Everson Royce Old Weller 107

Everson Royce, in Pasadena, had a Henry McKenna that I really liked so I was interested to try their pick of an Old Weller 107.

Old Weller 107, Barrel #07-L-20-L-2-66 (for Everson Royce), 53.5% abv ($29.50)

The nose has some nice woody notes. The palate is rich and chewy with some strawberry and red wine notes.  It's got some nice oak that carries into the finish along with some of the strawberry. Very nice stuff.

Tasting side by side with a standard, off the shelf Weller 107, the Everson Royce pick is richer and more complex with more oak notes. I definitely prefer it to the standard expression, which is pretty good in its own right. These guys seem to make good picks when it comes to private barrels.

Why I Don't Review the BTAC

A reader asked:

How come you never review the BTAC? Every year, they are the hottest releases (along with Pappy) and most other folks seem to review them but not you. What gives?

For those of you who have been spending your hard earned money elsewhere, BTAC is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, the annual release of three bourbons and two ryes: George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17, Sazerac 18 and Thomas H. Handy. Well, there are three reasons I don't review the BTAC anymore (and these all apply to Pappy Van Winkle as well):

1.  I can't get them. I don't have any magic whiskey blogger powers that get me free stuff. While I get the occasional free sample from a small producer, I don't get samples from any of the big whiskey companies. The vast majority of my reviews are from (1) whiskey I bought; or (2) whiskey that a friend shared with me, and like everyone else, I can't get the BTAC. But even if I could get the BTAC, I wouldn't review it because...

2. No one else can get it. It's the proverbial tree falling in the forest.  If you review a whiskey that no one can drink, does it matter? It's true that I do my share of reviews of rare and hard to get whiskeys, but there has to be something interesting or unique about them. I know my readers can't go out and buy a 1930s Maryland rye, but I figure they might want to know what it tastes like. If I can find them, I will also review other hard to get annual releases like Parker's Heritage Collection or Four Roses Small Batch, but the difference between them and BTAC is....

3. The BTAC doesn't change from year to year. I don't review it every year for the same reason I don't review Elijah Crag 12 every year. It's the same whiskey (and for Sazerac 18, which has been in steel tanks for around ten years, it's literally the same whiskey). Sure there are some variations from year to year, but that's true of lots of releases of the same stuff. If you like Stagg or Weller, you'll probably like it every year, plus or minus a year or two, but since you can't find it anyway, who cares?

Now, that being said, there are a number of folks who are able to review the BTAC every year and do a good job of it which is all the more reason for me not to bother with it. For me, it's just not something that's worth the effort.

Sort of Almost Stitzel-Weller: Blade and Bow 22 year old

Blade & Bow is a new series of bourbons released by Diageo under the label "Stitzel-Weller Distillery."  This is, of course, utter bullshit and merely an attempt to capitalize on the hype surrounding Pappy Van Winkle's Stitzel-Weller Distillery which a corporate ancestor of Diageo had the foresight to shut down back in 1992. (If you want to have fun, try to count the mentions of Stitzel-Weller on the Blade & Bow website).

The series includes a non age statement bourbon and a 22 year old, which I review today.  The NAS uses a solera method which Diageo claims includes some Stitzel-Weller bourbon. The 22 year old includes bourbons distilled at Buffalo Trace and the Bernheim Distillery but was "inspired by the passion and craftsmanship of the legendary Stitzel-Weller Distillery." The odd thing is that Buffalo Trace and Bernheim are no slouches when it comes to great bourbons, but I guess they just don't have the cache of Stitzel-Weller.


Blade & Bow 22 year old, 46% abv ($150)

The nose is rich caramel and dry oak; it smells like a lovely, old wheater, much like some of the aged wheaters from Bernheim that were bottled by Willett (though I should note that Diageo has not stated whether this is composed of any wheated bourbons). On the palate, it's very dry and oaky with some acidic notes, and then it just fades away.  You get a quick taste of those old wheaters, but with none of the complexity or strength.  On the finish, there is lots of dusty bourbon with more great caramel and oak.

