Armagnac Report: Chateau de la Grangerie

K&L recently introduced a trio of private barrel Armagnacs from Chateau de la Grangerie, a small producer in the Tenareze region.  All of them are distilled entirely from Ugni Blanc grapes.

First a warning, these need air.  When I tasted them fresh out of the bottle, they had a lot of bitterness.  Five minutes in the glass made most of that dissipate, and the following notes reflect tastings after that five minute period, so pour and wait. I'd even be tempted to decant these.

2001 Chateau de la Grangerie, 13 years old, 45% abv ($50)

The nose is dry and spicy with wood spice and just a hint of fruit. The palate is dry with faint grape notes which develop into a deeply earthy palate and a long, earthy finish, just bordering on too bitter, with bay leaves on the nose...like strolling through a damp forest after the rain. This one is bold, complex and earthy.

1994 Chateau de la Grangerie, 20 years old, 45.5% abv ($65)

The nose has mild, fruit juice flavors. The palate is dry and earthy but those notes are fleeting. The finish has a strong menthol note. This one feels a bit undeveloped; the flavors on the palate aren't particularly strong, it seems watered down and the strong menthol note on the finish puts it out of balance.

1964 Chateau de la Grangerie, 50 years old, 44% abv ($150)

The nose on this is just fantastic with honey and orange rind, even some sherry. The palate opens with lightly sweetened tea, then spicy black pepper notes. It turns dry, earthy and chewy just as it transitions to the finish which has pleasant dry fruit note, think apricots and red grapes, but without the sweetness.

These are really bold, earthy Armagancs. The 2001 was my favorite. It was complex and earthy, with layers of flavor that made me keep wanting to take another sip. At $50, it's a steal.  The 1964 is probably more of a people pleaser as it had a more traditional brandy flavor profile. It's very good, and it's certainly reasonably priced at $150 for a 50 year old (When was the last time you could pay $150 for 50 year old anything?). Overall, though, I thought the 2001 was more interesting and had more complexity. Compared to these two great Armagnacs, the 1994 seems out of place. The palate had weak, diluted flavors, and the only real distinctive notes came in the menthol on the finish which was way out of balance.  But hey, two out of three ain't bad.

The Fourth Tier and the Uberization of Liquor Sales

Since the end of prohibition, most of the United States has had a three tier system for sales of alcohol. A producer sells alcohol to a distributor (i.e. a wholesaler) who then sells it to a retailer who can sell to the public. The booze sees a mark up at each step so each player can make a profit. Many, including myself, have suggested that the three tier system is outdated and needlessly complicated and should be eliminated. However, rather than moving in that direction, it appears that the system is growing more complicated, and more expensive, with an emerging fourth tier.

Have you ever gotten one of the emails from Caskers offering high priced whiskey and claiming that nearly everything scored higher than Pappy Van Winkle? Meet the fourth tier. Companies like Caskers are not producers, distributors or retailers. In fact, they don't handle any alcohol. They are marketing firms. They advertise booze and solicit sales for retailers, who then complete the orders. It's an Uber-like system, where Caskers acts as the app and individual retailers sign up as drivers. Alcohol delivery sites like Saucey, DrinkFly and Drizly appear to use a similar model (though Saucey employs delivery couriers).

One area that's unclear is how payment works.  If these companies sell alcohol, they would need to be licensed retailers.  If you purchase a bottle on Caskers, they take your credit card information like any other site, but their terms state that they do not sell alcohol and that all sales are made by the vendors. It will be interesting to see if the government sees it the same way.

These companies may be a good thing for people in states that don't get large selections on the shelves, but the fourth tier adds another complication and another party that needs to get paid, which presumably explains the high prices. It would be much easier if retailers could ship directly across the 50 states, but unlike Caskers, licensed retailers are subject to the liquor laws of their states and shipping can be a grey area. Prominent retailers like The Party Source and Binny's have stopped shipping spirits in recent years. Caskers benefits from being able to access multiple retailers in different jurisdictions who are subject to different shipping laws, though there are shipping restrictions on each bottle they offer.

