Blade and Bow Bourbon

October 25, 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 Taylor Strategy for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

A Glass of Whiskey. They didn't send a bottle to photograph, so this is what they get. ;)

The first time I tried Blade and Bow, I was at the 2015 Kentucky Bourbon Festival All-Star Sampler. I tried it mostly to satisfy my curiosity. In hindsight, it was a pretty poor place to try it. I'd had one or two other bourbons, I'd had some delightful food, and I was probably giving it less attention than I normally would to a bourbon I had never tried before.

I had a taste of it again this year when I visited the Bulleit Experience at Stitzel-Weller. It was after the tour, and it was going head-to-head with Bulleit Barrel Strength. Also not a fair comparison since the proof of a barrel strength bourbon will obliterate a 90-ish proof every time.

I didn't walk away with a great impression of the Blade and Bow from my two previous experiences with it, and so it was with no small amount of interest that I accepted an offer from a Diageo PR rep for a sample of the Blade and Bow. I was very curious to see what I would think of this bourbon when it wasn't trying to live up to unfair competition or circumstances.

You know something a little more "real-life." Because seriously, I try not to have a lot of different bourbons in one night and I especially tend to be mindful of the barrel-proof ones.

Blade and Bow

Purchase Info: This was a review sample provided by Taylor Strategy.

Details: 45.5% ABV

Nose: Caramel, peanut, green oak and a hint of mint

Mouth: Peppery on the mouth with honey, peanut, nutmeg, clove and oak.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering bubblegum, peanut, and mint.

Thoughts: Even today, on my first sip, I wasn't impressed by this one. But, as I got lower in my glass, my opinion changed. It grew on me. I was regretting the tiny sample bottle they sent as I would have loved to have just one more splash.

I like this bourbon and if it were half the price, I would probably want to buy it as part of the regular rotation. At around $50 per bottle though? This is going to be a change of pace bourbon for me, at best. It's tasty enough, it's just not a bourbon I'd regularly be willing to drop half a Benjamin on.

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But Always Fine Bourbon: Pappy Van Winkle and the Story of Old Fitzgerald by Sally Van Winkle Campbell

October 20, 2016 Eric Burke

Last night, I finished a book that had been on my wish list for years. Literally years. For some reason I never got around to buying it even though I had heard very good things about it. But when we were introduced to the author at the Kentucky BourbonFest and saw that she was selling her books, we figured that it was just about time to finally pick it up.

This is not a history of bourbon. This is a history of one family and their bourbon. A pretty famous bourbon family at that. This is the story of Pappy Van Winkle and his brand, Old Fitzgerald. And it is written by someone with pretty good access to the family and their archives, because she is family. As the granddaughter of the famous Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle (and daughter to J.P. Van Winkle Jr., and sister to Julian Van Winkle III who produces Pappy the drink) Sally Van Winkle Campbell is probably uniquely qualified to write this story.

And what a story it is! Written in a very conversational style, this book starts in 1893 as Pappy is first starting work at W. L. Weller. It then steps back and tells you about the Wellers, the Stitzels and the some of the other major characters in the story before heading back to Pappy and stories of his time with the company. The book details his rise through the company, the struggles of Prohibition and the way he ran his company afterward.

The book regales you with story after story. Each entertaining enough that if you aren’t careful, you’ll do as I did and find yourself still awake long after you should be sleeping. The book ends well after Pappy and his company were both gone, touching on the creation of the bourbon named for the man before taking it’s leave of you.

This is a great book for any bourbon lover or anyone who just wants a glimpse into a bit of the history and the life of a very colorful man. Go buy it, you won’t regret it.

Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey by Fred Minnick

October 18, 2016 Eric Burke

Disclaimer: Fred Minnick is a friend and in my statement of ethics I promised to disclose when I am reviewing one of my friend’s products and to only review them when it was truly something I really liked. This is one of those times.

Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey by Fred Minnick

I’m sitting here tonight, drinking from a freshly made batch of Cherry Bounce and trying to think of what to say about Fred Minnick’s newest book. I could say it is great, informative and well-written. But one could say that those things should go without saying for a Fred Minnick book. Fred is one of my favorite authors. I’m lucky to count myself among his friends.

This is a book that is geared toward the bourbon geek or the wannabe geek. The person who really wants to dig in to the details of bourbon’s history. The one who wants to read about tax policy and government oversight. Who wants to explore the various “candidates” for the title of Father of Bourbon and see if one rings truer than the others. This is a book for people who love bourbon and want to know more.

