It has been awhile since I made a recent blog posting. My life has been turned upside down with selling my house, and in the process of temporary living and waiting to close on a new place.
In the meantime, I never forgot bourbon, more so... I never forgot the taste of Knob Creek, it's spicy finish it seemed, now what could better than going back and trying it with a Glencairn glass?. During my time I may not have been as active in drinking and tasting bourbon, but I wasn't one to slow down and read about what was going on.
Some time ago, I found out that Knob Creek released a special edition, in fact simply a "Single Barrel Reserve". Different from small batch for the obvious, but it was also higher proof. Having tasted it, the first thing with it's incredibly butter texture and hints of sweetness and giant honey bent my mind screamed only... "I want pancakes!!!".
A comparison had to be made. Bourbon had to be tasted. Drink and imbibing had to be consumed. Time was short, life is hard, everybody dies... not everybody lives. Having enjoyed regular Knob Creek, it was time to partake in this special edition. To see how it turned out watch the video below.
I finally got around to checking out the top end Jim Beam brands otherwise known as the Big Beams or the SuperBeams.
Much about selling whiskey has to do with packaging. Some whiskeys come in velvet bags, the Booker's comes in a wood crate as if it had its own personal little warehouse. Basil Hayden's is wrapped in a lot of paper with a ring that resembles a hoop from an oak barrel.
To me though it is what's in the bottle that counts and it doesn't take much to please me. Within this group there was one whiskey that just wasn't worth the time, but there were two that I really enjoyed.
After some time I finally had a chance to review some more bourbon. I had several bottles of 7-8 years and needed to group them up. This was kind of difficult, because I wanted to compare certain ones, and I had also tasted and had some of the others.
I settled in though on Jim Beam Black, W.L. Weller Special Reserve, and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve.
I did want to pair up the Black with the Super Beams I have but decided not to.
Going back to 1792 was interesting. No I didn't have a time machine and did not go back to the inauguration of 1792 as Kentucky joined the union and became a state, which the name of this product borrows and adopts. I had this bourbon in the past which is a rye dominant but also a good amount of malt barley (I believe), and sort of never cared to remember it. I did finish the bottle but didn't seem enthusiastic in seeking it out again.
I am kind of glad I did try it again, cause I found things on it that I didn't discover before. I was a little bit more appreciative this time, although it might not be for everyone.
Finally, I threw in another product which names itself as the original "Wheated Bourbon". W.L. Weller is an inexpensive and 7 year aged wheat dominant bourbon and I think a very good value for the money. Nothing fancy, but just solid. It's price seems the most attractive thing about it.
To see how this tasting went, you can watch the video below.
I don't like old Grand-Dad. No honestly, I tried the 86 and found it weak and pointless, the 100 was marginally better but had a taste of cigarettes and ashes mostly. Looking in to Old Grand-Dad hadn't been fun.
However, many bourbon fans seemed to point out that the 114 (the last of the OGDs) was the best one and worth trying. Worth trying? I was skeptical. This whiskey nevertheless has been around for a long time. It had been taken over from National Distillers in 1987 by Jim Beam and the Old Grand-Dad has had a long history. When I thought back about it... it didn't seem right trying only 2 of the 3 and not all of them, so why not!
I had to make a comparison of course and the perfect one I though of was Fighting Cock brand made by Heaven Hill. It's a slightly lower proof bourbon at 103, and I always wanted to have it but couldn't find a reason. Now I had a perfect pairing to compare.
Both these bourbons tasted better when cut slightly to 95 proof. Their noses opened up and certain tastes came up. Fighting Cock I think is a perfect cigar bourbon, and the Old Grand-Dad when cut to 95, while being a bit too wet and not much body brings out a surprising honey finish.
