Yellowstone Limited Edition 2019

I’d like to thank Common Ground PR and Limestone Branch for providing a review sample to me with no strings attached.

I can’t quite wrap my head around what year it is right now. All the things I’m working on in my freelance jobs are starting to have a 2020 date on it. All of the limited editions that I have on the editorial calendar are dated 2019. And when I see those items on the calendar, I start to think that I have fallen behind. Weirdly though, this is the earliest I’ve ever reviewed the Yellowstone Limited Edition.

2019 looks oddly strange to me these days. It’s like the numbers don’t really belong together. And that makes me think that maybe time is catching up to me. I have to do the math to decide what age I am these days. I'm always adding a year or two for some reason. All in all, I guess what I’m saying is: time, huh? that’s a thing that exists for me more than it used to.

And speaking of time, it’s about time I got to talking about tonight’s bourbon. (Feel free to groan, I understand.) This year’s edition of Yellowstone Limited Edition is a blend of Straight Bourbons aged nine and twelve years old. The press release has this to say:

“I tasted many quality, mature Kentucky Straight Bourbons in order to find the right two ages for this year’s release – I had a certain taste profile in mind and I sought those barrels that matched it,” says Steve Beam, head distiller at Limestone Branch Distillery. “The barrels I chose were in different parts of the rick house and each barrel’s unique location contributed to the taste profile and complexity of this bourbon. When combined, these extra-aged bourbons create a mature and complex bourbon with robust spice and oaky undertones.”

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2019

Purchase Info: This sample was generously proved to me for review purposes by Common Ground PR and Limestone Branch Distillery. Suggested retail price is $99.99

Price Per Drink (50mL): $6.67

Details: 9 year age statement, 50.5% ABV

Nose: Cherry Starburst, citrus, brown sugar, cinnamon, and oak.

Mouth: Cherry, vanilla, oak, and baking spice.

Finish: Warm and long. Lingering cinnamon and vanilla with hints of both fruit and pickle juice.

Thoughts: I really like this one. It is a bit fruity so if you don't like a fruit-forward flavor profile, be warned. Luckily I do like that. The Yellowstone Limited Editions are kind of a hard sell in this area, with local stores having editions going back to 2016 still on the shelves. So if I see this year's on the shelf I am going to pick it up. Otherwise, since they have all been good, I will be "forced" to buy a previous year's edition in order to "make room.” Look at me making a difference in my community.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products and bourbon-related craft supplies I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. And hey, if you are an iOS user, look for Bourbon Guy in Apple News. Thanks!

The Walking Dead Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

I would like to thanks the folks at Taylor and Diageo for providing tonight’s sample with no strings attached.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This is my favorite holiday of the year. I love the spooky theme of all the decorations. I love jack-o-lanterns. I love seeing the little kids in their costumes. And, I love the candy. 

Way back in college, I used to love the parties and the costumes too. But these days, I'm more grown-up. I sit at home, hand out candy to the few kids brave enough to head around the neighborhood, and watch a spooky movie. 

You wouldn't think I would be as happy for Halloween to get here as I am. Ignoring the calendar, before Halloween, it's Autumn. And even though I hate winter, I love Autumn. I love the crisp mornings with the hint of a warm afternoon. I love the fact that, on occasion, I can still get away with shorts and a t-shirt while doing lawn work. The idea that even if you get snow, it probably won't last. But after Halloween, it's winter. November in Minnesota means you are more likely to need a snow shovel than you are shorts. 

But in spite of all of that. In spite of the fact that it'll feel more like winter tomorrow than it does today, I still love Halloween. It feels good to indulge my inner child for one night and eat pizza, candy and drink some bourbon (though my inner child is probably too young for bourbon).

And that leads me to the most Halloween appropriate bourbon I think I’ve ever had. In line with San Diego ComicCon and the sudden end of The Walking Dead Comic, Diageo has released a tie-in bourbon. Now because of a lifelong irrational fear of zombies (George Romero’s films did a real number on me when I was about 10 years too young to be watching his movies), I’ve only read the first issue of the comic and have never seen the show. But I assume that there is some logical reason to do a tie in with a bourbon to the show, but in any case, I’m not here to judge the marketing. I’m here to taste the bourbon.