Given the complications of retailer shipping, we are likely to see more of these companies in the future. So on balance, is the emergence of a fourth tier of alcohol sales a good thing or a bad thing? What do you think?

New Whiskey Labels: Brown Forman, Blood Oath, Ice Cream and More

This week's most interesting new labels from the federal TTB database:

Brown Forman cleared a label for Coopers' Craft, a no age statement bourbon that they call a "toasted wood whiskey."

Luxco cleared a label for Pact 2 of its Blood Oath Bourbon.  This one is a blend of a rye bourbon, a wheat bourbon and a port finished rye bourbon.

Suntory cleared a label for the 2016 Yamazaki sherry cask.

We All Scream Department: Here's a label for BuzzBar, a cookies and cream flavored, bourbon infused ice cream bar weighing in at 2.05% abv. I like the graphic which looks like an Oreo being dipped a glass of bourbon.

Note:  The fact that a label appears on the TTB database does not necessarily mean it will be produced.  In addition, some details on the label, such as proof, can change in the final product.

The Bourbon Tasting Notebook by Reigler & Veach

Add to this year's bounty of bourbon books The Bourbon Tasting Notebook by bourbon writers Susan Reigler and Michael Veach, a guide to tasting bourbon.

Following a brief introduction setting out the basics of bourbon and tasting, the bulk of the book is a listing of bourbons with tasting notes (but no scores) by Reigler and Veach and space for you to jot down your own notes and score.

The tasting list includes over 200 bourbons running from the mundane (Jim Beam White Label, Evan Williams) to the obscure (Kentucky Owl, Four Roses Platinum).  With a crisp and clear layout, one of the book's benefits is that even if you don't need tasting notes, it lists nearly every bourbon in current production, which is a handy thing to have (though it lacks some special releases and includes some older expressions which are no longer available).  And it's all bourbon. There's no rye, corn, Tennessee or other American whiskey.

I also like the organization of the book.  The bourbon list is organized by producer, with entries for all of the major companies, a section on craft whiskeys and a section on independent bottlers.  That being said, there are a number of sourced whiskeys that slipped into the craft list (e.g., Big Bottom, High West American Prairie Reserve, Neversweat and Old Pogue).

While it's not a necessity for seasoned bourbon geeks, this is a great book for novice or intermediate bourbon fans who are looking for tasting notes or a good list of options.

The Bourbon Tasting Notebook by Susan Reigler & Michael Veach
Acclaim Press  ($20)

Thanks to Susan Reigler for sending a review copy of the book.

A Date with Laphroaig: September 22, 1998

Lately, there is a ton of independently bottled Laphroaig out there that was distilled on a single day:  September 22, 1998. Last year, I was lucky enough to try a sherry aged Signatory Laphroaig bottled for La Maison du Whisky in Paris. It was one of the best new single malts I'd had in years with bold peat and sherry and an oily mouthfeel. It tasted like the good old days. That was cask 700356 distilled on Sept. 22, 1998. Then, at the end of last year, Whisky Advocate gave its Islay Single Malt of the Year award to a 1998 Signatory Laphroaig bottled for The Whisky Exchange. That one was Cask 700393 distilled on the same day. Well, The Whisky Exchange recently released another cask, 700389, from what must have been a magical day in the fall of 1998. This one has another year of age on it.

Given all of these Laphroaigs from the same day, I thought I would do a side by side. These are all aged in refill sherry casks; prices have varied from $150 to $250, mostly because of currency fluctuations.

Laphroaig 15 (Signatory), Cask 700393, Distilled September 22, 1998, Bottled Sept. 23, 2013 for The Whisky Exchange, 60.8%

The nose is fabulous, smoky and oily with BBQ brisket but also gobs of fruit.  The palate is a great balance of smoke and sherry, but in the end, the smoke wins out and the finish is heavily peated.

