Ten Years of Parker's Heritage Collection

Last week, Heaven Hill cleared a label for the tenth release of its Parker's Heritage Collection, which will be a 24 year old bottled in bond bourbon. Given that it's now been around for a decade, I thought this would be a good time to look at the Collection as a whole over the years. For each bottling, I've included the original price.

First Edition (2007) Cask Strength Bourbon ($80): The very first release of Parker's was a high power bourbon. Composed of 68 barrels distilled in 1996, it was released in three batches at slightly different proofs (122.6, 127.4 & 129.6). This was a delicious monster of a bourbon (and as per the world of 2007, it sat on shelves for months). The 122.6 proof is still my favorite of the entire Parker's series.

Second Edition (2008) 27 Year Old Bourbon, 48% abv ($185): These days, we're used to bourbon aged well into its third decade, but back in '08, few bourbons pushed past the 20 year mark and this 27 year old was, by far, the oldest bourbon available when it came out. That being said, it's a rare bourbon that can hold up over 20 years, and this one had some musty, old woody notes. It was good but didn't reach the heights of the first release.

Third Edition (2009) Golden Anniversary, 50% abv ($150): In honor of Parker Beam's 50 years at Heaven Hill, the Third Edition of Parker's combined bourbons from each decade he was on the job going back to the 1960s. This one made waves for receiving the highest rating to date from Malt Advocate Magazine (now Whisky Advocate): 97 points. I liked it but wasn't quite that enthusiastic; I thought it was on the sweet side. (I'm not sure why I never wrote this one up on the blog but I did rate it for the LA Whiskey Society).

Fourth Edition (2010) 10 Year old Wheated Bourbon, 63.9% abv ($80): After a couple of years of high priced Parker's that I liked but didn't love, Heaven Hill dropped a cask strength ten year old wheated bourbon and lowered the price back down to $80. And it was great! It had a great balance of sweet, savory and oaky notes. This was particularly surprising since Heaven Hill's standard wheated bourbons were mostly an afterthought back then. This is my second favorite after the First Edition.

Fifth Edition (2011) Barrel Finished, 10 years old, 50% abv ($80): This was a ten year old bourbon finished for six months in Frapin Cognac casks. The Cognac really came through and made for a tasty, if not exceptional bourbon.

Sixth Edition (2012) Blend of Mashbills, 11 years old ($80): The sixth edition was a blend of rye and wheat recipe bourbons bottled at cask strength. Like the first edition, this one was released in three batches at three different abvs (65.8%, 68.95% & 69.7%). This bourbon managed to capture the good elements of both mashbills and was a solid bourbon. This was probably the last of the very good to great Parker's Heritage Collection whiskeys. After 2012, the series really went into decline.

Seventh Edition (2013) Promise of Hope, 10 years old, 48% abv ($90): In 2013, Parker Beam, the Heaven Hill Master Distiller who the Heritage Collection was named for, announced that he had ALS. The Promise of Hope bottling helped raise awareness of ALS, and for every bottle sold, $20 went to ALS research. This was a ten year old, single barrel, rye recipe bourbon; 100 barrels were released. It was a noble cause to be sure, but while it was a decent bourbon, dry with a chaotic palate, it wasn't great.

Eighth Edition (2014) Wheat Whiskey, 13 years old ($90). For years, Heaven Hill was the only major distillery that produced a straight wheat whiskey (Bernheim Wheat), so it made sense that they would use one in a Parker's Release. This one had two batches at different abvs: 63.4% and 63.7%. I thought the 63.7% was decent for a wheat whiskey, but I found the 63.4% to be a sour and acidic mess. Most others didn't see much of a difference between the two.

Ninth Edition (2015) Malt Whiskey, 8 years old, 54% abv ($100). This was a pretty surprising release. Who even knew that Heaven Hill had made malt whiskey, but here it was, and it was pretty bad. I found it soapy and cardboardy with no complexity. Definitely my least favorite of the entire series.

Will this year's 24 year old return the Parker's Heritage Collection to its past glory? Will it set a record for pricing of the series? Will anyone be able to find it? Will Heaven Hill ever appease the whiskey geeks who have been pining for a 10 year old cask strength rye or a really old corn whiskey? Time will tell.

ADDENDUM (To keep the list complete)

Tenth Edition (2016) 24 Year Old BIB, 50% abv ($250). Pre-fire Heaven Hill bourbon distilled in 1990 and 1991.

Eleventh Edition (2017) 11 Year Old Single Barrel, 61% abv ($130).  This single barrels that were bottled for this edition all came from Rickhouses in Deatsville which, according to Heaven Hill, was Parker Beam's favorite rickhouse location. The precise rickhouse and floor is listed on each bottle.

Parker's Heritge Collection Malt Whiskey

There was some surprise when Heaven Hill announced that this year's edition of Parker's Heritage Collection would be an eight year old malt whiskey. Who even knew that Heaven Hill was aging malt? What's next year's release going to be? Spelt whiskey? Triticale? Are they just teasing those of us who are salivating over the idea of a ten year old, cask strength rye?

I didn't make much effort to try this one, but when Josh from The Whiskey Jug showed up at a tasting with a bottle, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Parker's Heritage Collection Malt Whiskey, 8 years old, 54% abv ($100)

This stuff smells like vanilla scented soap. The palate has oak and cardboard and is slightly sweet. That's pretty much all there is to it, and that same oaky cardboard note carries into the finish. It's boring with no complexity or depth of flavor.

I've often thought the problem with American malt whiskeys is that malted barley is too subtle a grain to withstand the new, charred oak required by American regulations. This seems to confirm that supposition. That being said, lots of other folks seem to like it (including The Whiskey Jug), so as always, different strokes for different folks.

American Single Malts: Westland and Cut Spike

Two of the most well regarded American single malts are Westland from Washington State and Cut Spike from Nebraska. Today, I taste new offerings from each of them: Batch 3 of Cut Spike and a K&L barrel from Westland (which seems to be sold out).