The Walking Dead Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was graciously provided by Diageo for review purposes. Suggested Retail price is $34.99 for a 750mL bottle.

Price Per Drink (50ml): $2.33

Details: 47% ABV.

Nose: Cherry cough drops, mint, cinnamon sugar

Mouth: Cinnamon, mint, cherry

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering mint, cinnamon, and cherry.

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Thoughts: This is a fun novelty Bourbon. It's Halloween and I know I'll be having this in my glass for the rest of the night tonight just on the fun factor alone. But even beyond the novelty factor, this is a decent Bourbon. Not a world-beater by any stretch of the imagination, but if I tasted it in the store, I'd be bringing it home because it is decent and fun. And isn't tonight supposed to be fun anyway?

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products and bourbon-related craft supplies I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. And don’t forget we are still taking submissions for our Oscar Getz Giveaway. Enter now.

Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7 year old

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing a review sample with no strings attached.

I tend to grade on a curve when it comes to whiskey. Not here on BourbonGuy. Here I just tell you if I like it or not. But in my buying habits, I certainly grade on a curve. And that curve is based entirely on price.

See, I am a freelancer and a dog-sitter by profession. Neither of these are the most lucrative of career choices. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of my jobs, it just means that I need to be frugal in my non-BourbonGuy whiskey spending (and in my BourbonGuy spending to be fair, but here I have an incentive to try new things and maybe stretch the budget now and then).

To that end, my wife and I have come up with a few “Tiers” to help us decide what we spend our money on. They aren’t official, but they really do describe how we judge bourbons and decide which bourbons to purchase again. For example, if a Tier I bourbon were to jump up to a Tier II or III price range, I’d certainly judge that bourbon more harshly than I had previously. It’s just human nature.

Tier I: “Cocktail Bourbon” Sub $25 I do not buy bourbons that I would not want to drink neat, not even for cocktails. Well not on purpose, at least. These are the bourbons that I feel comfortable using to make bitters or to cook with. Those that if I need to use 8 to 16 fluid ounces, I don’t feel too bad about it. Of course, I am also happy to use these in cocktails or just have a glass of.

Tier II: “Everyday Drinker” $25-$40 These are the bourbons I buy most often. Mostly because this is the price point that many bourbons fall in. These are the bourbons that I can grab on a whim. Any day that I want a pour of these, I am happy to do so. I might even have a second pour without thinking too hard about it if the mood arises.

Tier III: “Special Shelf” $40-$85 These are the bourbons that I keep on a secondary shelf where I won’t think to grab them all the time. These are the ones that I need to think a little harder about if I want to buy them. And if I decide to buy them, these are the ones I want to last a little longer.

Tier IV: “Second Opinion” $85-$135 These are the bourbons that I call my wife to get a second opinion as to whether we should buy it. She is also the accountant of the family so she can also tell me if that large a purchase is in the budget for a particular week.

Tier V: “Special Circumstance” Above $135 Anything over my Personal Price Ceiling™ is a “Special Circumstance” purchase. We might be on vacation. It might be a limited release from a producer that we trust isn’t going to put out a turd. It goes without saying that these are ones we save up for and need a unanimous decision on. These are the most harshly judged bourbons we buy. If I don’t really, really like it, I feel a little burned by the purchase. And a little less likely to spend that much money from a particular producer again.

So that brings me to tonight’s Bourbon. It is the recently released Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7-year-old. We are all aware that I used to sing the praises of the now discontinued Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 6-year-old Bourbon. It was one of my favorite value bourbons. It was almost the very definition of a Tier I bourbon. It competed very well with bourbons such as Wild Turkey 101 and Buffalo Trace on both price and taste. I loved cooking with it and was always happy to toss it in a cocktail. Hell, I’d bring it home by the case whenever I went to Kentucky for just those reasons. But to the dismay of many, in 2018 the 6-year-old Bonded Heaven Hill was discontinued.

