last year’s better, this is still a solid pick should you find it.

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Wild Turkey Rye 101 proof, pre- and post-hiatus comparison

If you are a rye whiskey fan, you were probably pretty sad a couple years ago when it was announced that Wild Turkey Rye 101 was going on hiatus. Wild Turkey always maintained that it was actually a hiatus and not a discontinuation. They urged patience. Or maybe you’d like to take a look at the 81 proof rye or Russell’s Reserve Rye?

Why would you be sad that a fairly low priced rye whiskey was going away however briefly? Well that’s the biggest reason, it was very nicely priced. Add in that it was a tasty “everyday” rye and one of the few ryes on the market that wasn’t just MGP rye in another bottle and you have the full answer. 

About a year after it went away, I was walking through one of my local liquor stores when I saw a single bottle of Wild Turkey 101 Rye sitting there. I was a bit surprised when I saw it sitting there. To say that it immediately went into my shopping basket is an understatement. I got it home and immediately put it into the closet. Fun bit of trivia: this was the first bottle of whiskey that I purchased to put away for a future story. 

Now of course, Wild Turkey 101 Rye is back on the shelves. The price has crept up a little in the interval and the label has been updated, but it is back. Of course, I want to find out how it compares to the pre-hiatus juice. I really want to eliminate any preconceived notions, so let’s go double-blind on this one. 

Wild Turkey Rye 101 proof, pre- and post-hiatus comparison

Purchase info: Pre-hiatus: MGM Liquor and Spirits, 750 mL bottle for $18.99. Post-hiatus: Ace Spirits, 1L bottle for $29.99.

Details: 50.5% ABV

Rye A

Nose: Mint/rosemary, caramel, baking spices and black tea

Mouth: Hot and sweet. Lots of mint with some cookie dough, black tea and baking spices.

Finish: This is a hot finish. One that you just want to breathe in on. Allowing the cool minty air sooth your hot tongue. Lingering mint and sweetness.

Rye B

Nose: More muted than A with spearmint, caramel, dried grasses and green apple.

Mouth: Soft and velvety, mint, pickle juice and baking spices. 

Finish: Short and sweet with cinnamon gum and mint.

Thoughts (Pre-reveal): These are certainly different from one another. Neither are bad. A is more tannic, but also hotter. My wife prefers this one. B has more of the mint/pickle rye flavors that I tend to like. It’s softer and doesn’t show it’s proof as much as A. I like B better. That said, neither of us would turn down a glass of either of these and no matter which is the current release, I’ll be happy to buy another bottle. Before I find out which is which, let me say that I’m glad that even though there was an evolution in flavors during the hiatus, there isn’t a step down in quality. 

A happy face because we both like these.

Thoughts (Post-reveal): Well, my wife is certainly a happy girl. A, the one she liked better, was the current release whereas my preferred dram was B, the pre-hiatus release. I’m not sad, but after sitting on the bottle for almost two years,I will be sure to keep the rest of this bottle for myself and not share. Allowing her the same consideration for the rest of the current release. Thankfully my bottle is still mostly full. Of course once both are gone and replaced with another bottle of the current release we will both be happy.

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Blood Oath, Pact No. 1

Bourbon is big business. And even though it has a reputation as a cheaper option to scotch, it always has been. People throughout most of the history of this country have made a very good living distilling, aging, buying and selling this whiskey that we all love so much. 

For a long time, bourbon was cheap. Nobody wanted it. Whiskies aged to extreme age often just got redistilled into something else, vodka or fuel. Bourbons of middling age, six to eight years old, regularly made it into products that were nominally around four years old. It was good if you were a bourbon drinker, but in honesty almost no one was. You could barely give the stuff away.

Not to worry though, those days are firmly in the past. These days everyone wants bourbon. The more expensive, the better. Some days it feels like taste doesn’t matter nearly as much as price. And like good businesses, producers have given the folks what they want. Sure, most of the old value labels have stuck around, but almost everyone has gotten into the Ultra-Premium game. Wild Turkey has it’s $150 Master’s Keep, Diageo has it’s Orphan Barrels, And now Luxco, makers of Everclear and bourbons such as Ezra Brooks and Rebel Yell has taken a turn at bat. 