Cut Spike Single Malt, 2 yo, Batch 3, 43% abv ($60)

I reviewed Batch 1 of Cut Spike last year and found it quite good. Batch 3 is brand new on the market.

The nose has prominent gin notes, then some vanilla. The palate is very raw with sweet grainy notes. The juniper notes come back in the finish.

Unfortunately, this couldn't be more different from Batch 1, the earlier batch which I liked (I tasted them side by side as I still have some of Batch 1 left). It has none of the depth and complexity of that bottling. Instead, it tastes like a pretty run of the mill craft whiskey, young with raw wood.  I'm hoping this is an aberration. 

Westland Cask 300, 60.8% abv ($90)

Westland has been popular for a few years now, but this is the first one I've tried. This is a special, cask strength, fino sherry aged bottling for K&L.

This has an odd nose with Butterfinger and pralines & cream ice cream. The palate is full of sweet toffee, a more literal toffee flavor that is found in bourbon, which often has toffee-like notes.  The toffee note comes on strong but then fades quickly and you're left with a very vague sherry note on the finish. Water tames the sweetness a bit but also brings out some sulfur on the palate.

This one was a mess. It was sweet but without depth, and it didn't retain any positive notes from the sherry aging.

I was really looking forward to this tasting since these are two of the stars of American single malt, but both of these were disappointing.  I have another few Westlands in the tasting queue, so I'll see if this one was a fluke or not.  As for Cut Spike, I know they can make good whiskey, this batch just didn't live up to the earlier one. I hope, as they have become popular, they are not rushing out barrels that aren't yet ready.

Thanks to Funky Tape for the samples.

New Books: Bitters, Shrubs and Smoke

The number of whiskey and cocktail books out there continues to grow. Along with great general works, we now have numerous specialty books that dive into very specific and specialized areas. Today, I review two such works.


Bitters & Shrub Syrup Cocktails by Warren Bobrow

Whiskey and cocktail writer Warren Bobrow takes us back to the medicinal history of cocktails with recipes that hearken back to the days when mixology was a subset of pharmacology.  While the title includes bitters and shrub syrups, the book's emphasis is really on shrub syrups which I had never heard of before reading Bobrow's fascinating book. Not being an advanced mixology buff, the only shrubs I knew of were the kind that grow in the yard which don't seem all that fit for use in cocktails. Shrub syrups, it turns out, are vinegar and sugar concoctions flavored with fruits, vegetables and/or herbs. Historically, they were often paired with rhum agricole, but Bobrow provides recipes for numerous shrubs syrups, shrub syrup cocktails, mocktails and even main dish recipes using shrub syrups.

Bobrow's drinks sound fantastic; who wouldn't want to try a cocktail that combines peated Scotch with a syrup made from tart cherries, honey, mirin and rice wine vinegar or a rum drink that includes a shrub syrup made from grilled peaches and Thai basi?  The only challenge is that making your own shrub syrups requires a fair amount of commitment as many of them have to age for at least three to four weeks (though he does provide some recipes that can be made in much shorter times). On top of that, some of the drink recipes include other syrups or infusions that are also fairly labor intensives.

This book is a huge amount of fun.  The recipes are creative, the text is engaging and I'd love to try pretty much every cocktail listed.  For a bar with a serious mixology program, this would be a fantastic resource.  For all but the most ambitious home-mixologists, though, it would be pretty daunting. That being said, there are a few bottled shrub syrups out there, so I might just take a few of these recipes for a spin with some of those.

Bitters & Shrub Syrup Cocktails by Warren Bobrow
Fair Winds Press ($22)
Releases May 1 but is available for pre-order on Amazon


Fire Water: Experimental Smoked Whiskeys by Darek Bell

Another new book that is even more focused on industry professionals is Darek Bell's Fire Water: Experimental Smoked Whiskeys.  Bell is the owner of the Corsair Distillery and is obsessed with integrating smoke into his whiskeys. Bell goes in depth with instructions about the various ways to make smoked whiskeys and then reviews and analyzes dozens of woods, barks, roots and herbs that can be used impart smoke.

This is a book that should be of great interest to craft distillers. One of the benefits of smoked whiskey, which Bell acknowledges, is that it makes very young whiskey more palatable (think Balcones Brimstone, Bruichladdich PC5, etc.) so it's a perfect fit for craft distillers who are trying to do something innovative but need to get product on the market.

As to the non-distiller, for me, it's always fun to read something by someone so dedicated to their craft, but unless you're a real distilling geek, it's probably more detail than you would want. Hopefully, it will inspire some distillers and in a few years, we will see a new generation of smoked whiskeys.

Fire Water: Experimental Smoked Whiskeys by Darek Bell ($30)


Thanks to Bobrow and Bell for copies of their books.

Charbay's Amador Hop Flavored Whiskey

Charbay is probably my favorite craft distillery with their bold, hoppy whiskeys, so I'm always excited to try a new whiskey from them. Their newest hop flavored whiskey was bottled for Trinchero Family Estates (makers of Sutter Home Wine) under the label Amador Whiskey Co. (not to be confused with Amador Distillery, which was responsible for bottling the Corti Brothers Exquisite Whiskey I enjoyed last year).

According to the hang-tag, the Amador Whiskey is a blend of 60% straight malt whiskey and 40% hop flavored whiskey distilled from an IPA (the front label confusingly states "straight hop-flavored whiskey" which is a bit of an oxymoron). The two components were aged separately for over two years in French oak and then married in Chardonnay barrels for another year.  They made ten barrels total.

Amador Hop-Flavored Whiskey, Batch 1, Barrel 2, Bottled June, 2014,
48% abv ($100)

The nose is bold and hoppy with fresh mint leaves.  The palate comes on sweet and syrupy with wildflower honey and some vanilla notes making it almost Scotch-like at the end of the palate. Then it explodes with hops before trailing off into an intensely long finish with more hops and spice.  It finally settles into the traditional, hoppy Charbay finish.