This has the nose and finish of a great bourbon, but the palate is just average. My guess is this may have been great at cask strength, but they added too much water. Old whiskeys, especially old wheaters (and this definitely tastes like it has some wheated bourbon components), can be very temperamental with water. Too much water breaks up the complexity and dulls the long-slumbering subtleties while giving emphasis to bitter and/or acidic notes. As it is, it's fine bourbon, but the best thing about it is that it hints at some of the great old ones.

Thanks to John Burlowski for the sample.
 

EH Taylor Cured Oak

This is the latest release (and the first new release in quite some time) from Buffalo Trace's EH Taylor series.  Buffalo Trace has stated that it is a 17 year old bourbon (there is no age statement on the label) that was aged in barrels with staves that were air dried for 13 months as opposed to the usual six months. It was aged in Warehouse C, which means it presumably survived the same tornado that hit the distillery's warehouse and produced an earlier bottling in the series.  As with most of the Taylor whiskeys, it is bottled in bond. Suggested retail price was $70, but good luck with that. Going retail price seems to be around $100.
  

E.H. Taylor Cured Oak, BIB, 50% abv ($100)

The nose is sweet and fruity with fresh cherries. The palate starts with a touch of sweetness. The middle palate is grainy with brown rice, and then the desert dry oak sets in which turns bitter.  The bitter palate stays on for the finish, although it does have a nice sweet finish on the nose.  This is fairly good stuff, though quite dry and oaky, and it needs a lot of air.  Straight out of the bottle, it tasted pretty bad; it took some time to develop.  While that's not unusual for older whiskeys, the difference here was more extreme.  I would open it a day before you intend to drink it to give it some exposure to air.

Elmer T. Lee Regular and Commemorative

If you were going to pick the one person most responsible for the bourbon boom, Elmer T. Lee would be a good candidate.  Lee started working for Buffalo Trace (then the George T. Stagg distillery) in 1949 as a maintenance man.  He moved his way up to distillery manager and in 1984, he was responsible for releasing Blanton's, the first widely released single barrel bourbon.  Lee retired as Master Distiller soon after but stayed active with the distillery for decades.  He died in 2013 at the age of 93.

Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel bourbon has been around for years. It's one of the higher rye bourbons from Buffalo Trace.  To commemorate the life of Mr. Lee, Buffalo Trace released a commemorative version of the bourbon at a slightly higher proof.  Since I haven't tasted the regular Elmer in a while, I thought I'd compare it with the Commemorative bottling.  The Commemorative came out last year and has been pretty hard to find, though these days, even the regular Elmer seems pretty scarce.

Elmer T. Lee, 45% ($30)

This has a nice, typical BT style nose with caramel, some spice and a touch of oak. The palate has a balance of sweet, rum like notes and more acidic notes. It's more acidic than I remember from previous bottles (of course, single barrels can always vary).  The finish is acidic, with lemon rind and a bit spicy.  It's a decent and well composed bourbon, though not one that I find particularly exciting. 

Elmer T. Lee Commemorative, 46.5% ($35)

The nose on this one is much more subtle with vanilla notes. The palate begins sweet with some grainy notes and moves into a finish that is pure vanilla.  This one lacks any of the acid of the other bottle and has big vanilla notes throughout so much so that it's a bit of a one noter, though it's certainly not unpleasant.

While these two have a different flavor profile, all in all, I'd say these are of similar quality.  Both are fine but not exceptional.

Thanks to Dan Zimmerman for the samples.

Stupid Pappy Questions

As you all know, Pappy Van Winkle is officially the best bourbon in the world, and...oh, you didn't know that?  Well, it is. It's been declared that by a bunch of very media savvy celebrity chefs, a whole squad of "journalists" and ten thousand internet lists that may or may not have been composed by robots, and we all know how smart robots are...especially about bourbon. Anyway, it's obvious.  You can't find a bottle of Pappy anywhere, so it must be the best.  Even the reliably unexciting 12 and 10 year old Van Winkle bourbons are nowhere to be found.  Pappy has become something like the unholy offspring of Johnnie Walker Blue and a particularly rare Beanie Baby.  It's created an insatiable thirst; well, I shouldn't say thirst, since no one seems to actually drink the stuff but an insatiable desire in everyone from bourbon lovers to folks who wouldn't know E.H. Taylor from Taylor Swift.

