Bottom-Shelf Brackets 2018: Round 1c: Ezra Brooks Rye vs. Mellow Corn

March 22, 2018 Eric Burke

Round 1c of the 2018 BourbonGuy.com Bottom Shelf Brackets features number 1 seed Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond Corn Whiskey versus Number 4 seed Ezra Brooks Rye.

Mellow Corn is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. It is a bottled-in-bond product, meaning it is the product of one distilling season, bottled at exactly 100 proof and was aged for at least 4 years. As this is corn whiskey, it is made from at least 80 percent corn in the mash recipe and was aged in either uncharred or used barrels. It is a number one seed due to its high proof.

Ezra Brooks Rye is a product of Luxco. It is a sourced whiskey that is assumed to have been distilled at the MGPi distillery in Indiana. It is a two-year-old rye. It is the youngest whiskey in the contest and as such is a number four seed.

These were tasted blind in the following order. My thoughts on each are from before the reveal.

Mellow Corn

Purchase Info: $11.88 for a 1L bottle at Blue Max Liquor, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV, non-age stated.

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Buttery popcorn, spearmint, a touch of cinnamon, and after a while strawberry oatmeal.

Mouth: Warm and spicy. Cinnamon and honey.

Finish: Medium and warm. Lingering dried grain notes. A touch of bitterness.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Nice and warm. Good spice. Only slight knock on it is a slightly dried grain note on the finish that doesn't agree with me.

Ezra Brooks Rye

Purchase Info: $17.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Eagan, MN.

Details: 45% ABV.

Produced by: Luxco (Assumed MGPi)

Nose: Strong mint and ginger ale.

Mouth: Thinner in the mouth than the last one. Mint and ginger spice.

Finish: Flavorful finish. A "Blossom" of flavor after swallowing. Mint, cinnamon, and ginger.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: Just the opposite of the last one. This has a pretty mild mouth, but a fun finish.

Who wins?

So, Mellow Corn is sweet baked good on the nose while Ezra Brooks Rye is a spicy soda. This is a draw on the nose. Mellow Corn has a nicer mouthfeel while Ezra Brooks Rye has a more pleasantly flavorful finish. This is the hardest matchup in the contest. These are both good and to be honest my wife and I both chose a different winner. After sitting on this for most of a week I have to declare a winner based soley on the finish. Winner: Ezra Brooks Rye.

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The 2018 BourbonGuy.com Bottom-Shelf Brackets

March 13, 2018 Eric Burke

So, this past Sunday my Twitter feed filled up with people complaining about the format of a show that announced whether their favorite team of college basketball players did or didn't make the cut to play in a basketball tournament. It reminded me, among other things, that I'm not much of a college basketball fan. It just never caught my interest. But just because I don't have a passion for college basketball, does that mean I want to miss out on all that competitive March bracketing?

No. No, it does not.

And for the last four years, I've been getting my fill of competitive bracketing by finding inexpensive bourbons and pitting them against each other head-to-head to see if there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest. I mostly do this to have fun, but I also have a desire to find out if I can satisfy my inherent Midwestern frugalness and yet find an overlooked diamond in the rough.

But this is the fifth year of the Bottom-Shelf Brackets and I've been forced to shake things up a little bit. First, I've removed the word "Bourbon" from the name and opened the proceedings up to other forms of Straight American Whiskey. Second, I've been forced to redefine my definition of "Bottom-Shelf" to a slightly higher price point. Both of these have the same cause: I just couldn't find enough bourbons that met the price qualification that hadn't been in the tournament before. Even some of the previous winners have moved out of range.

The third thing is the most exciting for me though. I've included a couple more judges this year. Some of these people are complete novices. I did this mostly because one of my non-whiskey drinking friends asked if he could be a part of it and I thought it might be fun to get outside perspectives on the results.

Now that the changes are out of the way, just what are these qualifications that I spoke of earlier?

It must be straight American Whiskey, and it must be labeled as such. Too many brands are getting rid of this very basic statement of quality and I refuse to reward that. This means that Jack Daniel's Black label would not qualify for the tournament, but that Jim Beam White label would.
It has to sell for 2.4 cents per milliliter or less. Now, this might seem like a weird arbitrary number, but it works out to $18 per 750, $24 per liter or (in true bottom shelf fashion) $40 for a 1.75 L handle. And yes, I know that the math is wrong on that last one, but since you normally get a price break by buying in that large of quantity, I worked that into the equation. I raised it from $15, $20 and $35 this year, which had been the price since the initial year. In that time, just following the inflation rate would get us to over $21 for a liter so I decided to future proof a little.
The final guideline is that it must have never been in the tournament before. It would get pretty boring to see if I liked the same whiskeys year after year.