In June of 2019, Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7-year-old was announced. It will be initially available in California, Texas, New York, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina, and Colorado. It looks like if you live in one of those markets that you should start to see it in October. The suggested price for the new release is $39.99.

Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7-year-old Bourbon

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. Suggested Retail price is $39.99 for a 750mL bottle.

Price Per Drink (50ml): $2.67

Details: 50% ABV. 7 year age statement. Distilled at D.S.P.-KY-1. Bottled at D.S.P.-KY-31.

Nose: mint, vanilla, cardamom, cotton candy.

Mouth: mint, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon.

Finish: on the short end of medium length. Notes of cinnamon, cardamom and oak

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Thoughts: There isn't much to say on this one. It’s fine. I like it. It is minty, with a bit of spice. I think I like Elijah Craig better, but this is fine too. I like it, but I don't think it holds up to other $40 Bourbons. In this market, $35-45 will get you Four Roses Single Barrel, the 1792 specialty bourbons, New Riff Bourbon, George Remus, Knob Creek Single Barrel, or Wild Turkey Rare Breed. All of which I like better than this.

But I'm assuming that you are looking to see how it compares to the discontinued Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 6-year-old, aren't you? Anticipating that, I pulled a bottle of my 6-year-old from the closet. And well, these are pretty similar. The six-year is a bit sweeter than the new seven-year. The seven-year is much mintier. Both have a nice hit of oak on the finish. If you loved the six-year, you should love this too as they are pretty similar with only minor differences... at least until you get to the checkout.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products and bourbon-related craft supplies I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. And don’t forget we are still taking submissions for our Oscar Getz Giveaway. Enter now.

Four Gate Whiskey Company: Release 2, Outer Loop Orbit

I’d like to thank Four Gate Whiskey Company for providing a review sample with no strings attached.

Hey everyone! My tastebuds are back! And just as importantly, so are my wife’s. And since we put off tonight’s tasting until the very last minute in order to allow us both maximum time to recover, I decided to spring an interesting one on her to celebrate our newly recovered tastebuds.

That’s right, unlike normal, you are getting the raw unfiltered impressions of this one with no time to think about it in between tasting and writing. Of course, that also means that I didn’t really have a lot of time to come up with an intro so…cut me a little slack on that front. Ok?

Great.

So I first became aware of Four Gate Whiskey Company on social media. It turns out one of the folks involved and I followed each other. And so he reached out to me to see if I would like a sample of their batch 1. Unfortunately for him, he asked on twitter just after I essentially left the platform as an active user and I never saw the message he sent to me until about a month later. I apologized and told him to keep me in mind for the future.

Fast forward a few months and all of a sudden a sample that I wasn’t expecting showed up. And this one sounded super interesting, though maybe a little scary. It was a bourbon that was finished in a barrel that had originally held Orange Curaçao and then held gin. Here’s what the distillery has to say:

When we met at Kelvin Cooperage to discuss our second batch, William Hornaday told us about some very interesting barrels in his warehouse that he wanted us to check out. Originally Orange Curaçao barrels, a local distiller then used them to finish a batch of gin. That’s right, gin. We had no idea what to expect, but when we smelled these barrels, they blew us away. The sticky sweetness of Orange Curaçao was tamed somewhat by the sharpness of the botanical gin, creating an aroma that smelled straight out of the 80s and harkened to a rather popular powdered orange drink made famous on the 1962 Mercury Mission when astronaut John Glenn took it to outer space. The tangy-orange notes of the barrels were screaming out for bourbon, and we listened.

Four Gate Whiskey Company: Release 2, Outer Loop Orbit

Purchase Info: This sample was graciously provided for review purposes by the distillery. It was available for purchase in Kentucky and Tennessee starting in September for a suggested retail price of $199.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price Per Drink (50ml): $13.33

Details: Blend of 5-year bourbon (mash bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley) and 12-year bourbon (mash bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley). Non-chill filtered. Finished in a cask that previously held Orange Curaçao and then Gin. 60.15% ABV.