In some ways, it's good that Pappy has been officially recognized as the world's best bourbon.  It takes the pressure off folks like me because I know that no one in the general public will pay much attention to my reviews unless I'm talking about Pappy (unless I say something bad about Old Forester Birthday Bourbon - which is apparently a crime punishable by virtual stoning).  It also makes it easy for retailers to sell the stuff they actually have because instead of talking about what it tastes like, they can just say it's like Pappy Van Winkle or, better yet, it beat Pappy in some random tasting. I'm waiting for a new whiskey blogger to rate bourbon on a scale of one to five bottles of Pappy.

But there's a downside as well.  Because many of these new purchasers of Pappy know nothing about bourbon, they have generated a lot of questions.  I get them by email and see them all over the place on-line. They tend to be very detailed questions not about the bourbon or its history, but about the label or its possible value.  While my usual rule is that there are no stupid questions, I fear that when it comes to Pappy, there are no smart ones.  As a service to the new owner of a bottle of Pappy and to save us all a lot of time, I thought I would answer a few of the most common questions right here:

• The label on my Pappy 15 is slightly askew, does this mean anything?
• The fill level on my Pappy 20 is higher than on my Pappy 23, what gives?
• My Pappy has a slightly off white color on the back label.  What does that mean?

This is a category of questions that I call "Is my bottle worth a million dollars?" since that's usually the subtext of the question.  And no, I'm sorry to inform you that your slightly skewed label is not some secret code that this bottle was filled with some superior liquid. Variances in bottling and labeling happen and don't generally improve the quality of the bourbon. However, given the Pappy hype, you probably can sell it to some idiot for a premium if you say it's the special "skewed label" bottle.  Good luck!

• My bottle doesn't have a laser code.  How can I find out how old it is?

Years ago, I posted a guide to deciphering Pappy Van Winkle bottle codes.  If you can't find a bottle code on your bottle, that means one of three things: (1) it's from before 2007 when they started printing the bottle codes; (2) you aren't looking hard enough (it can be very hard to see against the dark liquid and sometimes hides under the label); or (3) the shyster who you bought the bottle from used a sophisticated method (e.g. Windex and a paper towel) to remove the bottle code and convince you that it was a really old bottle and possibly worth a million dollars.

• Can you tell me if this bottle is from 2005 or 2006?

Really?  You need to know the exact date of the bottle?  Why?  No, really, why?  I see this type of question all the time and I can't imagine why it matters. There's really not much difference between a 2005 and 2006 bottling in terms of the whiskey. Given that the Van Winkles sometimes bottled enough for more than one release at a time, it might even be the exact same stuff.  Yet still they ask and in great numbers.

I repeat this a lot, but no one seems to want to hear it.  There's no great way to date a bottle from the mid-2000s.  As I noted on my Pappy Van Winkle Timeline, we know that the address on the label changed from Lawerenceburg to Frankfort in 2002 and that the Pappy 15 year old was first released in 2004.  There weren't any significant changes between those dates and 2007 when they started putting the laser date codes on the bottle.  There were some very minor label changes in that period, but exact dates of when they happened are hard to come by.  The Van Winkles didn't keep track of that kind of thing, and as mentioned above, even if someone knows when they bought the bottle, it might not have been that year's release.  With those caveats, based on TTB data, the Old Rip Van Winkle website appears to have been added to the label around 2004, and some say that raised letters on the front label started appearing around 2006 (though I've never seen any confirmation of that date with reliable evidence).

• Can you tell me where this bottle of Pappy was distilled?

Sure, that's an easy one. It was distilled at Stitzel-Weller...or Bernheim or Buffalo Trace or some combination of those, unless it's really old, in which case it might have been distilled at the Boone Distillery, which no one seems to know anything about but everyone agrees is amazing and probably worth a million dollars.

• Do you want to buy my bottle of Pappy for a million dollars?

No, but I will trade you for my collection of rare armadillo Beanie Babies.

There you go, everything you wanted to know about Pappy but were afraid to ask.  You're welcome!

Sazerac's Funny Numbers

As we all know, there is a shortage of old whiskey.  Whiskey producers are dropping age statements left and right.  Sometimes age statements just disappear, other times they are replaced by something else, like Macallan's color scheme.  Lately, however, it appears that a deceptive new tactic is being practiced by Sazerac, the parent company of the Buffalo Trace, Barton and Bowman distilleries.