I'm a big fan of these hopped whiskeys, and I really enjoyed this one.  It's similar to Charbay's R5 (which may well have been one of the components) though it's a bit more refined.  It might have some more age on it, or it could be the influence of the straight malt. In any case, if you're a fan of hop flavored whiskey, this is definitely one to check out.

LA's Only Whiskey: Slow Hand Whiskey from Greenbar Distillery

The growth craft distilleries over the last five years has been nothing short of phenomenal.  My list of whiskey distilleries includes over 300 across the country, including distilleries in every state except Hawaii.  Metro areas like Portland, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area have scads of distilleries making whiskey. Los Angeles has one.

The Greenbar Distillery has existed as a company making infusions since 2004, but in 2012, they opened a distillery in a warehouse space on the east side of downtown LA.  They make a wide variety of spirits, from rum to liqueurs.  Everything they make is organic and everything is made in-house except for their tequila, which is made in Mexico.  This month, they are coming out with their first aged whiskeys and opening a new tasting room that will offer tours and samples.  Melkon Khosrovian, who runs the distillery with his wife Litty Mathew, invited me to see the tour and taste some samples.

Last year, Greenbar released Slow Hand White Whiskey, a whiskey made from an oat, barley and spelt mash.  For their aged whiskey, they wanted something a bit different, so they went for a single malt distilled in a column still to a lower proof than their white whiskey.  Khosrovian isn't a fan of small barrels so he went in the other direction entirely, aging the whiskey in a massive, medium toasted 1,000 gallon French oak tank.  To spice things up a bit, he added wood cubes made from hickory, mulberry, hard maple, red oak and grapewood.  He wouldn't tell me how long new whiskey is aged, but it's obviously young since they've only been distilling for two years.

The aged whiskey is slated for release later this month in regular and cask strength expressions.  I tried those along with the white whiskey that is already on the market.


Slow Hand White Whiskey, 40% abv. ($35)

The nose has soft new make notes with some vanilla and peppercorns.  On the palate, it's surprisingly delicate and less new makey than the nose.  It's very light and sweet but it lacks much in the way of character.  There's a slight acidity at the end of the palate that trails into the finish where it's joined by some of the peppery notes from the nose.  As far as white whiskey goes, this isn't bad; there's just not much to it flavor-wise. Of course, I don't typically drink white whiskey, so keep that in mind (though I have to say, I'm not sure who does).


Slow Hand Six Woods Malt Organic Whiskey, 42% abv

This is not on the market yet, but I was told it would likely retail for under $50.

The nose has really nice wood grain notes, like an unfinished bookshelf; once it sits a bit, it develops some pine.  The palate is very light with wood notes.  It's less new makey than I would expect for something that is quite young, but it isn't big on flavor.  There's a hint of spice and a hint of citrus, but they are very subtle.  The finish leaves a nice wood note on the nose but only an alcoholic tinge on the palate.  Letting it sit out for a while, it develops a bit more with some mint on the palate and less alcohol on the finish.


Slow Hand Six Woods Malt Organic Whiskey Cask Strength, 57.5% abv

This is not on the market yet, but I was told it would retail for around $60.

The nose on this one has wood and spice and then, after some time in the glass, sweet candy notes with some fruit.  The palate is sweet with vanilla, fruit and wood, then spice; with some air, it develops a distinctive sweet milk chocolate note.  The finish is short but has a nice balance of sweet and spicy. This is quite drinkable, and air really opens it up, so give it a decent amount of time in the glass. 

The cask strength malt is definitely the best of the bunch here.  It's an interesting craft whiskey and one that shows promise, but as with so much craft whiskey, it has the taste of an experiment that's not quite complete.

LA folks interested in these whiskeys can sample them by taking a distillery tour, which is also a great way to see a working distillery without leaving town.  The $12 fee includes up to six sample pours, and their new tasting room is a really nice, open space.  Tours are by reservation only at 5, 6 and 7:00, Tuesdays through Saturdays. You can sign up for tours on their website, but don't bring llamas; they seem to have a problem with llamas.

Cut Spike: An American Scotch in Nebraska

Scotch style single malt is not only made in Scotland.  High quality single malts rivaling the best of Scotland have been made for years in Japan, and more recently, quality single malts have come to us from India and Taiwan, but not the US.

Why can't American distilleries make high quality single malts in the Scotch style?  Part of the answer is in our regulations. While Scotch style single malts are aged in used barrels, American malt whiskey, like bourbon and rye, is required to be aged in new, charred oak barrels.  The problem is that barley is much less bold than sweet corn or spicy rye, and its flavors tend to be buried by the new wood. Add to that the fact that Scotland (and most other jurisdictions making single malt) require three years of aging whereas the US has no minimum, and you can start to understand why most American malt whiskey tastes nothing like Scotch, even when the producers are trying to mimic it. (Americans could age malt in used barrels and call it "whiskey distilled from malt mash" but that designation somehow seems less appealing than "single malt whiskey.")

Knowing all of this, I was a bit skeptical when K&L spirits buyer David Driscoll told me there was a distillery in Nebraska making single malt whiskey that tasted like Scotch.  David is a great guy and one of my favorite retailers, but let's face it, he is a bit excitable.  This is a guy who sources some of the best spirits on the market, but his talents are such that he could probably unload Seagram's 7 by the caseload as the latest budget retro-fad. (And if he ever goes into political advertising, watch out!)

A few days later, I received a sample of Cut Spike Single Malt, a two year old whiskey made outside of Omaha.  Cut Spike is made from barley that comes from Rahr Malting in Minnesota, one of the largest malting companies in the United States.  Like many craft distillers, Cut Spike gets their fermented wash from a brewery, in this case, their sister company, the Lucky Bucket Brewing Company. Their stills are made by Forsythes in Scotland, and they use a variety of casks ranging from lightly to heavily charred.