Even though Blood Oath felt like it was trying a bit too hard (it’s proof is blood temperature after all), I had some hopes that Blood Oath would be a decent bourbon. I’ve been a fan of a lot of the labels in Luxco’s Ezra Brooks line and even liked one of the new brand extensions for Rebel Yell. They obviously spent a decent amount on the new packaging. It is beautiful. They were trying something new by blending wheated and rye bourbons. All signs that a company is ready to make something special. Tossing a brand new bourbon out with a $100 price tag is a statement that they think people will want to buy it.

Blood Oath, Pact 1

Purchase info: $98.95, 750 mL bottle. Blue Max Liquors, Burnsville, MN.

Details: A blend of two rye bourbons and a wheated bourbon. 49.3% ABV. 

Nose: This has a very sweet nose, leading with maple and clove. That is followed by wet, old wood and a slight fruitiness that balances things out nicely. 

Mouth: This tastes almost nothing like it smells. Where the nose was sweet and a light, the mouth is heavy and on the dry side. The descriptor I immediately think of is “dusty.” It has the feeling of an old, closed attic where things have been stored for too long. It’s not a wet attic since there is no mildew, but rather old boxes and dust. After that I get maple, cocoa powder, a slight fruitiness (that isn’t nearly enough to balance the overpowering dust) and a good bit of heat. 

Finish: Warm and of medium length. The maple and slight fruitiness are carried over from the palate and transition to more dusty cocoa. 

A neutral face because this is just a whole lot of meh.

Thoughts: After tasting this, it feels like Luxco was making a cash grab. Wow! Disappointing. The nose takes me one direction and the palate takes me directly in the opposite direction with few notes overlapping. As I stated above, I’m a fan of the various bourbons in the Ezra Brooks line because they are tasty and a good value. This has neither of those things going for it. I found it heavy, closed, dusty and flat. For the price I paid for it, I can’t recommend it. It was an interesting idea, but is way overpriced and honestly just not that good. Hoping that a little oxygen might help this, I tried it at various times along a two month period until now when my last few pours yielded the review samples. No real change. 

In short, the bottle says that “this rare whiskey shall never again be made.” To my palate that’s a good thing. For the price I expected amazing. Instead, it’s one of the few bourbons I’ve regretted buying.

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Old Forester 1897 - Bottled in Bond

1897 was a momentous year in the history of bourbon. In March of that year, Congress under pressure from the famed Col. E. H. Taylor passed what would come to be known as the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897. If you want to learn more about it, Brian over at Sipp'n Corn has a great write-up of the act and it's significance. I suggest you read it. Go ahead, I'll wait. (Interested in reading the act itself? Click the button below to download a pdf.)

Download the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897

A few months ago, as part of their Whiskey Row series of Old Forester labels, Brown-Forman released a bottled in bond bourbon named Old Forester 1897 to honor the year that the regulation was passed. As I've a stated fondness for many Old Forester bourbons, I picked it up when I saw it at the liquor store. 

Old Forester 1897, Bottled in Bond

Purchase info: $48.99, 750 mL. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: As required if labeled Bottled in Bond: Distilled by Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY, DSP KY 354. Bottled by DSP KY 52. 50% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon, cloves and allspice lead the way followed by brown sugar, apples and a nice floral note.

Mouth: The interesting thing here is that the notes are inverted from the nose. Caramel apples and floral notes lead the way and are followed by baking spices. There is a nice bit of heat to go with the spice.

Finish: Warm but a bit on the shorter side with floral notes fading to a pleasant bitterness. 

Thoughts: I think this might be my favorite product released under the Old Forester name. Until the finish, there is little of the typical Brown-Forman "plastic/paint/chemical" flavors that people often complain about. And even then there are only hints of it that present as more floral than chemical.