Most books about bourbon love to talk about where and when it came from. Everyone wants to get into the gory details of Prohibition. This is a book that spends as much time discussing the 1940s until today as it does the 100 years previous. It doesn’t matter if you kno nothing about bourbon or live online in bourbon forums, you’ll probably learn something in this book. I know I did. This is a book that really does follow it’s subtitle, chronicling the “Rise, Fall, and Rebirth” of our favorite spirit.

This is not a book content to rehash old legends. I find that refreshing. And speaking of refreshing, that glass of Cherry Bounce is empty. And if you'll excuse me, I think I need another.

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.

A Visit to Glenn's Creek Distillery

October 6, 2016 Eric Burke

If you read the last post, You've already seen what the outside of this small distillery looks like. Located in the old bottling and shipping building of the former Old Crow Distillery, Glenn's Creek Distillery is surrounded by history. Outside is the place to be inspired by what came before, but inside is the time to focus on what is yet to come.

A look at the entire operation. Barrels, yeast, fermenters, cooker and stills.

Glenn's Creek Distillery is much smaller than the former occupant of the property. In this one shot you can see almost the entire production area. Off to the right is the aging area. Beyond that (in the Lowes wrapping) is the yeast growing and storage area. Grain storage is beyond that. On the right right of the photo you see fermenters with a cooker peaking up behind them. All the way to the back are their four stills. The only thing you don't see is the bottling area. Which is behind us.

Here it is. Four bottles at a time. And their initials underneath.

Aging Racks built from wood reclaimed from the Old Crow Distillery

The aging portion of the distillery was interesting. On these racks are barrels of two kinds of Bourbon, Rye, and Rum. Two distilled on site and two sourced from MGP in Indiana, but aged on site. The racks themselves are made from reclaimed wood from the Old Crow warehouses outside. If they get big enough there is hope to use one of those to put their own barrels in one day.

This video is about Dane Stirring

They are small-time and hands on. In this case the agitation on the cooker comes from a person holding a drill with a long paddle on the end. The man stirring was our tour guide for the day. Dane is the Lead Distiller at Glenn's Creek.

This is Tiny Tim, the 12 gallon experimental still. It was the first still they had made and they survived using it as the only one for a while. Now it is kept around to run experimental batches.

This is Double D. Named so because it has two doublers, not for any other reason you might think of. It is a 34 gallon still.

This still is Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld is where the rum is distilled. It is a 600 gallon still. They currently run it at 450 gallons but this gives them some room to expand as needed.

This is Dr. Crow. Named for the man who lent his name to the former occupants of the property, Dr. Crow is where the whiskey is made. The still was originally set up to be heated by a steam boiler, but that portion was too expensive to buy so they converted it to direct heat with the use of the burners from some heaters found around the old distillery.

The Glenn's Creek Product Line Up. A rye whiskey, a sourced bourbon, a bourbon distilled on site and a rum distilled on site.

And this is the current Glenn's Creek Distillery product line-up. From left to right, the Ryskey Rye and the Stave + Barrel bourbon are purchased from MGP and delivered in the barrel to be aged on site. Skipping one, Prohibition Kentucky Rum is the rum distilled in Rumsfeld and aged in barrels that formerly held bourbon.

OCD #5 is an interesting one. It is a bourbon fermented using yeast that was recovered from the sealed Old Crow fermenter number 5 (a photo of it is shown in the Old Crow post). The story goes that since the fermenters were mostly sealed, one day they had the idea to see if there was anything living in there. Yeast can survive a long time in spore form, but 20-30 years is a bit past it's best by date. Most of the fermenters didn't do anything and the mash was spoiled. All but fermenter #5. That one was happily fermenting away when they checked on it. So they pulled it out in buckets, grew it up some and used it to create OCD #5. Did they really catch a yeast that had been previously used by Old Crow? No idea, it may have just been a wild yeast that they caught. Either way, no one else has it and it is a pretty interesting story.

Before I left, I had the chance to take a taste of each of these. As we weren't tasting in the ideal conditions, these aren't real tasting notes, only impressions.

Ryskey Rye Whiskey

Details: 59% ABV. 95% Rye whiskey sourced from MGP in Indiana. Aged on site in full-size barrels with toasted staves added to each barrel. This is a single barrel product.

Thoughts: Spicy with a nice finish.

Prohibition Kentucky Rum

Details: 58.5% ABV. Distilled on site. Made from fermented molasses.

Thoughts: Hot, molasses, maple syrup, rock candy. Has a rum funk to it. It was quite tasty in a Rum-mosa cocktail (Rum, OJ and cinnamon sticks).

