Ancient Age 90 Proof

October 28, 2021 Eric Burke

I love getting emails from readers. You guys are literally the only thing that keeps me going as this is not, and never will be, a profit center for me. Between hosting, domain registration, email accounts, and of course purchasing new and interesting bourbons for review? Well, let’s just say that if the time comes where I need to really look at making cuts to the budget, the thousands of dollars per year that I spend on this site will be one of the first things thought of for the ol’ chopping block.

And you guys write in for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes to correct me, which I appreciate. Many times to give me the ol’ attaboy, which I love. And occasionally one of you will write in with a request for the type of thing you’d want to see covered in upcoming posts, which is super helpful.

Sometimes the requests are for certain brands, but by far the most common of request is for more coverage of inexpensive bourbons. I like that suggestion. I’m a frugal guy. To be honest, the main reason that I don’t cover more inexpensive bourbons is not because I don’t like them, but because after doing the Bottom Shelf Brackets for so many years, I’ve basically run out of them. Or at least ones sold locally that aren’t TerrePure. I’m never knowingly putting that shit in my mouth again.

So I knew it was going to make at least a few of you very happy when, on my last trip to Kentucky, I saw a 375 mL bottle of a whiskey that I’d never had before. And one from a beloved producer at that. I’ve never picked up the 90 proof version of Ancient Age before. I’d had the 80 proof numerous times. I’d had the 10- year-old back in the day. I’m unconvinced that I’ve had the Ancient Age 10-Star bourbon. I just can’t remember. But I knew I had never had the 90 proof. So I picked it up. This is distributed in Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts of West Virginia.

Ancient Age 90 proof

Purchase Info: $6.49 for a 375 mL bottle at Liquor Barn, Louisville, KY

Price per Drink (50 mL): $0.87

Details: 45% ABV. 3- years-old.

Nose: Delicate on the nose. Notes of caramel, vanilla, red fruits and baking spice.

Mouth: Spicy cinnamon touched with cocoa powder, mint, dried grains, dried fruits, and vanilla.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of cinnamon, red fruits, and caramel.

Thoughts: While this won't win many awards, it is nothing to turn your nose up at. At only three years old and less than $1 per pour, this is much spicier than I had anticipated. Especially as I've had the 80 proof that is sold here in Minnesota and it has next to no spice to it. For the price, I like it. I'd probably reach for Very Old Barton first, but if I'm in a Buffalo Trace kind of mood, but don't have a Buffalo Trace kind of budget, then this'll do in a pinch. Kinda gets lost in an Old Fashioned but would work ok in a Whiskey Sour.

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Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: Jamaican Allspice, Spring 2020

October 26, 2021 Eric Burke

Going to be a short one tonight. I got my vaccination booster last night and I feel like warmed-over poo. I originally got the J&J shot. It wasn’t too bad. Fever and Chills overnight the day I got it, but nothing lasting. This Pfizer one is wild though. For a while, I had every symptom of the flu except the lethargy. So I was amped up on coffee, raring to go but with chills, joint aches, etc. I got a bunch of work done this morning. Then boom. I got run over by a truck about 1 pm. And I’ve been down since. But hey, it gave me a lot of time to listen to podcasts and play a Star Wars Lego game on my iPad this afternoon.

Tonight’s whiskey (tasted this weekend prior to getting jabbed), is one of the Tennessee Taster’s Selections. As far as I know, these are only sold through the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Bottle Shop and select liquor stores in Tennessee. The Tennessee Tasters’s Selections are limited, experimental releases that take a Jack Daniel’s product and play with it a bit. This one was finished with “Jamaican Allspice” wood. Otherwise known as Pimento Wood, this is the wood that gives Jamaican Jerk Chicken its unique flavor.

So in the name of this being a short post, let’s get on with the tasting notes.

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: Jamaican Allspice

Purchase Info: $34.24 for a 375 mL bottle at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Lynchburg, TN

Price per Drink (50 ML): $4.60

Details: Finished for 180 days with Jamaican Allspice Wood. 50% ABV. Released Spring 2020. Selection number 6.