I've never heard anyone compare Omaha to the Scottish Highlands, but I figured I'd give it a try.  Wow!  This was by far the best American single malt I'd ever tasted, and the only one that could pass for Scotch.  In fact, I certainly would have guessed it was Scotch in a blind tasting.  It was fruity and perfumey on the nose with a touch of milk chocolate.  The palate was sweet, if a bit thin, with bubblegum which faded to malt and it had a light, fruity finish.  The flavor was reminiscent of Balvenie with its light, fruity nose and slight chocolate note. I had no idea how they tamped down on the raw wood notes.

While this was great for an American malt, it wasn't great Scotch. It was too sweet and thin on the palate, so while Cut Spike had successfully made a Scotch like whiskey, it was a decent one, not a great one.

After my initial tasting, I got an email from Driscoll.  The bottles had arrived, but they weren't quite the same.  Cut Spike had changed their filtration method.  He still liked it, but I told him I wasn't able to review a sample that was different than the product being offered, so he kindly sent me a bottle of the new stuff.


Cut Spike Single Malt, Batch 1, 2 years old, 43% abv ($60)

The nose is malty.  The palate comes on a bit raw with some alcohol notes, then it turns nicely malty with some floral/perfume notes and some sweetness. The finish is sweet and floral with malt in the background. Overall, it's nicely balanced between sweet and malty notes.

Interestingly, this new batch is a very different from the previous one, though it's of comparable quality.  It's less sweet and less thin on the palate, which is an improvement, but it also has some of those raw notes that are typical of young, American whiskeys.  Those are the notes that I was surprised were absent from the earlier sample.  In this batch, they aren't present in an amount that is off putting, but they are there. 

Overall, I think I like this batch better, though unlike the previous sample, I would be unlikely to mistake this for a single malt Scotch. Tasting blind, I might guess that it was a good Scotch single grain whiskey.  And both samples are better than any other American malt I've had (excluding the hopped malt whiskeys as that's a whole different category).

I have to hand it to Cut Spike. They are clearly on to something, though they haven't nailed it yet. Much like the two year old  Willett Rye, this was good, not great, but it made me very excited to try it at five or ten years old.

Distilled Beer: White Christmas and Whipnose Whiskey

Since I'm such a big fan of Charbay, the hopped whiskey distilled from bottle ready beer, I thought I'd sample a few more distilled beers.

Anchor White Christmas, 45% abv ($30)

Anchor is, of course, a brewery and a distillery, so it would make sense for them to distill some beer.  This release for the 2013 holiday season was a distillation of their Christmas Ale.  It's not labeled as a whiskey, likely meaning that it was never stored in oak, just distilled and bottled.  It was initially released at $60, but K&L has it marked down to $30 (like any holiday gift that didn't sell).

The nose is very new makey with a touch of hops. The palate has mild new make notes with just a touch of hops.  The finish has peppermint and beer. This has some nice flavors but the pure new make qualities dominate the beer notes.  I'd pass on this one.



Whipnose Whiskey, Seven Stills Distillery, 47% abv. ($36 for a 375 ml bottle)

Whipnose Whiskey, from Seven Stills Distillery in San Francisco is a distillation of Pacific Brewing Laboratory's Whipnose IPA.  Seven Stills distilled the beer without adding anything to it.  The beer includes five malts (2-Row barley, Crystal 15, Rye Malt, Aromatic Malt (Amber 50) and Belgian Cara-Pils), four types of hops (Simcoe, Centenial, Cascade, Chinook) and maple sugar. Seven Stills then ages it for six months in 5 gallon new charred oak barrels.

The nose is full of beer; spicy and hoppy. It's very similar to Charbay's R5.  The palate is also beer heavy with a discernible hops; it even has a prickly mouthfeel as if it were slightly carbonated.  It definitely has a young taste to it, a bit raw and new makey, again not unlike Charbay's R5 and S whiskeys, but the strong hoppy taste mitigates some of that youth. The finish is exactly what you would expect after a good IPA, slightly bitter and a bit hoppy.

I'm not sure I've ever had a whiskey that tastes this much like beer.  If you're a fan of IPAs or of the Charbay whiskeys, I'd definitely recommend it.  It's got some rough edges, but it's bursting with flavor.

I really like the flavor of distilled beer.  I'm hoping we will see more an more of these on the market.

Spoiler Alert: Fall Whiskeys Revealed

Fall is the big whiskey season when all the special release whiskeys come out, but because of the TTB label approval process, we get a preview of them in spring and summer.  Here are some of what awaits us this fall (other than Zachory Boone):

• Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch.  Last years Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon was one of the best bourbons of the year.  This year's will be composed of 18 year old OBSV, 13 year old OBSK and 13 year old OESK, the same recipes in last year's edition but at different ages.
• Woodford Reserve Master's Collection.  It looks like this year's Woodford Master's Collection will be a repeat of the Woodford Rye Whiskey experiment of two years ago, except with barley malt.  There will be a single malt whiskey aged in used barrels in the Scotch style and a straight malt with corn as a secondary grain aged in new charred oak in the American style.
• Masterson's.  35 Maple, the bottler of Masterson's Rye will be importing a 12 year old straight wheat whiskey and a ten year old straight barley whiskey from Canada.
• Redbreast 21.  A 21 year old version of Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

Stay tuned for more new releases as I find them.

Hell Hath No Fury: A Craft Distiller Responds

Last week, as part of my Craft Whiskey Week series, I published a review of two new peated whiskeys from the Lost Spirits Distillery in Salinas, California. I thought the whiskeys showed promise, but overall, I thought they were too young, possessing some of the new makey characteristics that are common in underaged whiskeys.

Distillery owner Bryan Davis posted a lengthy response in the comments that I thought was worth publishing in its entirety, both to allow him to have his say and because I think it's somewhat emblematic of the way that certain distillers respond to anyone who doesn't think their product is the best thing ever to pass through a still:

This morning I woke up after reading your blog post and contemplated closing the distillery that Joanne and I spent the last 3 years of our blood sweat and tears to build. Then I poured myself a glass of Leviathan and the forthcoming Paradiso and said HELL NO I love this whiskey. It was at that moment that I decided to write a short rebuttal to your opinion of my work.

