Smooth Ambler Founders’ Cask Strength Series Bourbon, 2022, Batch 4

I’d like to thank Smooth Ambler and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Oh my goodness, it is great to be back. As much as I enjoy the brackets each year, they all get written ahead of time. So I usually get a few weeks away from writing to relax and get other things done. And, boy, did I get things done this year. Namely, I started a business. Kinda. I’ve been dog-sitting as a side hustle for six years but decided to formalize that business into an LLC. I had to research, buy, and implement booking software, get insurance, and move my clients from the platform I’d been using to the new one. Hell, even small things like business cards and a website needed to be created.

It was an excellent time to have posts pre-written ahead, let me tell you.

What that meant though was that I had a ton of samples stacked up that I wasn’t tasting. And so, let’s just jump into the first one and work our way through the backlog. Tonight’s bourbon is from Smooth Ambler. Smooth Ambler is a small distillery in West Virginia owned by Pernod Ricard. They are best known for their Old Scout line of sourced whiskeys, but they also distill their own as well. Founders’ Cask Strength is made from one of those bourbons that they distilled in-house. Specifically their “Bourbon Mashbill #2” which consists of 71% corn, 21% rye, and 8% malted barley. Founders’ will be released in select markets (California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas) for $54.99 per 750 mL bottle and 900 cases are going to be produced per year across six batches. The press release was kind enough to share a quote from the Smooth Ambler founder (fitting) so let’s hear what he has to say about the product:

As John Little states, “What’s great about the Founders’ Cask Strength Series is we finally get to let y’all taste delicious whiskey we’ve been excitedly working on for years in our part of the whiskey world – West Virginia. With this Bourbon recipe, we add a modest amount of Rye to play well with high corn content and let it age in Char #4 casks in the Appalachian climate.  It’s a surprising meddling of flavors and geographical superpowers that just work effortlessly.  So please enjoy this newly minted convergence of flavors, from our home to yours.” 

Ok. That’s enough with the background. Let’s move on to the important stuff, how does it taste?

Smooth Ambler Founder's Cask Strength Series, Batch 4, 2022

Purchase Info: This was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $54.99 for a 750 mL bottle and is available in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.67

Details: 61.4% ABV. Six years old. Mash bill: 71% corn, 21% rye, and 8% malted barley.

Nose: Honey, cinnamon, oak, and mint.

Mouth: Chocolate, oak, leather, berries, and cinnamon.

Finish: Sweet and medium length. Leather, chocolate, mint, anise, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is quite tasty—lots of oak-derived notes, such as leather and chocolate. The finish is the best and most complex part, precisely how I'd plan it if I were in charge. Delicious.

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10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Championship Rounds

Welcome back, folks! Can you believe we’ve done this for 10 years now? Crazy. We are now at the end of the 2023 contest. Eight whiskeys entered the arena. Four have fallen by the wayside. There have been some delicious treats, and contrary to years past, no stinkers. Let’s see how it all ends and see if we’ve learned anything along the way. First, we have the Round Two matchups.

Division 2: Whiskey A (New Riff Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Old Forester 1897)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: "A" has a nicer nose. Sweet and fruity. "B" has a longer and warmer finish. They are both delicious, but in this case, "A" matches my preferred flavor profile a little better. I tend to like a sweet and lightly fruity bourbon, and "A" is exactly that.

Winner: New Riff Bourbon moves on to the Championship Round

Division 1: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond No. 4) vs. Whiskey B (Jack Daniel’s Bonded)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: "B" has a nicer nose. "A" has a nicer finish with dark chocolate notes. In the mouth, "A" is a little fruitier, whereas "B" is got more "candy bar" notes. This one is tough. So tough that my wife and I are split. I prefer "A.” She prefers "B." But at the end of the day, it's my vote that gets published.

Winner: George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond (No. 4) moves on to the Championship Round

Championship Round: Whiskey A (New Riff Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond No. 4)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose is very nice on both of these. In the mouth and on the finish, “A” is a little fruitier and gets my vote for the nicer experience. Both are delicious, but "A" is the winner. That fruitiness is intoxicating (and not just because of the alcohol).

Winner: New Riff Bourbon

Congrats to New Riff Bourbon, the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Bracket Champion!