Nose: Oak, caramel, allspice, and pipe tobacco.

Mouth: Spicy with notes of tobacco, clove, caramel, and oak.

Finish: Medium to long and warm. Notes of tobacco, clove, and caramel.

Thoughts: Damn. I wish I'd bought a second bottle. This is delicious. Strong tobacco and clove notes throughout. Nice heat. Nice finish. This makes me look forward to the next two Tennessee Tasters’ Selections I have in the closet. This bottle, however, will live on the special shelf so I don't empty it too fast. Damn, that’s tasty!

Smoke Boards: Cocktail Smoking Kit

October 21, 2021 Eric Burke

When I was a kid, my brother and I visited my father every other weekend as part of my parent’s divorce agreement. My dad and younger brother were (and are) avid outdoorsmen. And since I wasn’t interested in hunting, fishing, trapping, etc (like, at all, not even a little bit), that left me at his place watching my even younger siblings from his second marriage.

As you might imagine, Saturday afternoons in a rural trailer park in the middle of Northern Wisconsin weren’t very exciting for a 10- to 12-year-old boy. This rural trailer park was surrounded by a creamery that made cheese, a post office, a bar, a car/farm equipment dealership, and a cemetery. That was the “town” I spent about 52 days a year living in as a child and young teen. And I wasn’t thrilled by it. Mostly because the only things to do were to get into trouble or watch tv. And I did plenty of both while babysitting.

Now, this was long enough ago that rural cable systems were basically non-existent. My dad had a tall antenna that was able to pull in the ABC, CBS, and PBS stations. No NBC station and FOX wasn’t even a thing yet, at least not locally. And while I would watch ABC and CBS for my Saturday morning cartoon fix, the afternoons on those stations were pretty boring. So I’d switch over to PBS and watch what they had on. Basically a lot of This Old House and various cooking shows.

I loved the cooking shows as a kid, which is weird since I was a super picky eater. But that love never went away. As a young adult, early Food Network was my favorite thing for a while. These days about half of my YouTube subscriptions are cooking channels. Which is how I stumbled upon the idea that I wanted to start smoking meat. And I jumped into that whole-heartedly. It’s become my favorite hobby.

So it was only natural that when I walked past the Smoke Boards booth at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, that I‘d be easily convinced to stop and give their cocktail smoking kit a look. And after talking to the guys manning the booth, I was convinced to grab a kit for myself. I haven’t had many smoked cocktails. But the ones I’ve had are usually more theater than flavor. A local restaurant serves their smoked manhattan in a smoke-filled box. It is dramatic, but the flavor of the drink isn’t affected that much. The folks at Smoke Boards told me that their kit would do better. So let’s check out how it works.

Step 1: Light the chips on fire.

Place a small amount of one of the types of the kit’s wood chips on the smoke board and light them on fire using the provided torch.

Step 2: Smother the fire.

Or wait for it to go out. Place the provided mason jar over the smoldering chips to allow it to fill with smoke.

Step 3: Add your whiskey.

Put the cover on the jar and shake it up to dissolve the smoke. I’ve tried adding just the whiskey and adding the entire cocktail. I got better results infusing the whiskey and then making the cocktail out of the infused whiskey than I did by infusing the premade cocktail.

Step 4: Make the cocktail and enjoy it.

It really is that easy. It took me a few tries to nail down the best procedure for me. But, I tell you what. I have a new appreciation for smoked cocktails. A smoked Old-Fashioned is delightful on a cool Autumn evening. The smoke isn’t as strong as it is in the various smoked American Whiskeys on the market so it doesn’t over-power the drink, it just sort of adds another layer to the drink. All in all, I like this. They do sell extra containers of chips on their site, but I’m actually kind of excited to try some of the many smoking chips I currently have in the house to see how they play. I’m thinking an Old Fashioned smoked over peach wood might be tasty.