The criticism that a spirit is too young is insulting.

A spirit can be too hot for your taste. A spirit can be too sweet for your taste. A spirit can be to bitter for your taste. You can find notes in it that you don’t like or find awkward. That’s fine and you’re entitled to your opinion, but to say its too young is an undefined criticism.

You owe it to your readers to say why you don’t like it. Hell you owe it me, the person who slaved for years to make the whiskey you panned for no defined reason. Its like saying I am in my thirties and therefore too young to make whiskey. I, like the art I created, stand or fall on my own merits, not my age.

I further take issue with the statement “its too young” since it pretends to be an objective statement when we all know opinions about whiskeys are inherently subjective.

I would also point out that many trained palettes that have sampled my work see what I see in it and love it and support it. I am not saying you have to like it but I am saying the criticism “its to young” pretends to be objective when its not, and is really just a vindictive and mean way of saying I don’t care for it.

Why I did it:
A spirit derives its reason for being based upon what it does that is new, interesting, and unusual. If Leviathan tasted like Laphroag it would have no reason for being since Laphroaig already exists. I made bold changes to the production process, the wood, the peat, and the techniques used to age it. The ester profile and flavor density is off the charts. Is it conventional NO – it’s not supposed to be.

I think Leviathan has a lot to say, you don’t have to like what it says, but don’t tell people not to listen because it’s too young to speak – say why you don’t
like what it says.

Why “it’s too young” is a dangerous thing to say. Big distilleries are pushing the message that craft products are too young… why because they are trying to bankrupt them by discouraging people from trying the whiskeys at all. When you repeat their garbage you are being played like a pawn of the multinational corporations that don’t want to see a world with 10,000 distilleries in it. For them this is business. For me this is art, and the world will be richer place if we don’t let them push their corporate PR strategy down our throats.

For my part, I'm confident that my readers understand what I mean when I say something is "too young" and "new makey," and I think Mr. Davis does too since in this interview with K&L, he himself admits of these whiskeys, "We don't really want to tell you how long they've been in the barrel...obviously they're relatively young and it's not our strongest suit."

So what say you good readers? Is Sku nothing but a shill for corporate whiskey (something that I'm guessing Brown Forman, among others, would have a hard time believing)?

Craft Whiskey Week - Lost Spirits Seascape and Leviathan

A few years ago, I reviewed Obsello, a really nice absinthe made in Spain by expat American Bryan Davis (aka B. Alex). Davis sold his absinthe distillery and moved back to California to open Lost Spirits Distillery in Salinas.

Inspired by his first taste of Octomore, Bryan and his business partner Joanne, set out to make a peated American single malt. Using California barley and Canadian peat, they released their last two whiskeys last month: Seascape and Leviathan I.

Both whiskeys are cask strength, non-chill filtered, single cask bottlings that are aged in French oak late harvest Cabernet casks from a Napa winery. The difference is in peating level, with the Leviathan being peated to an Octomore-like 110 ppm and the Seascape being a somewhat more lightly peated 55 ppm, though that still puts it solidly in the Ardbeg/Lagavulin level. Given that they are cask strength, single barrel bottlings, the abv varies.


Lost Spirits Seascape, Cask 1, 53% abv ($45)

The nose on this is very new makey with some nice, mezcal like smokiness. The palate hits you right off with smoke, but not like a peated Scotch, more like inhaling the fumes from a camp fire with a little bit of sweet mint in the background. The finish is a day old ashtray. This stuff is way too young, but it's engaging and the smoky quality is nice. Nothing picks up new make like a bunch of peat.


Lost Spirits Leviathan I, Cask 2, 53% abv ($55)

The nose on the Leviathan has a new make quality similar to the Seascape, very malty, also with some smoky mezcal notes. On the palate I expected a peat assault, but it's more of that smoky mezcal. The finish has peat notes, but also lots of dark chocolate. The finish has barbecue ash. If I was blind tasting this, I most certainly would have guessed that it was a smoky mezcal.

Like lots of the better craft whiskeys out there, these show promise but are way too young tasting. Remember, most heavily peated Scotch ages at least five years. I'm guessing these are under a year. If you like smoky mezcal, you might enjoy these, but they are much closer to that (which is usually unaged) than a traditional peated whiskey.

Whiskey Wednesday: Ralfy on American Whiskey

Hellooooo Malt Masticators. If that doesn't mean anything to you (you need to imagine a thick Scottish accent), then you need to know about Ralfy, the king of the ten minute Scotch tasting video on YouTube. He has recently started an entertaining series of reviews of American Whiskey that is a must watch for any American whiskey fan. Ralfy does his homework more than most reviewers, especially those stepping from single malts into the treacherous and confusing category of American whiskey, and it's fascinating to hear his Scottish perspective on our whiskeys.

Included in his reviews so far have been Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Rittenhouse 100, George Dickel No. 12, Buffalo Trace, McAfee's Benchmark Bourbon, Jack Daniel's and Gentleman Jack, Knob Creek, Elijah Craig 12, Maker's Mark and Maker's 46 and something called Western Gold Bourbon, which appears to be a German bottling made for Supermarkets. It's a great selection and the videos are a lot of fun so check them out (and if you know, tell me what type of animal had to die to make Ralfy's jacket).




Oh, and last year, I did my own little tribute to His Ralfyness:

Whiskey Wednesday: Tut Tut Tut Tuthilltown

The biggest whiskey news of the past month was that the esteemed Scotch company William Grant & Sons had purchased the Hudson whiskey line from Tuthilltown Distilleries. Tuthilltown is an upstate New York microdistillery that started up in the early 2000s. Like most micros, they started with white sprits such as vodka and eau de vie. They were also one of the first microdistilleries to make a corn whiskey, and I reviewed their first whiskey product: Old Gristmill Corn Whiskey. Eventually, they started ageing spirit and now have a line up that includes two ryes, their very young "Baby Bourbon," a four grain Bourbon, and a single malt, as well as an aged rum and the corn whiskey (now called Hudson New York Corn Whiskey).