Very Old Barton is a popular six year old bourbon available in Kentucky and adjacent states.  It's known and loved for being a high quality, affordable bourbon.  New bottles of Barton no longer say 6 years old, but they still prominently display a 6 on the neck label.  Similarly, this newly approved label for Old Charter, formerly an 8 year old bourbon, now simply shows a number 8 without stating it is "8 years old."   This is similar to what Sazerac did a few years ago when they introduced Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star. There is a 10 year old Ancient Ancient Age which is quite popular but getting harder to find.  It is very easy to mistake the 10 Star for the 10 year old.

I contacted Sazerac and they had the following comment:

We have moved some brands away from age declared statements because delivering a consistent taste profile is more important than the age statement to our customers. In the case of Old Charter, sometimes that means 8 years old, sometimes 9, sometimes 7. We were finding that we had barrels that were 7 years and 10 months old that tasted closer to standard than barrels at 8 years and 3 months but could not use them due to the age statement and consequently in these tight inventory times we were running our customers out of stock. That issue is now solved. That being said, Old Charter will continue to average 8 years old for the foreseeable future and the same can be said about VOB, it will continue to be a 6 year old whiskey for the foreseeable future.

They also told me, "At this time, we do not have plans to remove age statements from any other brands."

I'm not thrilled with the growing scarcity of age statements, but I understand it and appreciate the dilemma that distillers are in.  However, replacing the age with just a number is dishonest and unworthy of a company like Sazerac.  It's true that there are other whiskeys that use number designations, but most of them, such as Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 and Maker's 46, never had an age statement.

If  Sazerac wants the flexibility to use younger whiskey, they should take the number off the bottle altogether. What they are doing is deception pure and simple, and they should knock it off.  Then again, maybe they were just sore at being left off of my Worst Whiskey Company of the year award for 2013 and are trying to get an early start for this year's competition.

An American Whiskey in Paris: Blanton's Paris by Day and Night

A few weeks ago I wrote about the best things I ate in Paris.  I didn't drink any whiskey in Paris because...wine, but that doesn't mean I didn't do some shopping.

La Maison du Whisky is one of the best whiskey shops in the world.  They have two shops in Paris, the main shop on Rue d'Anjou which is entirely whiskey and the Odeon shop, a three story shop which includes other spirits and hosts tastings.  Even if you are looking only for whiskey, I would recommend checking both shops as I found bottles at the Odeon shop that were not available at the main shop.

Taken in by the selection.

Single malts are the focus of LMDW, and what a collection they have. Along with Scotch, there is a large selection of Japanese single malts, including many from the shuttered Kaurizawa distillery, though they are very expensive.

There are deals to be had at LMDW though, particularly for some of their exclusive bottlings which can only be purchased there (and they don't ship to the US or Canada).  They aren't cheap, but not all of them are super expensive.  I saw reasonably priced exclusive bottlings of Glendronach, Kavalan and many others.

And then there's the bourbon.  Normally, there would not be much reason to shop for bourbon overseas, but there is one big exception:  Blanton's.  Made by Buffalo Trace but owned by Age International, Blanton's only has one release available in the U.S., but they have more expressions in Europe and Japan, including the cask strength Blanton's Straight from the Barrel I reviewed last year.  In addition, LMDW is a major distributor for Blanton's in Europe, so they often have specialty bottlings.

During my visit, they had two LMDW exclusive Blanton's on the shelf:  the 100 proof Paris by Day and the 120 proof Paris by night.  Despite the proof difference, both are 67 euro (approximately $90).

Blanton's Paris by Day, Barrel 21, Warehouse H, Rick 51, 50% abv

The nose is really nice with some sweet caramel and some nice rye spice.  The palate is rich and spicy with brown sugar and clove.  The spice keeps growing to dominate the finish.  This really nice stuff, complex but drinkable and a big step up from our standard domestic Blanton's.  