The Challenging Craft of Blending with Brent Elliott, Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2021

October 19, 2021 Eric Burke

Wow, sorry things have been so sporadic around here the last couple weeks. I had a COVID scare which turned out to be a bout of very severe allergies that just mimicked a severe illness. Rounds of steroids and medication later and I am finally on the mend. As such, today I will be stepping back in time to talk about a really enjoyable part of my visit to the 2021 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. I know that I gave the festival as a whole a very poor review, but this is one part that I really enjoyed. My wife and I will be talking about this event for a while.

It was a nice day for an outdoor class. The sun was out, it wasn’t too hot. It was early so the coffee hadn’t worn off yet. I was energetic and excited to get to learning. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the class that I had signed up for. I knew that it was about blending. That was about it.

Sure, I could have looked at the schedule to see who was leading the class, but the schedule had already been wrong enough that I didn’t feel the need to bother. Whatever was going to happen would happen and I figured that when there was something to learn, I’d learn it.

When we sat down, I was happy to see the Four Roses logo on the small leather-bound notebook in front of my seat. I was even more excited to see four 100 mL bottles of Four Roses set at each place setting in the table. From left to right, they were labeled OBSO (7 year old), OBSV (7 year old), OESK (14 year old), and OESF (13 year old). All about 60% ABV. We learned later that these were the finalists for the Elliott’s Select release from a few years ago.

As the class began, Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott went over some of the background info on Four Roses itself including why they were teaching the blending class (even though they try not to use the word blending themselves). Then he explained each of the bourbons in front of us, gave us a few tips, answered a few questions and turned us loose to blend our own Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon.

Now, my wife and I each had different approaches to creating our blends. Having made plenty of fun blends at the house out of everything from Bourbon and Rye to Brandy and Tequilla, I attacked the problem the same way I always do. I tasted each of them, decided which flavor profile I wanted to feature and then started mixing. I always start with an even mix of each. Very small amounts at first, only a few milliliters of each. Then I taste that. Once I know how the even mix tastes, I’ll move on to the flavor I want to feature. I’ll add more of that one, then more of each until I get to something I like. I’ll admit, this is nothing like how the pros do it, but we only had an hour and I only had four bourbons to work with so I thought it would be efficient. Then of course you look at your notes, do your math and figure out the proportions to make the full 100 mL that we got to take home. My blend ended up sticking very close to the even mixture I started with at 21% OBSO, 21% OBSV, 21% OESK and 37% OESF. I tend to like the F and Q yeasts so it wasn’t much of a surprise to me that I included more of that one.

Of course, my wife has her own method. Like everyone else, she tasted each of them separately. And from there she decided on a couple that she really liked and wanted to work with. She started out working just with those two in order to dial in about where she wanted to go. Then once she had the framework of the flavor profile in place, she went back to the other two and little by little added more until she got the additional supporting notes where she wanted them. Her blend ended up being 37.5% OESK, 31.25% OESF, 25% OBSO and 6.25% OBSV.

This was such a fun event. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But, these have been mingling for a month now, let’s see how they taste just for giggles.

Eric's Blend:

Details: Approximately 60% ABV. 21% each: OBSO (7-year-old), OBSV (7-year-old), and OESK (14-year-old) and 37% OESK (13-year-old).

Nose: JuicyFruit Gum, vanilla, brown sugar, and a hint of baking spice.

Mouth: Hot and spicy. Baking spice, JuicyFruit Gum, and caramel.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of caramel, red fruits, and almond.

Robin’s Blend:

Details: Approximately 60% ABV. 37.5% OESK (14-year-old), 31.25% OESK (13-year-old), 25% OBSO (7-year-old),and 6.25% OBSV (7-year-old).

Nose: Peach, cinnamon, and wintergreen.

Mouth: Stone fruits, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, caramel, and mint.

Finish: Medium to long. Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and stone fruit.

Comparison Thoughts: Both of these are delicious! My blend is spicy and brings out the "Juicy Fruit Gum" notes that I love from Four Roses. My wife's blend is very strong on peach and other stone fruits. It is sweet and fruity. It really is amazing just how different these are considering that they were made with the exact same ingredients. It just goes to show the need for a good blender in whiskey creation. It's nice to see more of them getting recognition in American Whiskey.