To see more about it, watch the video reviews below:
After having tasted some nice bourbons, I decided it wasn't fair just yet to start jumping in to some of the more higher quality ones that I have to analyze just yet. Yes I have had nicer tasting bourbons, but the reality is if I want to appreciate bourbon I know I have to start at the beginning, and in many ways pay my dues. As Chuck Cowdery who writes about bourbon in his book Straight Bourbon and advocates often about learning to appreciate this whiskey simply states... there are no short cuts.
I appreciated this whiskey some years ago when I first was offered some Lot B Van Winkle from a friend of mine who is from Kentucky. When he knew I was in to cocktails and spirits, he brought out some Lot B for me to try. Long story short, the appreciation I had that night is why today I felt compelled to examine this great whiskey.
That said, I knew that it was important to go back to some old school roots first. When I was getting in to wine, there was no point jumping in to real expensive bottles right away ramming my nose in to Chateau Lafite Rothschild, 100 year German Reisilings, or 80 year aged Portuguese Tawny Ports most regular mortals like us can't afford on a daily basis. You had to start from the ground up... not just because of economics but because ... you wouldn't appreciate what was worked for you without tasting the basics of what came before then.
I set out to just grab three common bourbons to try that I hadn't had before.
Old Taylor (A Jim Beam product and now being distilled by Buffalo Trace)
Old Grand-Dad 100 (An old brand that once belonged long ago to National Distillers and was taken over by Jim Beam in 1987)
Old Fitzgerald 100 (A historic brand that used to be distilled at Stitzel Weller Distillery, but is now Heaven Hill, makers of Evan Williams)
It was hard to pick some of the inexpensive bourbons. Many inexpensive bourbons are made by the same people. Jim Beam makes, Old Crow, Old-Grand-Dad, Old Taylor. Many of the other the distillers make several inexpensive bourbons as well. But the bigger problem when trying to find a good inexpensive bourbon was what I call the liquor litmus test.
My very first inclination when I see a large bottle of alcohol spirit, sitting in a 1.75 liter jug, particularly plastic... for next to nothing... I usually want to run away screaming. Many of these bourbons I described fit into this category, and give me visions of cheap college nights and drunken young adults giving way to reckless abandon. Not that I (cough) speak from experience... (cough, cough).
The reality is though, some inexpensive bourbons are from what I hear a good value. I can attest that Evan Williams 7yr is fine for what it is and in a blind tasting picked it as a favorite among other low proof bourbons. A real simple go to bourbon. I have also been recommended others, but many are not available where I live.
Still instead of diving in to some bourbons that cost upwards of 50 dollars and then some just now... there will always be time to do it... but there is no rush. However, many times... you have to just pay your dues. So before I get in to some other more so called "higher shelf" products, I'll grab some cheap half pints if I can first.
I know that in the future... I will be rewarded...
Watch below to see my review of these three bourbon whiskeys.
I was overdue for another tasting, and set out for another one.
My group this time was actually a little tricky to put together. I did however manage to scramble producers that I thought were different with one exception.
I found a bottle of Old Forester and thought it would be perfect for this group. I never see that whiskey around here at all. Only thing is pairing it with Woodford meant I was having whiskey made by the same producer (Brown Forman).
This was actually a plus though, I did some research and found online that they supposedly have the same mash bill and yeast content. So trying them side by side was just right. Also I was set to throw in a bottle of Blanton's but I found Elmer T Lee instead which was cheaper. I really like Blanton's but I wasn't ready to fork over a lot of money again for it right now. I also discovered that Elmer and Blanton's are made by the same distiller Buffalo Trace. Super! I was set, I'd throw in my Black Maple which I had around for awhile... and imbibing joy could begin.
I present Bourbon whiskey tasting group #3, the video is below in 2 parts.
The tasted Bourbons were as follows:
Old Forester
Woodford Reserve
Bulleit
Elmer T. Lee
Black Maple Hill
The tasting notes are in the two videos below. Cheers!
It has been awhile since I made a recent blog posting. My life has been turned upside down with selling my house, and in the process of temporary living and waiting to close on a new place.