Blanton's Paris by Night, Barrel 54, warehouse H, Rick 90, 60% abv

The nose is sweet and chocolaty with some maple syrup and light anise notes.  The palate is rich with dark chocolate, polished wood and a slight medicinal note.  The finish a slightly bitter oak note.  A bit of water brings out some sweetness and medicinal notes. It's good, but for a high proof Blanton's, I prefer the Straight from the Barrel.

These are both very good bourbons, but the Paris by Day comes out on top.  It comes together very well, complex and balanced. Then again, I've never been much of a night owl.

If you visit Paris and you love whiskey, La Maison du Whisky should be on your list right between the Eiffel Tower and Louvre.

Viva la France!

You Can't Catch Me: Abraham Bowman Gingerbread Beer Finished Bourbon

No, this is not the newest flavored whiskey concoction.  It is, however, the newest release from the Abraham Bowman special release series.  A. Smith Bowman, in Virginia, is owned by Sazerac Company, which also owns the Buffalo Trace and Barton Distilleries in Kentucky. Their bourbons are distilled once at Buffalo Trace, then shipped to Bowman for second distillation and aging there.  They use both of the Buffalo Trace rye recipe bourbon mashbills but never say which mashbill is used for which bourbon. 

This particular bourbon was finished for two months in Bowman bourbon barrels that had been previously been used to age Hardywood Brewery's Gingerbread Stout (touted as aged in bourbon barrels - ah, the barrels that keep on giving).  It was further aged in bourbon barrels after the beer barrel aging.  I don't know that I've ever had a whiskey aged in beer barrels before, so let's give it a shot.

Abraham Bowman Gingerbread Beer Finished Bourbon, 7yo, 45% ($70)

The nose has a very strong rye component with pine notes. The palate has some bourbon sweetness up front but then a definite beer influence.  There's a malty, cereal grain profile that tastes like, well, beer - malty and a bit bitter.  That malty note dominates the finish as well.  For two months of finishing, there is a surprising amount of beer influence on this.  It's almost like a boiler maker in a bottle.

Does it work?  There's a bitterness to those beer notes that's a bit strong late in the palate which puts it a bit out of balance.  Overall, I'd say it's worth tasting, but I'm not sure I would want an entire bottle of the stuff.

Canada Week Part II: Caribou Crossing

As my second in a week of Canadian Whiskeys, I thought I'd finally try Caribou Crossing.  This is a Canadian Whisky from an undisclosed distillery bottled by Buffalo Trace.  (Buffalo Trace is named for the path created by migrating buffalo, so the name "Caribou Crossing" is a bit of a play on that).  It's a single barrel whiskey that was first released in 2010. Buffalo Trace isn't revealing whether this is a single-grain Canadian "flavor whiskey" or a blend which was blended prior to barreling or rebarreled after blending. As always with single barrels, results may vary.  There is no barrel number or other identifier so you just have to take your chances, though I should note that I've had this particular bottle for a few years.

Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky, 40% abv ($45)

This has a nice bourbony nose with caramel and some oak notes; nosing blind, I would certainly guess that it was a bourbon.  On the palate, it's more distinctly Canadian, but with a richness that isn't typical of Canadian blends (at least the ones we tend to see in the US).  There's chocolate, rye and some nice oak notes all backed up with some traditional Canadian sweetness.  The finish has muted rye spice and honey.

This is a nice whisky, certainly better than most Candian Whiskies I've had.

Where can I find Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon?

It's that time of year again.  With fall comes the browning of the leaves, the cooling of the air (well, eventually, we hope), and the Google searches for Pappy Van Winkle.  "Where can I buy Pappy?" is a question I see pop up a lot on Google searches leading to my blog this time of year.  As a public service, I'm going to answer this question for all of the Googlers out there.  This post isn't for my regular readers who know this stuff already, but I will ask them to help out. 

So, you read an article about how Pappy Van Winkle is the best bourbon ever and you think it would make the perfect holiday gift for your spouse/significant other/boss/client.  Here's the deal: Pappy Van Winkle is the most sought after bourbon in history.  Bourbon fans will go to great lengths to hunt it down.  Liquor stores often have hundreds of people on the wait list for two or three bottles and some poor slobs are willing to pay double, triple and, yes, nearly 10 times the retail price for the stuff.