Just A Bunch of Things I Found on Vacation

October 12, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: A map with collectable lapel pins in it focusing on the states of Kentucky and Tennessee

I am an impulse buyer. Sure, I can make it through a grocery checkout line without buying a candy bar. But it isn’t likely that I will leave a liquor store, festival or distillery without buying at least something. Here are a few of the ones I picked up last month while visiting Tennessee and Kentucky. Even though some of them travelled almost as far as I did to get there.

Lincoln County Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup

Until my teenage years, we never bought syrup. My family made it. We tapped the trees and boiled the sap into syrup. But then we had a fire and the sugar shack we boiled sap in burned down. And since it was a collaboration between my grandparents and one of their cousins, the shack never got replaced. My brother has decided to carry on the tradition though, in order to teach his kids. I however buy mine from a 92-year-old lady who has been making it forever.

So, one could say that I am quite the connoisseur of maple syrup. Either that or you could say that I’ve been spoiled by amazing maple syrup my entire life. And I’m pretty biased. I really do think that the best maple syrup comes from the upper midwest. Fight me Canada. That said, I do like trying new things and so when I saw Lincoln County Reserve selling Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, I knew that a bottle would be coming home with me. And funny thing, that syrup was made in Wisconsin. Merrill, Wisconsin, a city of fewer than 10,000 people and an innumerable number of maple trees. This bourbon was aged in 10 gallon used bourbon barrels from Distillery 291 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

But is it any good? In a word, yes! It’s buttery with a nice bourbon flavor. The bourbon is not overpowering bringing a lot of brown sugar and caramel notes. It has a great mouthfeel, nice and thick. And let me tell you, it is amazing on French Toast and sausage. Highly recommended.

Freddie's Old Fashioned Root Beer

Let me tell you about my college life. I had a wife, a kid, a job, and a major that was deceptively time-consuming. You might think that a fine art degree would be a cakewalk, but at least at the university I went to, you’d be wrong. Multiple all-nighters per week were extremely common as, due to our finances, I tried to fit a five-year plan for college into as few quarters as possible. One way we saved money was by renting an old farmhouse about a half-hour outside of town. Honestly, it was a pretty nice place. It was maintained by the local student-housing property management company. Meaning it was not maintained at all except by the elderly owner who was paying the property management company to, supposedly, do all of that for him.

Anyway, this farm was near a very small village of about 800 people. There was one grocery store, though it didn’t carry much. But one thing it did carry was Dr. McGillicuddy’s Root Beer Soda. I had no idea that the liqueur brand had lent its name to a soda, but every time I went to that tiny store for something, a bottle of that root beer came out with me. Eventually, I finished college, moved, and couldn’t find anywhere that carried the stuff. Until I first visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Apparently, Sazerac was the producer of that root beer, and one of the few places it could be purchased was at the distillery. I was super happy to pick up a six-pack every time I visited.

In 2019, Sazerac rebranded that root beer after beloved tour guide Freddie Johnson. He is a great guy and this is a great root beer. So I think it is a great match. But how does it taste? Caramel at first, followed by wintergreen. Unlike some root beers, the wintergreen is not overpowering though. This is subtle. After that is vanilla. The vanilla lasts long after you swallow. The thing that makes this so good is how well-balanced these flavors are. They're melded together so well that it is hard to tell where one ends and another begins. It has a nice creamy mouthfeel as well. This is my favorite root beer. A good part of that is nostalgia, but let an old man have that, ok?

IMAGE: The pink labeled bottle of MB Roland Dark Cherry Moonshine

MB Roland Kentucky Dark Cherry Moonshine

This was a gift from my friends at MB Roland, but I found a great use for it so I wanted to share. Thought I’d mention that since everything else on this post was purchased.

The folks at MB Roland are some of the nicest people I’ve met. And one side effect of them being so nice, I gave their whiskey a try shortly after they opened. That whiskey was the start of my personal whiskey journey. So I guess what I’m saying is that if you enjoy reading BourbonGuy.com, on some level you have them to thank.