William Grant & Sons is a major Scotch company. They own two of the world's most popular distilleries, Glenfiddich and The Balvenie, and produce Grant's Blended Scotch. They also own Hendrick's Gin and are the US distributor for Stolichnaya Vodka.

There has been increasing publicity around American craft distilleries, but this is the first time that a major spirits company has purchased a craft brand which is, to (almost) quote the Vice-President, "a big friggin' deal." It is important to note that Grant purchased the brand, not the distillery. Tuthilltown will still make the whiskey and will continue to own the products that are not part of the Hudson line.

It's possible that this single purchase will change the economic landscape for craft distilleries, and this could be for better or for worse. On the one hand, this opens the possibility of some real financial backing for a microdistillery. Small start-up distilleries are sorely in need of funds and having some financial security could free up the distillers by decreasing the pressure to put out immature products and, instead, let barrel ageing run its course. On the other hand, the possibility of a corporate buy out could inspire people to start entering the market not as artisans but as speculators, trying to do just well enough to land a deal with a corporate sugar-daddy. Only time will tell how this shakes out, but it certainly is big news.

Since I haven't tasted any Tuthilltowns since my initial corn whiskey tasting, I thought I would sit down to a trio of their Hudson whiskeys. All of Tuthilltown's whiskeys are sold in 375 ml bottles (half bottles) and those I'm tasting today all cost in the $50 range.

Tasting


Hudson Baby Bourbon, distilled 2010, 46% abv

The aroma I get has a distinct rye spice to it, which is odd given that Hudson's Baby Bourbon is made from a 100% corn mashbill (the only 100% corn Bourbon I know of). On the palate, this is definitely a very young whiskey. You can tell by the rawness. It's got some fruit as well, very much akin to the fruit in Wasmund's Single Malt. Adding water makes it unpleasantly soapy. Tasting blind, I'm pretty sure I would guess rye or maybe American malt, but not Bourbon. It's interesting but has some rough edges.


Hudson Manhattan Rye, distilled 2008, 46% abv

The Manhattan Rye has a very nice nose. It's a very tempered rye spice, very subtle and sophisticated, particularly for another very young whiskey. The flavor has a lot of spice, but it's different than traditional rye spice. I taste a lot of South Asian flavors, like a big curry whiskey. Rye, with its strong flavors, works better with a very young age, much as very young peated Scotches work better than young Scotches with other flavor profiles; the strong flavors make up for some of the rawness that comes from youth. This does very well with a few drops of water which takes off the edge and highlights the rye.


Hudson Single Malt, distilled 2009, 46% abv

The aroma is fruity with some spice (spice seems to be a Hudson characteristic). Very nice flavor with lots of pine/fir type flavors and some licorice, very herbal stuff. This one should be taken straight as water dilutes the flavor and adds some bitterness.


Interestingly, these three whiskeys taste more like each other than they do other whiskeys in their respective categories. Perhaps that has to do with the type of wood Tuthilltown is using to age them. While I thought the Baby Bourbon was just too young (maybe they should rename it Fetal Bourbon), I enjoyed both the single malt and the rye and would recommend them as unique expressions, though it would be hard for me to say they were worth the price of $50 per half bottle (maybe the Grants can take the price down a notch).

Whiskey Wednesday: Wasmund's Rappahannock Single Malt

The second in our series of Virginia whiskies is a microdistillery single malt. Even with new microdistilleries opening every day, there are only a handful of microdistilled whiskies that are available on local liquor store shelves. Rick Wasmund's Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville, Virginia, was one of the earlier micro start-ups and has been producing one of the more available and more unique American whiskies. Copper Fox's Wasmund's Rappahannock Single Malt (Rappahannock is the county where Sperryville is located) is a four month old, pot distilled, non-chill filtered malt aged with apple and cherrywood chips. The use of these alternative woods is unusual in whisky. But at four months old, can there really be any impact on the flavor? We'll see.

Tasting

Wasmund's Rappahannock Single Malt Whisky, 4 months old, 48% alcohol ($40-$50).

On the nose it actually smells a bit more Scotch-like than other American single malts I've had. There is sweetness, fruit and a bit of smoke, though not a peaty smoke that you would encounter in Scotch. The flavor is a bit harsh, moreso than it should be at this alcohol level. There is some interesting stuff going on in here though, with the continuing intertwined dance of the fruit and smoke, which make come from the use of fruit wood in the kiln which dries the malted barley. And in the back of the palate, there is still a clear malt that links it to Scotland.

This is a fascinating and unique malt with a lot of character for something so young. There is an intriguing flavor profile here that could really be amazing, perhaps with more time in the barrel.

Copper Fox is definitely a micro distillery to watch. In the coming weeks I'll try their new rye whiskey.

The Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries & Brands

PLEASE NOTE: This list has moved. Click here for your up to date list of all American whiskey distilleries and brands.

Whiskey Wednesday: Beyond Kentucky - Whiskey Distilleries in the Other 49

Last week we examined the nine distilleries in Kentucky. This week, we attempt to create an exhaustive list of every non-Kentucky whiskey distillery in the US. Unlike many of the Kentucky distilleries, most of these distilleries market their whiskey under their own name.

Looking at this list, it is amazing how the microdistillery category has grown. A couple of years ago, I gathered all of the microdistilled whiskey I could find for my American single malt tasting and ended up with four. The list below shows the explosion of these distilleries along with the diversity of whiskies they are producing, which includes nearly every recognized American whiskey category.

Outside of the Tennessee Whiskey distilleries, A. Smith Bowman and Lawrenceburg, Indiana, all of the distilleries on the list below are micros, and I only included those that are actually selling whiskey. There are many other projects that are just starting up or waiting to get their first bottles on the market. In fact, with new micros popping up all the time, this list was much harder to pin down than the Kentucky list. After a lot of work, though, I believe we've crated one of the few complete lists of microdistillery whiskey. If, however, you know of any that I missed, please drop me a line or a comment.