So let's deal with the reality.  If you got to this post, because you Googled "Where can I find Pappy Van Winkle?", you aren't going to find it.  I'm not going to find it.  All but a few tireless or very lucky souls aren't going to find it.  That doesn't have to mean you're out of luck though.  Pappy is great bourbon, but there are plenty of other great bourbons out there that you can find; so if you can't find Pappy (and you won't), consider the following:

• W.L. Weller 12 year old.  This is essentially the same stuff as much of the Van Winkle bourbons.  It's made by Buffalo Trace, the same distillery that distills all but the oldest Van Winkles, and it's made from the same recipe that they use to make the Van Winkle bourbons.  Buy this and tell that boyfriend that this is essentially Pappy 12.  It's a great bourbon; it won't cost you an arm and a leg ($20 to $25), and you'll be able to feel superior with this bit of insider knowledge.
•  Four Roses Single Barrel Hand Picked Editions.  Four Roses is probably the most consistently excellent bourbon distillery around today.  These guys pump out great bourbon like it's nothing.  The regular single barrel is good, but retailers hand pick single barrels of particular recipes that range from decent to mind blowingly good.  Binny's currently has eight different hand picked bottles for $55 a piece, a fraction of what Pappy would cost you for juice that's just as good if not better.  To put it in musical terms, Pappy may be as popular as The Knack in 1980 but Four Roses is the Velvet Underground in the early '70s, the life changing band that only those in the know are listening to (check out that rock analogy - eat your heart out David Driscoll!)
•  High West Rendezvous Rye.  This one's not a bourbon, but a rye, bourbon's spicy cousin. This excellent whiskey is composed of rye whiskeys from Kentucky and Indiana, masterfully blended by David Perkins from High West in Utah.  At $50, it's one of the best whiskey deals around for a fabulous, spicy whiskey.

One thing I have going for me on my blog is an army (okay, a division) of talented readers who know their stuff.  Readers, what would you recommend as a relatively easy to find substitute for Pappy this holiday season?

Buffalo Trace's E.H. Taylor Series

Buffalo Trace first released its E.H. Taylor series in 2011 and added new releases in 2012.  The series is, of course, named for Colonel Edmond Haynes Taylor, Jr., the distiller and proponent of whiskey quality controls for whom Old Taylor bourbon is also named.

The E.H. Taylor series is sort of a hodgepodge without much in the way of underlying themes.  Most but not all are bottled in bond, most but not all are bourbons and most but not all have some unique story or claim.

Some of these can't be readily found anymore, but the rye, small batch and single barrel (as well as single barrels done for specific retailers) seem to be available.  The prices for the E.H. Taylors are in the $70 to $80 range, except for the Small Batch which is around $40.

E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash, BIB, 2002, 50% abv 

The first release of E.H. Taylor, the Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon used an older method of souring the mash, using time instead of spent grain (for more details about the sour mash process used than I care to report, see Scotch & Ice Cream).  

The nose has very nice oak and honey notes.  The palate has a strong burst of rye followed by some acidic notes.   The finish leaves you with orange rind and spice. 

This is a good bourbon with some spice to it. I was surprised how much I liked it given the almost universal lukewarm reviews it received at the time of its release.

E.H. Taylor Single Barrel, BIB, 50% abv 

As the title suggests, this is a single barrel offering, but there is no barrel number, so you can't track different barrels unless you have one that was bottled for a specific retailer.

The nose has some nice oak, baking spices and some toffee notes.  The palate starts with caramel, then moves to butter but flattens out at the end with cereal notes and a cardboard finish.  It’s decent, but it doesn’t hold up.

E.H. Taylor Warehouse C Tornado Surviving, BIB, 50% abv

This seems to be the most sought after of the series and comes with the backstory that Warehouse C at Buffalo Trace was hit by a tornado and this bottle is the product of barrels that were in that warehouse and left out in the elements while the roof was repaired.  Why that makes a good bourbon, I don't know, but let's see how it is.

The nose on this is really nice with lots of caramel and oak.  The palate immediately hits me as heavily acidic.  There's plenty of oak, some candy and rye in there, but the astringency of the acid remains at the forefront.  The finish is pleasant with a bit of rye spice.  Overall, I didn't care for this one, finding it too acidic and out of balance. 