We visited them while on vacation, spent the afternoon just hanging out, and since they are good friends we were given a bottle of MB Roland Dark Cherry Moonshine. Something we hadn’t tried before. I’m a big fan of this in cocktails. Especially this Cherry Manhattan from FoodandWine.com. Scroll down the page, it’s worth it. But since this could be consumed alone, let’s give it the ol’ tasting notes treatment.

Ripe, dark cherries on the nose. The month is sweet with a strong, natural dark cherry flavor. No artificial flavors or cough syrup flavors here. Very little alcohol flavor so be careful drinking neat if you really love cherries. Works great in cocktails like the one above. I could also see this playing nicely with lime juice in a cocktail or even a highball. It does need to be refrigerated after opening, but a little fridge space is a small price to pay for delicious cocktails.

IMAGE: a tiny bottle of Old Forester Oleo-Saccharum.

Old Forester Oleo-Saccharum Lemon Oil Syrup

I first heard about Oleo Saccharum in David Wonderich’s book Punch. I reviewed it here. Spoiler, I really liked it. It’s basically sugar and lemon peels left together until the sugar draws the lemon oils out of the peels and dissolves in it, creating a syrup. Easy to do, if a little time-consuming. So it was with interest that I saw this little bottle of premade Oleo-Saccharum at the Old Forester Distillery Gift Shop in Louisville, KY. I was staying in the Whiskey Row Lofts which are basically upstairs and had the thought that I might make a few cocktails with it. I did not and so it came home with me.

But what did I think of it once I did open it? It has a strong lemon nose. It’s very sweet and lemony on the mouth when you taste it by itself. It does really well in the champagne cocktail on the bottle (1 oz bourbon, 0.5 oz syrup, 4.5 oz brut sparkling wine, ice, lemon twist). It’s good, but at the end of the day, a lemon oleo-saccharum is too easy to make for me to buy this again. Especially since you use a quarter of the bottle for one cocktail. Maybe if I was on the road, travelling. But not for home use.

Kirkland Signature Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

October 7, 2021 Eric Burke

I know almost nothing about Costco. I have never had a membership. I’ve been in the liquor section of the location closest to me exactly one time. In fact, about the only thing I do know about the company is that their house brand is Kirkland.

So it was a bit strange when I went to my local mom and pop liquor store and saw a liter of Kirkland Bourbon on the shelf. Of course, I know that there is a Minnesota law that forbids store-exclusive liquor brands. But this has usually played out with the Total Wine Spirits Direct brands landing on the shelves of local stores. This is the first time that I’ve seen a Costco brand in the wild.

So like I said, I know next to nothing about Costco. But, unlike the Total Wine brands, I do know something about the Costco bourbon. Namely who made it. Emblazoned at the top of the label are the words “by Barton 1792.” I love this. In fact, it was what made me pick up the bottle we are talking about tonight. I really like the bourbon that comes out of the Barton 1792 distillery and I liked that they were willing to put their name on the barrels that they sold to someone else.

The usual practice in the US, for what would be termed “independent bottlers” in other countries, is for a company to source their bourbon from a distillery who then makes them sign an non-disclosure agreement about where they got it. In other words, they didn’t want their name associated with the bourbon for one reason or another. It is speculation on my part that this was, at least in part, because they were either selling a product that was non-standard for their house style or because that it was a product that wasn’t necessarily their best. Like I said, speculation on my part, but when someone doesn’t want their name on a product, what else are you supposed to think? I mean it could be that the supplier doesn’t want someone trading in on their good name, but if they are getting paid either way and they are selling decent stuff, is it really that bad?

No idea, I write for tips on the internet and they run multi-million dollar corporations. It is possible that they understand these things better than I do. But that said, I still picked up the Kirkland Signature by Barton 1792 and not one of many other NDP-produced bourbons that fill the shelves.

Kirkland Signature Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey by Barton 1792

Purchase Info: $33.99 for a 1 liter bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.70

Details: 60% ABV. Non-Chill Filtered.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, almond, oak, light fruit.