After I purchased the whiskeys here are the rules I used to seed them.

Stated (or assumed) age. Straight whiskey has to be at least two years old. But unless it is under four years old, you don’t have to put an age on it. So if someone does, it’s either a good thing or a bad thing. I like to reward good things and punish bad things.
Proof. Higher proof often equals better flavor. Not always, but it can be a good rule of thumb.

So who are the contestants? The top six seeds were all non-age stated, and so I am assuming the 4-year minimum on them. The two number one seed in each of the divisions are Old Grand-Dad Bonded and Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond, both at 100° proof. Behind them at 90° proof is a Straight Corn Whiskey from Hirsch Selections. I found this one on sale, so it is a bit of a cheat but also figured that sale prices count when the entire point is to be frugal. A pair of 86 proofers come next. Old Forester 86° proof is the second number two seed while the Barton produced, Total Wine exclusive, Two Stars nabs the first number three seed. The final number three seed is 80° proof Four Roses Yellow Label. After that, we get to a pair of ryes that clock in at under four years old. Old Overholt is three years old and gets the first number four seed with two-year-old Ezra Brooks Rye nabbing the final spot.

There are a lot of interesting matchups this year with multiple styles and multiple price points going head-to-head. I think this one is going to be a lot of fun.

JTS Brown Bottled in Bond - Revisited

November 9, 2017 Eric Burke

"Let’s just say that, unlike most of the Heaven Hill bonded bourbons I’ve had, this bourbon lives solidly in the “you get what you pay for” camp."

Yeah, I said that almost two years ago. I also said:

"And it isn’t one that will be returning home with me again."

But, in the intervening time, I have been told in no uncertain terms that I was wrong. And I have been told so often, and by so many people, I decided to take another look at this one. I need to find out if I was wrong or if everyone else was. I mean I am still getting comments on that post. I got one a few weeks ago.

Of course, some of the people were nice and offered me an excuse, suggesting that maybe I just got a bad bottle. I don't know about that, but sure, maybe that's a possibility too.

JTS Brown Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: $9.99 for a 750 mL bottle at The Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 50% ABV. Distilled at D.S.P-KY-1, Louisville, KY. Bottle at D.S.P-KY-31, Bardstown, KY.

Nose: Honey roasted peanuts and baking spices.

Mouth: Honey, baking spices, mint and a hint of peanut.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering baking spices

Thoughts: This confirms my suspicion that there was something wrong the last time. Maybe with the bottle, maybe with me. That bottle is long gone. But, I'm getting none of the grain that I got on that last one. No bitterness at all. It's official; I take back my ranking of dislike. I've been enjoying this bottle. I like it. It is a good, solid value bourbon. Nothing fancy, but tasty and affordable.

Evan Williams Master Blend

October 19, 2017 Eric Burke

I like blending bourbons. I've mentioned that ad nauseam here on the blog. I think that blending what you have on hand to make "new" bourbons is fun and lends variety to the bourbon shelf that isn't always there otherwise.

Blending is an art celebrated by whiskey producers in other countries. Master Blender is an important title, and media outlets interview those that hold it.

Here is the States? Not so much. We assume that a blend means it contains vodka (mostly because American Blended Whiskey is allowed to be blended with vodka) and so, with a few notable exceptions, we rarely talk about blending.

So when I was walking through the liquor store and saw a $50 bourbon, from a large manufacturer, with "blend" in the name...well I had to take a look. It turns out that it was a bourbon that was intended to be an exclusive of the Evan Williams Experience. Due to a quirk in Kentucky law, liquor stores are allowed to order them as well, and this one had.

So what was it? Well, it is a blend of various Evan Williams expressions: Black label, Bottled-in-Bond, 1783, Single Barrel, and 23-year-old. That last one possibly to justify the price, because it is a little pricey. I paid $54 for a bottle that is made up of things that normally cost right around $20. Good thing it was a souvenir. Some people overpay for T-Shirts while on vacation, I overpay for whiskey.

Evan Williams Master Blend

Purchase info: $53.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Westport Whiskey and Wine.

Details: 45% ABV. A blend of 5 Evan Williams products.

Nose: Floral with vanilla, caramel, nutmeg, dried grain, some oak and a hint of soap.

Mouth: Good Spice with nutmeg, vanilla/caramel, dried grain, and oak.

Finish: Nice length with a gentle warmth. Lingering baking spices.

Thoughts: I like this. It is a nice blend that captures the essences of its constituent parts. The grain is there from the younger varieties of Evan Williams, but some of the oak is there as well.