OCD #5

Details: 53.8% ABV. Fermented using yeast caught on site. Aged in full-size barrels with added staves. Staves were smoked.

Thoughts: Slight smoke, herbal. Some corn flake notes. There is a cinnamon note at the tip of the tongue and a slight rum funk. He asked how old we thought this was, we knew it was young, so we guessed 2-3 years. It turns out that it was only six months old. Pretty tasty for that.

Stave + Barrel

Details: 59.4% ABV. Bourbon whiskey sourced from MGP in Indiana. Aged on site in full-size barrels with toasted staves added to each barrel. This is a single barrel product. Six months old.

Thoughts: This is a high-rye recipe MGP bourbon. It's tasty, though young. The added staves make it taste older than the six months it is.

UPDATE: Since I initially wrote this I've noticed that Glenn's Creek Distillery have started a GoFundMe project to help fund the restoration of the Old Crow distillery ruins. If you have the means, think about helping save a piece of history.

A Photo Tour of the Former Old Crow Distillery

October 4, 2016 Eric Burke

During my September visit to Kentucky, I had the pleasure of being shown around the former Old Crow Distillery by the current occupants. My thanks to Dane, Glenn's Creek Distilling's Lead Distiller for showing us around. I'll talk about Glenn's Creek's current operation in another post, but first let's take a trip through the ruins of what is left when a whiskey distillery is abandoned and left to crumble for 30 years.

When Beam bought National Distillers, they closed down the Old Crow Distillery. They maintained use of a majority of the aging warehouses, but abandoned the rest. They still own and use those warehouses. Above is the main campus of the former Old Crow Distillery. The remaining non-Beam owned aging warehouses are out of frame off to the right. The majority of the upcoming photos were taken as we walked through this portion.

But first, we visited the remaining aging warehouses. There are currently three aging warehouses remaining on the Glenn's Creek property. One was deemed no longer safe and is in the process of being removed by reclaimers. I think all the bricks have been spoken for so I don't think you can use Old Crow bricks in your upcoming project. The wood is being used to build the aging racks to store Glenn's Creek barrels.

The brick aging warehouses are overgrown with ivy and trees. This are has been cleaned up recently, but you still need to watch your step.

Old fuses in a fuse box on the side of a warehouse.

Across the way is the main part of the distillery. We made our way over there next.

The building in the distance is the former bottling and shipping building. It currently houses the entire Glenn's Creek Distilling operation.

Old Crow once suffered a fire. After that, it suffered flooding. The lower level of this building still house some of that flood water. This is in the basement of the grain handling building.

This is what we visited of the boiler area. Before being abandoned, it looks to have been upgraded. There are shiny bits of metal back behind the wall and a primitive computer control board down at the end. the interesting thing is that it seems to have been actually abandoned and not mothballed. Under the dust, there are still March Madness brackets that the employees were in the process of filling out.

Thirty years of distillery mold.

Thirty years of dust and pealing paint.

Outside again. This is a peak between two buildings.

No Idea. But maybe try not to lick this.

Neither our host, or us, could figure out what this used to be. Mold, fungus, insulation? No idea. Probably best not to lick it though.

In fact don't lick anything. I'm going to guess that lead paint and asbestos are pretty much everywhere. This is fermenter number five. The fermenter was sealed until fairly recently. It is notable because there were yeast spores (Old Crow or wild) inside that were recoverable by the current occupants and which are used to ferment one of their products.

Old valves and pipes in the fermentation room.

The spring that supplied Old Crow Distillery with water. This water is still used by the current occupant for uses that don't need potable water.

This is a look inside the beer well. It held 62,745 gallons. Sometime in the last 30 years, it flooded and the flood waters that ran into it brought something else along for the ride. There are currently fish living in there. They seem quite happy.

A window just barely hanging on. This is a ruin after all.

A large stash of abandoned material. They really just locked the doors and walked away. They allowed scrappers to come in for the still. But most of the stuff just sits there waiting to finish moldering away. In the distance are the loading docks.

Finally we snagged just a couple more outdoor shots. We also wandered past Glenn's Creek, the creek that the distillery was named for. We saw the small diversion dam that Old Crow Distillery used to help gather creek water for themselves. We saw the back of the shipping docks where trucks that must have been much shorter than semis nowadays were loaded up to carry away bottled product. There are vague plans to convert it to a stage, but there is a lot of clean up to be done first.

It was a strange feeling walking through the ruins of the old factory. Seeing the damage that time can wreck and yet finding tiny pieces here and there that showed that real people worked there and had fun doing it. This was once a big part of people's lives. Its nice to see that it is now in the hands of people who respect that history and hope to one day get it cleaned back up so others can see it as well. I hope they can figure out a way to make that happen.