Lessons Learned:

This was an interesting contest for me. When I was reminded that I only had a few days to find a theme, buy, seed, and taste the entire competition full of whiskeys. I had a moment of panic. I actually considered not doing it this year. But I’m not going to lie. This is my favorite post series each year. And once I decided to drop the price requirement as an overreaction to last year’s stinkers, it got even easier. Thankfully my local store had over eight bonded whiskeys, so I had my choice without running all over the metro the night before a big snowstorm.

So what did I learn about each of these?

With George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond (No. 4) competing for the Championship in what is, ostensibly, a bourbon contest, there may be cries of foul play since they don’t call themselves “bourbon.” But, as I told a reader in a comment on the first post in this year’s contest: if you show me a bonded whiskey (in the bourbon style) that is 13 years old for right around $50? I’m going buy that every time. It was no surprise to me that 13 years in a barrel allowed Dickel to stand up tall with the best of the best this year.

Moving on to the other Tennessee Whiskey in the competition, you get the only first-round upset. Jack Daniel’s Bonded knocked out a bourbon from Barton 1792 in the first round and almost made it to the Championship in a split decision in Round 2. That was a surprise to me. Though having had it before, I shouldn’t have been surprised. 100° proof is probably the sweet spot for Jack Daniel’s, as far as I’m concerned. It is delicious at higher proofs but gets really hot real quick. Below that, it is really mellow. Bonded just hits right for me. I was actually shocked that it went blow to blow with a 13-year-old and didn’t embarrass itself, honestly. That’s a lot of age to overcome.

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond handled itself admirably. It didn’t quite have the gusto to knock off a competitor with lots of age on it, but it should hold its head up high. It won last year and lost to the eventual number 2 this year. That’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s good whiskey and an even better value. It should be on everyone’s back bar, even if you just use it for cocktails.

Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond was interesting to me. But probably not for the reasons that Total Wine would have liked. It was the only contestant that I would describe as “meh.” It just goes to show that even a producer of great whiskey like Sazerac isn’t going to put their best stuff into somebody else’s bottle.

Moving to the other division. Our Champion New Riff was so delicious that my wife wrote, “I can’t wait to find out what this is” on the sheet she was using to keep track of the contest. It won a squeaker in the first round but easily handled two whiskeys that were either a limited edition or part of a “high-end” brand extension. I was shocked because as I was tasting it, I kept thinking, “we don’t have a Four Roses product in the line-up, but if I didn’t know better, I’d think this was one.” It had been a long time since I’d purchased the standard New Riff Bourbon. I need to change that.

I didn’t learn much from Old Grand-Dad Bonded that I didn’t already know. I knew it was a great bourbon that didn’t cost much. It is the second former champion in the mix. Nothing about that has changed.

Old Tub reminded me that Jim Beam makes good whiskey. It just needs some proof on it. Go down below 100° proof, and it gets way too nutty for a lot of folks, including me when the mood isn’t right.

Finally, Old Forester 1897 is much better than I remember it being. I love the 1920 expression. But when 1897 first came out, I thought it was a little muddy and flat. No more. This is a really good bourbon for a pretty good price. It’s going on the list of things I need to buy much more often.

This was such a fun contest this year. Not once did I have to brace myself before taking an initial sip. I knew there were no stinkers in the mix. And the champ was one that I would have never guessed. Honestly, if I was going to guess the outcome beforehand, I would have put my money on Old Forester 1897 to win it all. I also didn’t think that Dickel would make it all the way to the Championship match. I’ve liked all of the releases of Dickel Bottled-in-Bond that I’ve had. But I liked this one the least of the four. That said, it’s still good whiskey when not compared to its earlier brothers. Next week we take a look at the samples that have been stacking up while the contest was going on. As much fun as this was, it’s fun to try new bourbons too.

Once again, congrats to New Riff Bourbon on their 2023 Championship!

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported by your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond, No. 4 vs. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond

Those of you that have been following along know that this is the fourth and final competition of Round 1. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 1’s Number 1 seed George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond (No 4) taking on Number 4 seed Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. 

Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond is no stranger to the BourbonGuy Brackets, having been a contestant three times previously and even champion last year. It was distilled in Louisville at the Heaven Hill/Bernheim Distillery DSP-KY-1 and bottled in Bardstown, KY at Heaven Hill’s DSP-KY-31. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $21.99 for a 1 Liter bottle or $1.10 per pour.