You may notice that many of these microdistilleries produce corn whiskey. That's because corn whiskey is the only type of American whiskey that does not have to be aged. This quality makes it attractive to start-up whiskey distilleries because they can put it right on the market while they are waiting for other whiskies to mature.


California

Anchor Distilling: The makers of Anchor Steam Beer in San Francisco opened one of the first microdistilleries, making single malt rye whiskey under the name Old Potrero.

C&C Shine: This Monterey area distillery is somewhat of a novelty line, making unaged rye spirit that is sold with a small barrel or a piece of oak for ageing. They don't label it whiskey, probably because it is unaged, but once you age it at home, whiskey is what you have. Along with their Monterey Rye Spirit, they make Clear Madness California Moonshine, a corn-based spirit.

Charbay: This Napa Valley distillery has issued limited releases at extravagant prices of a single malt and a hop flavored whiskey.

St. George: Like many of the micros, St. George makes vodka and brandies as well as a very nice Absinthe. They make a single malt which is probably the fruitiest whiskey I've ever tasted.

St. James: Located in Irwindale, California, St. James Spirits makes Peregrine Rock single malt.


Colorado

Colorado Gold: A new micro in Colorado's Western Slope, they are currently making barely aged corn whiskey and have plans for Bourbon.

Peachstreet Distillers: This Colorado distillery has recently marketed a two year old Bourbon labeled Colorado Straight Bourbon.

Stranahan's: One of the most well reviewed of the new microdistilleries, Stranhan's makes its single malt Colorado Whiskey from local barley.


Indiana

Lawrenceburg (Angostura/CL World Brands Ltd.): Angostura, of bitters fame, owns this Indiana distillery. While they don't market any of their own whiskey, the distillery produces Cougar Bourbon and rye for the Foster's Corporation. Cougar is an export-only whiskey market primarily in Australia. Lawrenceburg is also said to make the whiskey component of Diageo's Seagram's 7 Crown blended whiskey.


Kansas

High Plains Distillery: This Kansas distillery makes Most Wanted Kansas Bourbon and has also made a single malt, a rye and a wheat whiskey.


Massachusetts

Triple Eight Distillery: This Nantuckett distillery's single malt, known as Notch (i.e., Not Scotch) is the most expensive new American whiskey I know of at $888 (or triple eight, get it?). They also have made Nor'Easter Bourbon, though I don't know if that whiskey is still in production.


Michigan

New Holland Brewing Co.: Another brewery which has branched out to whiskey, New Holland makes Zepplin Bend Straight Malt Whiskey.


New York

Tuthilltown: Tuthilltown has recently expanded distribution of their line of whiskies which includes: Hudson Baby Bourbon, Hudson Four Grain Bourbon, Hudson Manhattan Rye, Hudson Single Malt and Old Gristmill Corn Whiskey.


Ohio

Woodstone Creek Distillery: A Cincinnati winery recently turned distillery, Woodstone Creek makes a Bourbon, a malt whiskey and a blended whiskey.


Oregon

Cascade Peak Spirits: This organic vodka distillery has released a rye whiskey and is also working on Bourbon and corn whiskey.

Clear Creek: This Portland distillery uses imported Scottish barley to make America's most peated whiskey, McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt.

Edgefield: One of the earlier entries in the micro world, but still hard to find, this Oregon distillery makes Hogshead single malt and Devil's Bit rye whiskey.

Rogue: Following Anchor's lead, this popular brewery recently jumped into distilling with Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey, a four grain whiskey make in Oregon.


Tennessee

George Dickel (Diageo). The other Tennessee Whiskey, owned by liquor giant Diageo, is my favorite of the Tennessians.

Jack Daniel's (Brown Forman). Makers of the world's top selling whiskey, Jack Daniels is, for much of the world, the first and last name in whiskey, not to mention t-shirts, barbecue sauce and other trinkets.


Virginia

A. Smith Bowman(Buffalo Trace/Sazerac Co.): A. Smith Bowman is your source for Virgina Gentleman, the only Virginia Bourbon. This venerable distillery has been owned by Kentucky's Buffalo Trace since 2003.

Copper Fox Distillery: This Sperryville, Virginia distillery makes Wasmund's single malt whiskey and an unaged rye spirit; they are working on a rye whiskey.

Virginia Moonshine: Makers of Virginia Lightening corn whiskey and Kopper Kettle three grain whiskey.


West Virginia

Isaiah Morgan Distillery: A winery that makes an unaged rye as well as Southern Moon, an unaged corn liquor.

West Virginia Distilling Co.: Claiming the banner of legal moonshine, this Morgantown, West Virginia distillery produces corn whiskey to use in its Mountain Moonshine Spirit Whiskey.


Wisconsin

Death's Door Spirits: This distillery only recently started marketing its Death's Door Wheat Whiskey.


As far as I know, this list, combined with last week's list of Kentucky distilleries, constitutes an up to date list of every distillery in the United States that is currently distilling and selling whiskey. There will be more to come, as I know there are distilleries starting up, ageing whiskey and even planing releases in Maine, Texas, Utah and Washington state, among other places. Clearly, the American microdistillery movement is in full swing and there is lots out there to taste and experiment with.


In looking at the last two weeks of lists, you may ask, what about Black Maple Hill, Wathen's, Michter's and all of those other Bourbons I see on the shelf of my local liquor store? We will answer all of those questions next week with our list of Independent bottlers. Stay tuned.

St. George Drinking Chocolate

Now, I love whiskey and I love chocolate, so when Recchiuti Chocolates suggested a hot chocolate with St. George single malt whiskey, I was all over it.

Recchiuti is a San Francisco based chocolatier, widely credited with introducing the now ubiquitous salted caramel to the US, and also a maker of wonderful homemade marshmallows and other candies. As you may recall from my review of American single malts, St. George is single malt whiskey made by St. George spirits, just across the Bay from Recchiuti, in Alameda, California. Now, as a malt whiskey, St. George was a bit too fruity for me, but as a hot chocolate additive, I thought it just might work.