Four Roses Limited Small Batch 2016

September 29, 2016 Eric Burke

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon, 2016 release.

Tonight I’m going to get right into the review, not because I can’t spin yarns about the place that the Four Roses Limited Small Batch has in my life or why I have a fondness for it. I could easily do that. And might if you give me half a shot. No I’m going to jump right into it because I have a surprise for after the review and I don’t want this post to be so long people don’t get down to it. Plus, if you follow me on twitter, you already know I love this one so why drag it out.

Four Roses Limited Small Batch 2016

Purchase Info: $120 for a 750mL at the Four Roses Distillery Gift Shop, Lawrenceburg, KY.

Details: 55.6% ABV. 3 recipes at varying ages: OESO (12 years old), OBSV (12 years old), and OESK (16 years old).

Nose: Mint and apricot with baking spice, caramel and a hint of smoke underneath.

Mouth: Earthy honey, citrus, apricot, cloves, oak and herbal notes.

Finish: Beautiful, warm finish with lingering notes of mint cloves and apricot.

Thoughts: I love this every year and this year is no exception. Looking back at previous years I’m often found writing the words “this might be my favorite yet.” Well, they can’t be the best every year, can they? Do they all just keep getting better? It’s kinda hard to say. They are pretty damn good. And I tend to love or really like every release. But, unless you are some super compulsive person who keeps samples of everything you’ve opened for the last few years, it’d be hard to compare one year to the next. (whistles nervously…)

Overall, the one that I remember liking the best out of all of them is 2009. I remember it as fruitier than the more spice forward versions that have come out in recent years. Of course upon tasting this year’s release for the first time, I tweeted out that this might even give 2009 a run for it’s money. I was called out on that by Josh at SipologyBlog.com as 2009 is one of his favorites as well. So the challenge has been extended and accepted. I’m pulling one of my 2009 samples out of storage in order to see. As it was the last of these to use the OESO recipe, it’s an apt comparison.

Four Roses Mariage 2009

Purchase Info: $80 at Haskell’s Wine and Spirits, Woodbury Minnesota (in 2011)

Details: 54.8% ABV. 2 recipes at varying ages: OBSK (10 years old), OBSK (19 years old), and OESO (10 years old).

Nose: Caramel, mint and cinnamon candies with a light fruitiness underneath.

Mouth: Delicate fruitiness with caramel, oak, cinnamon and herbal notes.

Finish: Nice and long with delicate fruit and spice flavors.

Thoughts: This embodies the Four Roses ideal of “Mellow.” It’s flavorful but not over-powering. Tasty and fruity with nice spice. I still love this one.

Comparison: 2016 has more oak on the nose, but otherwise they are fairly similar. Though certain notes push themselves to the forefront in each, they also follow a similar flavor profile. 2016 is sweeter and more boldly flavored while 2009 is more delicate and mellow. I love them both, but I would personally lean toward the 2016 release and it’s bolder flavors. My verdict is that 2016 certainly gives 2009 a run for its money and even surpasses it. Josh, you owe it to yourself to get your hands on this one.

And now for the surprise. Unless you are very lucky, it is unlikely that you will see this bourbon on the shelf. But I want to do something to make this post a little more inclusive. Every attendee at the Let’s Talk Bourbon event during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival get’s a few things. One is a pen and some paper so you can take notes during the event. There is science being explained and I’ve taken my fair share of notes at these. You also get a program that outlines how bourbon is made, going ever so slightly into the science. And as you are leaving, they often give you a gift bag. This year the bag contained a set of four metal whiskey cubes (these can be used instead of ice to chill your drink) each contained with the Four Roses logo. I haven’t tried them, but they look cool.

The odds of my wife and I using two sets of these stones is slim so I thought I’d give one to a lucky reader. I was also able to get the Let’s Talk Bourbon Program signed by both four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot and Four Roses Brand Ambassador Al Young. And I’m giving that away to a second reader. The pen…well Brent Elliot stole that when he signed the book. So I guess I already gave that away.

You can enter the giveaway using the form below, please only enter once. I’m planing to remove duplicates before I randomly pick a winner so it won’t help your chances. There will be two winners chosen one getting each item. All I’m asking in return is that you answer a question. The answers will help inform future posts and in an anonymized and aggregate sort of way may end up in a future post on their own.

Good Luck! You have until Saturday, October 8th to enter (you need to "log-in" so I can receive your email address to notify you if you win, either log-in method gets me that).

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