Laphroaig 16 (Signatory), Cask 700389, Distilled September 22, 1998, Bottled Feb. 6, 2015 for The Whisky Exchange, 59.9% (£120)

The nose just explodes in peat, smoke and bacon, then you get the fruit, like an orchard buried in peat. Pretty soon your nose has gotten used to the peat explosion and you're getting pears, plums and grapes, maybe even some floral notes.  The palate is softer than you would expect from the nose. The peat is thick and sharp and comes on first. Once you acclimate to it, the sherry notes are sweet, but not too intense and without any trace of sulfur. Despite the proof, it doesn't feel too strong. The finish is well balanced between the strong peat notes and the sweetness of the sherry.

Between the two bottles from The Whisky Exchange, the 2013 bottling is heavier on the peat while the 2015 bottling is heavier on the sherry.  Both are great, it's just a matter of where the balance falls.

Next, I did a side by side tasting of these two with the sister cask from La Maison du Whisky that I reviewed here.  The La Maison du Whisky bottling blows the other two away.  It's a powerhouse of oily peat with dry sherry giving it texture. The Whisky Exchange bottlings, which are great whiskeys, fold in the presence of this old-fashioned peat monster.

All three of these are great  bottles, and there are a lot more Laphroaigs from the same date, but some have a very different character, particularly those bottled as part of Signatory's Un-Chill Filtered Collection (regular shaped bottles) as opposed to the Cask Strength Collection (wide bottles). For instance, the K&L Laphroaig I reviewed a few weeks ago was a Signatory Un-Chill Filtered Collection bottling from that date aged in a sherry cask, but while it was good, it had very little sherry influence and was a very different character of malt than the more sherry-heavy bottlings I tasted today. The same can be said of Cask 700388, an American bottling from the same date bottled as part of the Un-Chill Filtered Collection which had little in the way of sherry character, so it seems like the bigger sherry numbers are going into the Cask Strength Collection.

Whatever was going on at Laphroaig 17 years ago this month was something special. I would keep your eyes open over the next few years for more 9/22/98 Laphroaig, particularly those bottled by Signatory as part of their Cask Strength Collection.

UPDATE: Some have speculated that the bottlings from this day were made from barley malted in-house by Laphroaig, as opposed to barley from Port Ellen Maltings.  I'm following up and will post another update if I find out anything definitive.

Thanks to PZ, SB and Daniel Laurence for samples of these whiskeys.

New Whiskey Labels: Jefferson's Ocean, Costco Tennessee Whiskey and More

This week's most interesting new labels from the federal TTB database:

A label cleared for a cask strength version of the popular Jefferson's Ocean Bourbon.

Costco's Kirkland Label cleared a label for a Tennessee Whiskey.  The producer is not disclosed, but based on the information provided in the label approval, it appears it may be distilled by Collier & McKeel in Nashville.

Labels cleared for a trio of old Scotches bottled by Hunter Laing for K&L including a 47 year old Glenfarclas, a 41 year old Teaninich and a 29 year old Longmorn.  For rum fans, they also cleared an intriguing looking label for a 15 year old single cask Nicaraguan rum.

Note:  The fact that a label appears on the TTB database does not necessarily mean it will be produced.  In addition, some details on the label, such as proof, can change in the final product.

Wild Turkey 101 Rye

Since I recently reviewed the newest edition of Rittenhouse Rye, I thought I would do the same with Wild Turkey 101 Rye. For years, 101 rye was a great, budget rye. Then, in 2012, Wild Turkey announced that it was temporarily taking it off the market and putting out an 81 proof rye. We were all worried that the 101 would be gone for good or would come back with a huge price tag. Luckily, it returned, though it did see a price hike. It seems to only come in liter bottles now and goes for $40 (so they increased the volume by a third but doubled the price  - maybe they thought with the bigger bottle we wouldn't notice). Let's see how it tastes.

Wild Turkey 101 Rye, 50.5% ($40 for 1 liter)

The nose opens with soft rye notes and some bourbon-style caramel. On the palate, it's much more bourbon like than I remember, with a lot of light, Evan Williams type notes and vanilla.  Toward the end of the palate, the rye spice kicks in and you get some nice baking spice notes. The finish has light vanilla and baking spice notes but is fairly short.

This is still a very decent rye, but it's not as bold as the older version I remember. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a decent rye for a pretty good price (though no longer really a budget option).

Thanks to Funky Tape for the sample.