So, I whipped up a batch of my drinking chocolate, using Valrhona chocolate, added a shot of St. George and topped it off with on of the excellent vanilla marshmallows from BonBon Bars.

Sounds heavenly, right? It was good but a bit too rich. Partly, my hot chocolate is super-duper hot chocolate. The super chocolatyness and the whiskey was a bit overpowering, though the whiskey's fruit flavor did do well with the strong, dark chocolate component. If I do it again, I'd probably add a bit more milk to cut the chocolate strength, which should make it just right for a cool winter's day.

Colorado Whiskey Comes to California

When I recently reviewed American single malts, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey was the best of the four I tasted. At the time, Stranahan's wasn't available in California, but last weekend, I saw a bottle at Wine & Liquor Depot in Van Nuys. Now, I don't know that Stranahan's is worth the $50.00 (approx.) price tag, but if you are curious about American single malts, you can't do much better.

Wine & Liquor Depot
Saticoy, west of Balboa, Van Nuys

Whiskey Wednesday: American Single Malts

Whiskey Wednesday will take the day off next week for the July 4th holiday, and what better way to get ready to celebrate than with some American single malts.

American what?

Scotch single malts sure, Japanese even, but American? Yes Virginia, there is a burgeoning American single malt movement. They are being made in small batches, here and there, across the nation. They can be difficult to find, but I've tracked down as many as I could to bring you this round up of American single malt whiskey.

St. George Single Malt Whiskey
St. George Spirits, Alameda, California
43% alcohol

It is hard to imagine that one of the effects of the massive closure of military bases in the San Francisco bay area would be the manufacture of fine spirits, but so it is. St. George Spirits operates out of an old military hanger in Alameda (near Oakland), making vodka, liqueurs and brandy as well as its St. George Single Malt.

Speaking of brandy, St. George tastes like fruit brandy. I don't mean it's whiskey that tastes slightly of brandy, I mean it tastes like someone tapped the wrong cask! Sniff this stuff and you get a strong whiff of fruit, I'd say pear, like a fruit brandy or a sweet dessert Riesling. When you take a sip, you expect sweetness, but instead get an immediate jolt of spice which drives the fruit to the background. Then, when you swallow, you get that fruit back in the aftertaste (oh, sorry, I mean the finish). The mouthfeel is syrupy, which detracts some from the whole experience, leaving a coating on the tongue.

Ignore the anglophilia of this bottle's name and label, complete with dragon and coat of arms. Don't compare this to a scotch...it ain't that and it really shouldn't be trying to be that. What is it? A pleasant though curious whiskey full of fruit and spice. A good one for the brandy drinker or the curious wine buff, but not necessarily one that will please the typical whiskey aficionado.

To sum up: I Can't Believe it's not Pear Brandy.


Peregrine Rock California Pure Single Malt Whisky
St. James Spirits, Irwindale, California
40% alcohol

A hometown single malt, St. James Spirits makes fruit brandies, rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits in Irwindale, just east of Los Angeles. Their single malt is made from peated Highland Scottish barley aged in oak bourbon casks. Oh, and a portion of the proceeds go save the endangered Peregrine Falcon. Whiskey with a conscience...only in Los Angeles.

Peregrine Rock is a sort of hybrid. The aroma is floral, a bit Irish, a bit bourbon, though with some fruit. The taste is like a cross between Irish and bourbon, smooth but sweet, with light fruit tastes and vanilla; I don't taste any real smoke. Nothing about this whiskey really speaks to me. The flavor is pretty unexceptional, missing the complexity of a good whiskey.

To sum up: Needs work.

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey
Denver, Colorado
Aged 2 years, 47% alcohol

Stranahan's doesn't use the term single malt, but it is a barley-based whiskey. Unlike the other distilleries listed here, Stranahan's only makes whiskey, and their whiskey is all-Colorado, using only local water and local barley. It's even tough to find a bottle outside of the state (I was lucky enough to snag some on a trip to Denver).

It's Bourbony but light. It has some strong banana flavor and some vanilla. I would guess that this does well over ice on a hot summer's day on the Front Range. Overall, a nice whiskey, and again, nothing like scotch. Lots of potential here and I'll be watching their future bottlings.

There is some weirdness going on with these Colorado folks. The bottle is capped with a flimsy metal shot glass, presumably so one can leave the store and get right to drinkin'. The label on my bottle notes that while it was being distilled the distiller was "listening to Bjork." Well, this may be good whiskey, but that's just creepy.

To sum up: I like it.

McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt
Clear Creek Distillery, Portland, Oregon
Aged 3 years, 40% alcohol

Clear Creek Distillery's McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt is one of the better known American single malts, having won some praise from critics. Along with whiskey, the distillery makes a wide variety of fruit brandies. Their single malt is made from peat-malted Scottish barley.

There is smoke there, but it doesn't taste like a peated scotch, where you inhale the strong smoke of a campfire or the char of the grill. It's more like the carbony smoke of "Oh shit, something's burning!" Maybe burnt barley stuck to the bottom of the pot. Smoke and burnt are different flavors...smoke is good, burnt is bad. In addition, there's not much under the smoke flavor-wise, none of the other tastes you would need to put the smoke in its place.

To sum up: Smoke but no fire.

Conclusions

Well, let's just say that the whiskey barons of Scotland shouldn't be fretting over their station in life. These American malts are young and underdeveloped. Flavor-wise, they are a bit of a hodge podge and haven't yet matured into something with a consistent character (either across distilleries or in a single bottle). They need some time and some more R&D to develop the complexity that I enjoy in a whiskey.

We should remember, though, that this experiment is still young. Overall, I'm proud of these American single malt pioneers. In grand American tradition, they have taken a legacy and turned it on its head. They aren't trying to be New Scotland but branching out in their own directions. There is some real potential here for a unique American whiskey to be born. They just haven't quite gotten there yet.

So let's raise a glass (or a metal jigger) to the diversity and creativity of the American single malt. Here's to many future July 4th celebrations with new and different American malts!