Mouth: Damn, that's hot! Nutmeg, almond, toffee, mint, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Toffee, almond, and mint.

Thoughts: Is this a world-beater? No. But, it tastes good, it's high proof, and it is only $1.70 per pour. Let's just say that I went back to the store to grab a few more liters of this before I posted the review. This is a great everyday bourbon that also happens to also be overproof. I'm a fan. It is tasty enough to use in cocktails or cooking and inexpensive enough that I don’t mind using it that way. Plus as I said, I love the transparency on who made it. Right on the front label. Even bigger fan of that.

If you are in Minnesota and see this at your local, pick it up. If you are anywhere else and have a Costco membership you should consider doing the same.

George Dickel Bourbon

October 5, 2021 Eric Burke

I’m not going to lie, I bought a lot of whiskey on vacation. And by no small coincidence, a lot of the stuff I purchased happened to be things that I either haven’t had, or haven’t written about. You gotta have content. And as such it’ll probably be December before I stop referencing it. I really hope that you don’t get sick of posts that bring it up.

I mean, I could try writing so that I don’t mention it, but where is the fun in that?

Anyway I primarily stayed in two cities while on vacation, Chattanooga and Louisville. I’ve been to Louisville numerous times but I’d never been to Chattanooga before except as a place I drove through on the way to somewhere else. And as it was our first time in the area, we really felt the need to do some touristy things. We visited Rock City, which was cooler than I’d have thought it would be; we paid our respects at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park; and because of who we are, we went to distilleries. I did the tour and tasting at both Jack Daniel’s and at Chattanooga Whiskey. I didn’t at Cascade Hollow though. Mostly because they were not offering tours. Instead I spent a lot of money in the gift shop as I picked up a few things that I couldn’t easily get at home. I grabbed a 15-year-old Single Barrel, I grabbed a current Bottled-in-Bond for about $15 cheaper than I’d find it at home, and I grabbed tonight’s Bourbon. That’s right, Bourbon.

From June’s launch press release:

For Cascade Hollow Distilling Co.'s General Manager and Distiller, Nicole Austin, creating Dickel Bourbonwas an opportunity to showcase the amazing, mature whiskies at the distillery. At the same time, it allowed the brand to give a home to those barrels that leaned into more traditional bourbon notes and did not express the Tennessee Whiskey tasting characteristics found in the rest of the George Dickel offerings.

Basically it is the same juice, following the same procedures, that is in all of their other Tennessee Whiskey products, it just tastes more like a traditional bourbon then those do. But much more important to me than what they call it, is how it tastes. Let’s find out.

George Dickel Bourbon

Purchase Price: $40.00 for a 750 mL bottle at the Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. Gift Shop, Tullahoma, TN. $30.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Kroger, Louisville, KY.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.67 (TN), $2.07 (KY)

Details: 8 years old, 45% ABV

Nose: Red fruit, herbal mint, caramel, baking spice, and mineral notes.

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel. Caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Finish: Medium length and very flavorful. Cinnamon red hots, caramel, vanilla, mint and the "Dickel" mineral note.

Thoughts: I like this one. Not as much as the high-end, extra-aged Dickel products, but more than No. 8 or No. 12. I picked up a bottle of Bottled-in-Bond at the same time for only five dollars more, and I definately like that better. But since people in my neck of the woods are gouging on the Bonded, this will be a pretty good alternative once it shows up here in Minnesota.

Whiskey News Roundup for September 30, 2021

September 30, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: The words “Whiskey News” over a photo of a whiskey glass on a smokey table.

This is the first of what is going to be an ongoing series for BourbonGuy.com. As you might imagine, I get a lot of press releases in my inbox. I thought it might be neat to periodically share some of those that I find the most interesting along with a little commentary on them. I hope you enjoy these posts. I spend way too much time reading whiskey news to not share.

Four Roses Announces Mini Bottles of Two Bourbons

NEWS: After quietly retiring their 50 mL bottles of Four Roses Single Barrel, Four Roses announced this month that they will be offering 50 mL bottles of both their Small Batch and Small Batch Select Bourbons. These bottles are available at most retailers that sell the 750 mL bottles. Locally they sell for $5.99 for the Small Batch and $7.99 for the Small Batch Select.