So is it worth the price? Not a chance. Evan Williams Master Blend is an interesting souvenir bottle, but nothing more.

Revisiting an Old Review: Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond

October 3, 2017 Eric Burke

It has been 1727 days since I last formally reviewed the bonded version of Old Fitzgerald. I also mentioned it in an If You've Had... article almost two years ago. So it seemed about time to go back and take another look at it.

Since the last time I reviewed this, Old Fitz has kinda fallen on hard times. The last time around, it was easy to find and I picked it up at a local store here in Minnesota. Since that time, Old Fitz's offspring, Larceny has replaced it in national distribution channels. At this point, I think Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is either Kentucky-only or very very close to it.

Surprisingly, one thing that hasn't changed though is the price. After adjusting for inflation and taking into account of the difference in state taxes, the price has been remarkably steady in the last 4 years. $18 in Minnesota for the last review versus $23 in Kentucky for this one.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: $22.99 for a one-liter bottle at Westport Whiskey and Wine, Louisville, KY.

Details: 50% ABV. Non-age stated, but at least 4 years old by law. Distilled at DSP-KY-1 and bottled at DSP-KY-31

Nose: Strong notes of caramel and vanilla, followed by lighter notes of dried grain, spearmint, and baking spices.

Mouth: Sweet caramel leads with spearmint and baking spices following.

Finish: Warm and of decent length. Lingering mint and caramel.

Thoughts: This is one of those bourbons that I reviewed early and then looked past for many years. When it was pulled back to a very limited distribution, I was a little sad, but since we were getting Larceny in return I wasn't too upset. After picking up a bottle on this last visit to Kentucky, I wish I had grabbed two. Not because this is better than Larceny, it isn't. Its added proof makes it different, not better, not worse. At least for me. But I like a bit more proof now and then and a good Bottled in Bond 100 proofer is sometimes just what I am looking for.

Since I liked both of them last time around, it looks like the verdict hasn't changed all that much. I still like it as much as I do Larceny. Which is to say I like it quite a bit as a daily drinker. Nothing special, but nothing to leave you wishing you'd poured something else instead either.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2017: Bottled in Bond Fire

September 21, 2017 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I am reviewing something that I didn't pay for, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. I received media passes to this event for both myself and my wife

Warm and sunny. The perfect late summer Kentucky day. It's too bad it was our last day in Bardstown because it's days like those that make me never want to leave. And I was extremely excited to go to the Bottled in Bond Fire event that night. It seemed like it would be the perfect end to the trip.

Historically, Saturday night was reserved for the Gala, a formal event. And since the last time I was voluntarily in a tux was my wedding day 20 years previous, let's just say I am never going to be covering the Gala. Not my speed. I'm a bourbon around the fire sort of guy. Not a bourbon in a rented outfit sort of guy.

So yes, when they introduced the Bottled in Bond Fire event last year, I was pretty stoked. I didn't go, as it was introduced after I had purchased my tickets, but I was pretty sure I wanted to go this year. And as things worked out, I got media credentials to the event.

The Bottled in Bond Fire event is held at Wickland, Home of Three Governors. Wickland is an old Bardstown home (oddly the home of three different Kentucky Governors) which is available for tours and events. I had never visited before and was excited to see some of the details of the old house. When we first entered we were greeted by the check-in station and the food line. The event was serving barbecue, beans, and slaw. Perfect food for a bonfire.

Off to the right was a sitting area. Comfortable chairs and the featured speaker of the evening, Susan Reigler, Prsident of the Bourbon Women. Ms. Reigler was around to answer any bourbon questions that guests might have.

Bottled in Bond Fire, Buffalo Trace Selection

Off to the left of the main entrance was the Bourbon Room. Here, four distilleries were pouring mostly bonded bourbons. Buffalo Trace brought Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch and Single Barrel, Both Bottled in Bond.

Heaven Hill table at Bottled in Bond Fire

As is to be expected, Heaven Hill brought the most options to an event featuring Bonded products. They even brought one surprise...

I wasn't really expecting to see their Bonded Brandy, Sacred Bond, being poured at a Bourbon Festival. But it was and I tried it. It was fine, nothing to write home about.

Barton was only pouring Very Old Barton Bonded. Which is fine by me. VOB Bonded is my go-to bourbon for the hotel room or cabin when I'm in Kentucky.

Four Roses table at Bottled in Bond Fire

Four Roses was a bit of a surprise for me. Seeing as they have no bonded products. There were no representatives there, but they did have Small Batch and Single Barrel on hand.

Obviously, the fires were outside. There were also tables to eat at, bean bag toss and live music.

Fire pit just as it is being lit with the band in the distance.