It is the most expensive regular release in the Old Forester line. Is it worth it? For the price I paid, yes. I really like it. I like it much more than the 1870 and am willing to pay an extra $10 to get this over that. I found it much more complex than either the 86 proof or the Signature. So, yeah, I'm already planning to buy a second bottle. 

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Breaking my personal price ceiling: Wild Turkey Master's Keep, 17-year old bourbon

I’ve got some momentous news. I’ve made the decision to increase my personal price ceiling for bourbon. For the last 5 years or so, it’s been sitting firm at $125 per bottle. At the time I set it, it was a safe price, only Van Winkle would have broken it and honestly, I’ve never been a fan of wheated bourbon. But I could see the trends happening even then. I instituted it as a self-imposed way to keep me in line.

To say that prices have been increasing over the past few years would be an understatement. Though super-premium bourbon starts at around $25, and good bourbon can still be had for less than that, newer expressions tend to skew a bit more…up-market from that price point. Forget super-premium bourbon, we now live in the world of Ultra-Premium. It is no longer unusual to see new expressions at an MSRP of around $100 right out of the gate. And while I am among the herd of people who bemoan this fact, it remains that people don’t even seem to blink an eye at this price anymore. In fact, in a weird bit of human psychology, they seem to just want it more. 

Things have gotten so bad that even my value favorite, Wild Turkey has gotten in on the action. Their last two releases Diamond and Master’s Keep have shattered the $100 barrier. With the latest, Master’s Keep at a suggested price of $150 for a 750 mL bottle. 

Master’s Keep is a 17-year old bourbon. Bottled near barrel proof it is 86.8° proof. And I can hear you now questioning that last statement. As we discussed in June, a barrel of bourbon can either gain or lose proof depending on it’s aging environment. According to Wild Turkey, this 17 year old bourbon had an interesting aging history. The bottle says it started life in a wooden warehouse. At some point in it’s life, they ran out of room and rented some space from another distillery who happened to use stone warehouses. Once space opened up, the decision was made to bring the barrels home to the wood and metal Wild Turkey warehouses again. The theory is that the time in the stone warehouse allowed the bourbon in to rest in the barrel with less interaction with the wood and lowered the proof from an entry proof of 107° to a dumping proof of 89°. In any case it produced a bourbon that, while old, doesn’t taste over-oaked. 

And though this has next to nothing to do with the bourbon inside, as a designer I did geek out a little on the packaging. The box is a nice matte black with foil, embossing and hidden magnetic closures. The painted bottle is simple and elegant with an embossed flying turkey. The closure is cork, with a heavy wood and copper top. It really is beautiful and will be on a display shelf long after it is empty.

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep

Purchase info: $169.99, 750 mL bottle. Wild Turkey Distillery Gift Shop. (I saw it for sale in Minnesota today for $154.)

Details: 17 years old. 43.4% ABV. Batch 1, bottle #46237. 

Nose: Floral and fruity. Cherry blossoms, brown sugar, vanilla, baking spices, mint, oak and hint black tea.

Mouth: Nice mouthfeel with just enough heat, though more than I expected from sub 90 proof. Lots of rich flavors: leather, dark chocolate and cherry. More brown sugar and baking spices. Herbal mint. 

Finish: Nice warm finish that lingers for a while. More herbal mint and brown sugar. 

A heart because I love this one. I don't love the price though.

Thoughts: This is a very expensive bourbon, well over both my old and new price ceiling, purchased because my wife is a Wild Turkey fan-girl and really wanted to get it signed by Jimmy Russell who happened to be sitting in the visitor’s center. It is also a very old bourbon with a legitimately unique aging history. And it tastes fantastic. If you have the money, this is highly recommended. At this price, I won’t be buying a second bottle but I don’t regret breaking my price ceiling to buy the one I have.

Oh and in case you were curious, my new personal price ceiling is just the old one adjusted for inflation: $135. 

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