COMMENTARY: This is the kind of thing that I wouldn’t have usually found that interesting, except for one thing. I never was able to get a Four Roses bottle on the Whiskey Party Lights that I made. Single Barrel had a small cork. No way to hang it from the lights. According to Brent Elliott, these new minis will have screw caps that I’ll be able to drill through. What’s that? You don’t have any Whiskey Party lights? You should make some, it’s a fun and easy project.

Samuels House Now Available for Overnight Accommodations

NEWS: Rob Samuels, Managing Director of Maker’s Mark and grandson of the brand’s founder, has opened the historic Samuels home for rent. Currently operated under the name Samuels House, it was built around 1820 by Samuels family forefather John Samuels. The property remained with the family until the 1950s. Now, back in family hands, it has been renovated and opened for rent to overnight guests. According to the press release: “Although equipped with modern conveniences and luxury amenities, the house’s original detail and character have been preserved to showcase the history of the Maker’s Mark dynasty. Never before seen personal family artifacts, including the deep fryer used to create the iconic red wax tendrils and a hand-made bar with whisky spanning 150 years of Samuels family distilling, ensures a really special experience for bourbon enthusiasts.”

COMMENTARY: If I had the money, I would love to stay here while visiting Bardstown. Not sure I can swing $1250-1500 per night on a freelancer’s budget, but if you do, this seems like a fun way to spend that cash. I love old houses and, for me, the whiskey history would just be icing on the cake. And man, do those sofas look comfy.

MGP Distillery Gets a New Name

NEWS: As of September 29, 2021, the consumer brands portion of the MGP distillery will go by the name of Ross & Squibb Distillery. The new name highlights the history of the distillery location. According to the press release: “Ross” is inspired by the legacy of George Ross, who in 1847 founded the Rossville Distillery, located on what is now the Ross & Squibb Distillery campus. Considered one of Lawrenceburg’s original distilleries and one of America’s last Prohibition-era distilleries, Rossville Distillery produced some of the finest rye whiskeys in the world and was the inspiration for the Rossville Union Straight Rye Whiskey brand. “Squibb” calls back to the historic Squibb Distillery, founded in 1869 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and later purchased in 1921 by George Remus, King of the Bootleggers® and inspiration for the George Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey brand.” Bulk production of whiskey and other spirits will continue onsite under the current name, MGPI of Indiana, LLC.

COMMENTARY: What does this mean for the whiskey consumer? Probably not a lot. I know I’m not going to rush to update the MGP tag at the bottom of this page. I’m almost positive that in casual conversation I’ll still use the quick MGP instead of the longer Ross & Squibb. Though you may see written references to Ross & Squibb on the site if I quote from a press release for one of their products. Basically, this is a consumer-facing example of the merger of MGP and Luxco. As the Luxco portion of the combined company now handles the consumer brands that MGP brought to the merger (Remus, Rossville, etc), it only makes sense from a marketing perspective to brand everything they can to help tell their story. Does this mean we can look forward to the future announcement of an upcoming visitor experience in Lawrenceburg, IN? No word on that yet, but it wouldn’t terribly surprise me now that the distillery has a consumer-friendly name and logo.

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Ancient Age 90 proof

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tasters' Selection: Jamaican Allspice

Step 1: Light the chips on fire.

Step 2: Smother the fire.

Step 3: Add your whiskey.

Step 4: Make the cocktail and enjoy it.

Eric's Blend:

Robin’s Blend:

Lincoln County Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup

Freddie's Old Fashioned Root Beer

MB Roland Kentucky Dark Cherry Moonshine

Old Forester Oleo-Saccharum Lemon Oil Syrup

Kirkland Signature Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey by Barton 1792

George Dickel Bourbon

Four Roses Announces Mini Bottles of Two Bourbons

Samuels House Now Available for Overnight Accommodations

MGP Distillery Gets a New Name