The live music was provided by The Echoes, a Louisville trio. I enjoyed the music. It fit the mood of the event perfectly. I really hope someone thought to bring them a bourbon or two.

Indoor crowd at the Bottled in Bond Fire event

Since I had never been there before, they were nice enough to let me wander the house and go upstairs. Knowing that they offer ghost tours of the place, I was curious to go take a look. I didn't see any ghosts, but the empty old rooms in the light of the twilight were certainly a bit creepy. On the way down, I got a better view of the food and entrance area.

It wouldn't be a bonfire without s'mores. And although I'm guessing that liability concerns wouldn't allow people to toast their own, my wife tells me the desserts inspired by them were a very tasty substitute.

So, final verdict. I thought it was a decent event. My wife loved it. It was fun, the people were talkative, the bourbon was tasty, and the music was entertaining. Everything that you would want. All in all, I will probably drop the $75 to go as a paying guest next year so that I can enjoy myself a little more (hard to really relax when everyone thinks you work there due to the press credentials around your neck).

Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2009 Vintage

September 5, 2017 Eric Burke

I've had an odd sort of relationship with Evan Williams Single Barrel over the years. It isn't really a love/hate relationship as much as it is a like/meh one. In my experience, they are never really bad, not even in an off-year. Instead, they are just sort of...meh. Not bad. Not great.

I used to really like them. I'd pick one up every year. But then we had a string of forgettable ones. So much so that even though I liked 2006 (the last one I bought), I forgot to try 2007 or 2008. But it is quite amazing what seeing a good price on the sign will do toward reminding you, especially when there is an open spot on your shelf just begging you to fill it.

Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2009 Vintage

Purchase info: 19.98 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 43.3% ABV. Barrel #: 367. Barreled on July 30, 2009. Bottled on January 31, 2017.

Nose: Honey, wintergreen, sugar cookie, and almond.

Mouth: Nice thick mouthfeel with vanilla, ginger, wintergreen and sugar cookie.

Finish: Warm with a medium length. Lingering spice, mint, and sweetness.

Thoughts: I like this one a lot. It's very tasty, especially for the price. I may have inadvertently taken a break from this product, but that will have to stop. Good solid bourbon at a good price is nothing to take for granted these days.

Revisiting an Old Review: Henry McKenna Single Barrel Bottled in Bond

August 22, 2017 Eric Burke

It has been fifteen hundred, eighty-two (1,582) days since I last reviewed Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond, Single Barrel. It was only the sixth post of what I consider to be the site's "modern era." It was about a year into the site's existence, and I had just gotten serious enough about it to shoot my own photography and start posting on a regular basis (before that there be just myths and legends with nary a bit of definable truths to be found). In other words, it's time to revisit to see how it (or I) have changed.

At the time I was less than impressed by it. Though at this point, it is hard to know if it was more because of the packaging which looked like a kid's arts and crafts project or because I wasn't all that fond of hot bourbons. I rated it solidly meh. There was nothing wrong with it. It just wasn't right for my palate.

But these days, as I venture far and wide in search of something new to review, I've found that I have developed a taste for high-proof, high-heat bourbons. There are days when that is all I want. Though, conversely, there are also days when I want nothing to do with them too. This bourbon punches above its proof in the spice department, which is nice. I can get my fix for high-proof whiskey and still feel like a second pour isn't off the table should the night call for it.

I like the new packaging too. Though I professed my love for it the first time I reviewed this, I noticed pretty quickly that as I got close to the end of the bottle that I was starting to worry if some of those pieces glued to the bottle might not fall off into my glass as I poured. It was a pretty rickety affair. And though the new label is fairly traditional, it does feel firmly affixed.

Henry McKenna Single Barrel, Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: Bottled in Bond, 50% ABV, ten years old, barrel number 3325, barreled on 11/20/06.

Nose: Rich with notes of caramel, leather, and oak.

Mouth: Syrupy mouthfeel with a good hit of spice.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering notes of caramel, leather, and oak.

Thoughts: This whiskey is everything I remember, but time has changed how I view it. As I said, back in 2013, I wasn't a fan of big, high-burn bourbons. Now I like them as much as I do other styles of fully matured bourbon. I'm really digging this bourbon. It is rich, spicy, and complex. It just about perfectly captures that stereotypical "bourbon" flavor profile. I'm upgrading my thoughts on this one; it is now very much a "like."

Blog

Mellow Corn

Ezra Brooks Rye

Who wins?

JTS Brown Bottled in Bond

Evan Williams Master Blend

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond

Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2009 Vintage

Henry McKenna Single Barrel, Bottled in Bond