Their opponent is the most recent release from a fabulous line of whiskeys out of Tennessee. George Dickel Bottled-in-Bon (No. 4) was distilled in Tullahoma, TN, at Diageo’s distillery DSP-TN-2. It was bottled up in Illinois at Diageo’s Plainfield, IL DSP-IL-58. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $52.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $3.53 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind, and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.10

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Vibrant, floral, cinnamon candies, and vanilla.

Mouth: Cinnamon, vanilla, and caramel.

Finish: Medium length and warmth. Notes of floral vanilla and cinnamon candies.

Whiskey B (George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond No. 4)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.53

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Baking spices, fresh-tilled garden soil, and wet rock.

Mouth: Very rich, caramel, toffee, and cinnamon.

Finish: On the longer side of medium and sweet. Notes of caramel and wet rock.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: "A" is very vibrant and floral with cinnamon notes throughout. "B" is rich and sweet with mineral notes on the nose and finish. Both of these stand out when compared to the rest of the tastings. In this case, that rich sweetness wins out, though.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: It’s always fun when you put the most expensive contestant up against the least expensive one and the fight turns out to be a good one. I always root for the underdogs (maybe that’s why I’m a fan of Minnesota Gophers football). And if I had known which was which, there would have been the temptation to convince myself that the underdog was the winner. But that’s why we do blind tastings. As it is, I really liked both. As I said when I was doing the tasting, both of these stood out when compared to the others we had tasted. Maybe with another opponent, Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond would have come out on top, but not this time.

Winner: George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond (No. 4) is advancing to round 2.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported by your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: New Riff Bourbon vs. Old Grand-Dad Bonded

Those of you that have been following along know that this is the third competition of Round 1. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 2’s Number 2 seed New Riff Bourbon taking on Number 3 seed Old Grand-Dad Bonded. 

New Riff Bourbon is the flagship product of Northern Kentucky’s New Riff Distillery. As with most, if not all, of their products, this is a bottled-in-bond product that has not been chill-filtered. It was distilled in the Cincinnati suburb of Newport, KY at New Riff’s distillery DSP-KY-20016. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $41.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $2.80 per pour.

Their opponent is probably my personal favorite expression of Jim Beam’s “High-Rye” bourbon line-up. I even like it a little more than Old Grand-Dad 114 proof these days. Old Grand-Dad Bonded was distilled in Clermont, KY at Jim Beam’s distillery DSP-KY-230. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $21.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.47 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (New Riff Bourbon)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.80

Details: 50% ABV. Non-Chill Filtered

Nose: Sweet and fruity with notes of spearmint, toffee, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy with notes of cinnamon, red fruits, vanilla, and caramel.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of cinnamon, fruit, and vanilla.

Whiskey B (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Vanilla, toasted grains, and mint.

Mouth: Toasted grains, oak, vanilla, caramel, and mint.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of caramel, toasted grains, and oak.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is a close one, but the depth of flavor in "A" pushes it ahead of the competition. The toasted grain notes are nice, but I'm really digging the sweet, fruity notes of "A". “A’s” finish is nicer too.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I’m always surprised when Old Grand-Dad does well in these things. And then I get surprised by my surprise. I mean, I like Old Grand-Dad. I buy it three or four times a year in one of its various expressions. I don’t know why I get surprised when it puts up a good fight against more expensive competition. That said, I am in love with this bottle of New Riff. Which reminds me, I need to make a note to buy more New Riff.

Winner: New Riff Bourbon is advancing to round 2.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported by your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: Old Forester 1897 vs. Old Tub

Those of you that have been following along know that this is the second competition of Round 1. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 2’s Number 4 seed Old Tub taking on Number 1 seed Old Forester 1897. 

Old Forester 1897 is part of Old Forester’s Whiskey Row line of Bourbons. This one was named for the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act (if you want a poster I designed around the text of the act, click here) and as you might have guessed from the context is a bonded bourbon. It was distilled in Louisville, KY at Brown-Forman’s distillery DSP-KY-354 (at one time known as the Early Times Distillery). It was bottled at Brown-Forman’s distillery DSP-KY-414. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $3.33 per pour.

Their opponent recently replaced Jim Beam Bonded in the Jim Beam brand line-up. Old Tub is a bottled-in-bond, unfiltered bourbon that is named after the brand the the Beam family made before they started producing Jim Beam branded products. It was distilled in Clermont, KY at Jim Beam’s distillery DSP-KY-230. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $20.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.40 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Old Tub)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.40

Details: 50% ABV. Unfiltered.