Nose: spearmint, orange, almond, pine, and caramel undertones.

Mouth: Pine, orange, almond, baking spice

Finish: warm and medium/long. Lingering notes of almond, cinnamon, and pine-

Thoughts: Goodness, this is weird! Initially, the orange and gin notes overwhelm the nose and palate. After subsequent sips, more bourbon notes appear providing a little more balance.

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I’m of two minds about this one. (I told you that you were getting real-time thoughts on this one.) First I’ll say that this is a certainly a drink for the adventurous bourbon drinker. Traditionalists need not apply. And even so, maybe try this one in a bar if you see it before you commit to a bottle. When I first tasted this in a Glencairn, I really didn’t like it. It just didn’t seem to come together for me. But once I poured it into one of the small rocks glasses that I would usually use to drink bourbon, I didn’t mind it at all. It almost reminded me of the herbal notes that an MGP 95% Rye would get. Not exactly, but reminiscent. As I said, I’m of two minds. I’ve had two separate 1 ounce pours tonight and I still can’t decide if I like it or not. I think I’m going to throw this down as a meh as there is nothing wrong with it, but based on tonight’s experience I don’t think it is for me. That said, I really applaud the experimentation and if you are an adventurous bourbon drinker, it is certainly worth a try as it is super interesting.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products and bourbon-related craft supplies I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. And don’t forget we are still taking submissions for our Oscar Getz Giveaway. Enter now.

MB Roland Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey

Paul and Merry Beth of MB Roland are my friends. Because I might be biased, I have decided to disclose that bias so that you can decide how much to trust the review.

It had been five years since I last visited my friends Paul and Merry Beth at their distillery. We’d met up in Bardstown a few times during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival where we hung out and had a lot of conversations (and on a few occasions a lot of drinks). But it had been too long since I went to visit them at their place. I was excited to see what had changed and learn about how things were going.

I met Paul and Merry Beth just as I was starting to explore distilled spirits. I hadn’t even started my bourbon journey yet as I was still playing with cocktails using inexpensive clear spirits. I was more interested in the flavors you could add to alcohol and how they worked together at that point than I was those flavors that were already there. As an example, I had a small refrigerator filled with tinctures (infused vodkas) of everything from fruit and fruit peels to herbs to spices. I even had a black pepper tincture at one point.

It was in this setting that I tasted my first bottle of whiskey. Not drank my first bottle, tasted. I mean, I did go to college after all. The flavors were amazing. And yes it was from MB Roland. Sure, it was a young whiskey, but I didn’t know better. I was just amazed that you could get all this flavor from a barrel. At that point I determined that I was extremely interested in whiskey. (In fact, it wasn’t until I started making my own house-made bitters for my whiskey cocktails that I remembered my interest in the flavors you could add to a spirit and that helped rekindle my love of cocktails.)

So since I made the trip to visit them, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab a few of their products that had come out since the last time I’d been down there. And there were a lot. The first one I opened was a straight wheat whiskey. Since I am taking the time to review it, you already know that I like it, but I should probably share my notes as well.

MB Roland Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey

Purchase Price: $54.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the distillery gift shop.

Details: Mashbill: 69% red winter wheat, 26% white corn, 5% malt. Barrel: New with a #4 char level. Batch 5, 55.8% ABV.

Nose: Clean hay, cooked cereal

Mouth: Cinnamon, Milky Way candy bar (milk chocolate, caramel, and nougat)

Finish: Medium length and heat. Lingering cinnamon and Milky Ways.

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Thoughts: I really like this one. The Milky Way candy bar notes make this just like liquid candy. As to be expected with a two-year-old whiskey this does have a few "young" notes but they are mostly on the nose and tend to be pushed into the background of the mouth and finish by the high proof.