Nose: Floral mint and oak.

Mouth: Spicy. Vegetal. Floral.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Notes of Cinnamon, dusty oak, and a touch of dried grains.

Whiskey B (Old Forester 1897)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Herbal mint, caramel, and vanilla.

Mouth: Floral vanilla, caramel, and baking spice.

Finish: Medium length and warm with notes of caramel, mint, and cinnamon.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: At the first sip of "B," I knew it was the winner. "A" is a good whiskey, but "B" lands right in the flavor profile that I love: sweet with lots of baking spice. "B" also has a wonderful mouth feel. It coats the month and throat beautifully.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Another nice matchup. For the first time since we started these brackets, I knew that it was highly unlikely that there would be a “bad” whiskey in the bunch. I mean, Bonded bourbon is the gold standard for a reason. And that reason is no additives or shortcuts. You gotta just let nature do its thing for at least four years. That said, I would have been very surprised to see Old Tub beat Old Forester 1897. And things worked out as expected in this round.

Winner: Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond is advancing to round 2.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported by your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond vs. Jack Daniel's Bonded

Here we go! Let’s get down to the competitions.  I hope that you guys are as excited by this as I am. Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets opens with Division 1 Number 2 seed Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond versus Number 3 seed Jack Daniel’s Bonded. 

Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond is a Total Wine “Spirits Direct” brand. It was distilled in Bardstown, KY at distillery DSP-KY-12, better known as Sazerac’s Barton 1792 distillery. It was bottled in Frankfort, KY at distillery DSP-KY-113, otherwise known as Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace distillery. Though it is a Total Wine exclusive, it was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $46.97 for a 750 mL bottle or $3.13 per pour.

And their opponent is a relative newcomer to store shelves, having only been launched last year. Jack Daniel’s Bonded is a bottled-in-bond version of the iconic Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. It has two distillery plant numbers on it, DSP-TN-1 and DSP-TN-4, both of which are part of the Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg, TN campus. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $34.99 for a 700 mL bottle or $2.50 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Wolcott Bottled in Bond)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.13

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Nutty with notes of mint and dusty oak.

Mouth: Bready, with notes of almond, cinnamon, caramel.

Finish: Medium length with notes of cinnamon, bubblegum, almonds.

Whiskey B (Jack Daniel’s Bonded)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.50

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Chocolate, cinnamon, and caramel.

Finish: Medium length with notes of caramel rolls, cinnamon, and mint.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: "B" is much spicier in the mouth. It is also much richer and much sweeter. "A" is pretty good, but the richness of "B" puts it over the top.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from Wolcott. Knowing it is a bonded bourbon, I knew there wouldn’t be any “funny” business going on with it. But I had no idea how it would taste. I like a lot of Bourbons that come out of Barton 1792, but I also find a lot of the stuff they do for store brands to be kinda meh. Not good, but not terrible. And that is kind of how it worked out here. Jack Daniel’s Bonded was very good. Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond was meh. This was an easy choice.

Winner: Jack Daniel’s Bonded is advancing to round 2.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Bottled-in-Bond Edition

Well, well, well…lookie who we have here. Is it bracket time again already?

No, I mean that seriously. I’ve been so caught up with getting all the paperwork for my new dog-sitting business in order that I completely forgot that it was March (and hence bracket season) until last Wednesday when my wife reminded me. In the time since, we chose the theme, bought all the whiskey, seeded the brackets, and, yes, did all the tastings. Oh, and also worked on the previously mentioned paperwork.

Now you might be thinking, “didn’t this used to be called the bottom-shelf brackets? I see some pretty expensive whiskeys up there.” Well, you’d be right about that. After dumping out approximately seven liters of bourbon last year, I felt like I needed to overcorrect in the other direction and instead decided to throw out the price restrictions entirely. Instead, I decided to follow a different theme: Bottled-in-Bond. Now, my local store has a pretty good bourbon section. And unlike Total Wine (where honestly, I spend most of my liquor money), it has a very good selection of Bonded Bourbons (or, in the case of Jack and Dickel, close enough for this little blog). So I bought them all there. And I didn’t even buy all they had, just the least expensive ones. I could have spent $90 for a sourced bourbon or $65 for a 10-year-old Henry McKenna, but I didn’t.

In yet another “burn it all down” moment, I tossed out my usual seeding rules too. This year I went strictly by price. The most expensive price per milliliter was seeded number 1, and the least expensive was seeded number 4 for each division. Here’s how it worked out this year:

1. George Dickel Bottled in Bond (7.07 cents per mL)

2. Old Forester 1897 (6.67 cents per mL)

3. Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond (6.26 cents per mL)

4. New Riff (5.60 cents per mL)

5. Jack Daniel's Bonded (5.00 cents per mL)

6. Old Grand-Dad Bonded (2.93 cents per mL)

7. Old Tub (2.80 cents per mL)

8. Evan Williams Bottled in Bond (2.20 cents per mL)

Which gives us the breakdown above. As you can see, there are a lot of new faces this time. Based on the removal of the pricing restrictions, only two entrants have been here before. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond and Old Grand-Dad Bonded have both competed previously. And they both won.

This one was a lot of fun. Who you got? Any upsets that you see on the horizon? Let us know down in the comments. I’m very excited to share the results with you.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

My Wandering Eye: The Laird's Apple Brandies That I Purchased in 2021 and Then Forgot About.

My Wandering Eye is an ongoing series reacting to the rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going to be asked to drop $40 to $70 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. I hope to see if another spirits category offers something downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits but to maximize the quality I’m getting at a particular price point. The reviews in this series will all be written through a bourbon drinker’s lens.

I’m known amongst friends and family as the “absent-minded one.” Now, mind you, most of them don’t say it to my face. But you can tell that it is common knowledge among my family that if you want Eric to remember something, make sure that you tell his wife too. Or skip Eric entirely and just go straight to his wife.

Nothing proves my point on this more than the posts for this wee… Wait just a damn minute. This seems awfully familiar.

So now that you’ve gone back and read all about the history of Laird & Co that I wrote last week, I can tell you that these two bottles were actually purchased quite a while ago. See, I was watching a lovely cooking/history channel on YouTube called Tasting History with Max Miller when he put up one of his “Drinking History” episodes. That’s right, history, cooking, and drinking. If you know me, you know why I like this show. My wife likes it because, apparently, he has the prettiest blue eyes and she likes to look at them.

So in this particular episode, that I can’t remember the details of, he was using a bottle of Laird’s Old Apple Brandy in a historical cocktail. Laird’s Old Apple Brandy is a seven and a half year old apple brandy that is bottled at 80° proof from Laird & Co. out of New Jersey. I was smitten with the drink and the idea of having a bottle of said brandy in my house. So smitten, that I immediately went to his sponsor, Curiada.com who coincidentally carried the exact brandy that he was using.

What are the odds?

I also picked up a bottle of Laird’s Bottled in Bond Apple Brandy as well. And then I set them on my shelf, waiting for an opening to come up in the editorial calendar. Then I forgot about them because…well…I’m guessing something shiny entered my field of view and I was consumed with that instead. It really is a wonder that I’ve been doing this for over a decade without getting distracted and wandering away.

So, let’s dig in and see how they taste.

Laird’s Old Apple Brandy – 7 1/2

Purchase Info: Currently $41.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Curiada.com. I paid a little less than that in 2021.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.80

Details: 40% ABV. 7.5 years old

Nose: Apple juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Mouth: Apple juice, nutmeg, and a touch of oak.

Finish: Gentle, yet with a little heat. Notes of apple juice and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is delicious. Lots of apple flavor. Just a touch of oak, enough to alter the flavor, but not enough to get in the way of the delicious apple. My only quibble on it is that I wish it was a higher proof. It's just a bit too gentle for my tastes. But that is a small quibble. Yum.

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Lairds Straight Apple Brandy Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: Currently $37.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Curiada.com. I paid a little more than that in 2021.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.53

Details: 50% ABV. DSP-NJ-1

Nose: Brown sugar, apple, a touch of cinnamon, and a very floral vanilla.

Mouth: Floral vanilla, cinnamon, and just a touch of apple.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Powerful notes of apple juice and spicy cinnamon.

Thoughts: I think I know why the proof was lower on the 7 year version. The apple notes on this are pretty subdued compared to its lower proof older brother. Which is really the opposite that I'd have expected from an older product. I'd have expected the older one to have less influence from the wine and more from the barrel than the younger one. That said, this is nice and spicy and the apple really comes through on the finish. I like this one. Hell, I like them both.

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