E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof, 67.25% abv

This is the only bottle in the series that isn't BIB and also the only one which is unfiltered.  The nose is on the candy side of the spectrum with some soapy notes.  The palate starts in with thick molasses, coffee, anise, leather and tobacco with a syrupy mouthfeel.  The finish has gingerbread, molasses and oak.  Despite the high proof, water seems to throw it off balance, bringing in some acid and some bitterness.  Sip it straight if you can.

This one is great.  The flavor is complex and pretty unique with the heavy molasses/gingerbread notes.

E.H. Taylor Rye, BIB, 50% abv

The most interesting thing about this rye is that it's a new mashbill that differs from the other Buffalo Trace ryes (Sazerac and Handy) in that it doesn't contain any corn, just rye and malted barley.  Presumably, this is going to be very high rye, since the proportion of malted barley in any American whiskey is usually just there to assist with fermentation and is almost never more than 15%, if that.

This has a great high-rye nose with sandalwood and wood polish; it's much more similar to an old Pennsylvania rye than an LDI (which is also a rye/barley mashbill).  The palate also has that sandalwood note as well as some pepper.  It's very spicy and pretty dry, having just a touch of sweetness.  It's a nicely done rye and fairly distinct from anything on the market today.  
 

E.H. Taylor Small Batch, BIB, 50% abv

As we know, "small batch" is a pretty much meaningless term, so it doesn't tell us much about this whiskey.  This one has a light but pleasant nose.  It's a pretty typical Buffalo Trace nose, sweet with a hint of spice.  The palate on this has a very good balance of sweetness, oak and spice.  It's a very easy drinker and has a nice bit of spice late on the palate and into the finish.  You know all those people who say they want a "smooth" bourbon?  This is for them.


This was an interesting tasting.  The conventional wisdom on the EH Taylor series is that it's mostly bad except for the Tornado.  The Tornado was my least favorite.  The Barrel Strength was easily the best, but I thought the rye was great and really enjoyed the Small Batch; the Sour Mash wasn't bad either. 

I've actually heard the least buzz at about the small batch, maybe because it was the last release and people were burnt out on the whole series, but it's a great, balanced, very easy drinking bourbon, and it's $30 cheaper than the others, making it the best deal.   

The biggest problem with this series is the price, which (except for the Small Batch) is roughly the same as Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection, but these whiskeys mostly aren't in that league.  Even the cheaper Small Batch is more of what I'd expect for a $25 or $30 whiskey.  There is definitely some good whiskey to be had here, particularly the rye and barrel proof which have fairly unique flavor profiles, but the price is a significant hurdle.

New Releases: Stagg Jr.

It's fall, which is the beginning of whiskey season.  New releases are starting to pop up and will continue for the next two months, culminating in the holiday buying spree.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'll review some of those new releases, starting with Stagg Jr.

Few bourbons have entered the market with as much consumer anticipation as Stagg Jr., a younger version of Buffalo Trace's barrel proof super star. The bourbon has no age statement but the back label states it was aged for "nearly a decade."

By naming this Stagg, Jr., BT makes a bold statement.  Given that it's about the same age as the standard Buffalo Trace whiskey, they could have called it Buffalo Trace Barrel Proof or Eagle Rare Barrel Proof, since both of those bourbons are made from the same mashbill.  But neither of those names would have likely caused the excitement (or merited the price) that comes with the Stagg name which is second only to Pappy in bourbon lore.  But by calling it Stagg, the distillery also gives itself a higher bar, inviting comparisons with Stagg the elder, one of the most lauded bourbons in recent memory.  Let's see if it lives up to its name.


Stagg Jr., 67.2% abv ($50)

The nose is indeed reminiscent of George T. Stagg, very rich and woody with sweet toffee notes, spice and oak.  The palate leads off with sweet candy, then rye spice, oak and a touch of mint with a nice, chewy mouthfeel.  The finish is lightly minty. A few drops of water brings out some vanilla and herbal notes.

Reviews of this bourbon so far have not been kind, but I think it wears the Stagg name well.  It's exactly what I'd expect in a younger Stagg.  It's missing the richness and complexity, those dark oak notes that frame Stagg Sr., but it's well balanced and intense.  It's surprisingly drinkable neat though it also takes water well.  All in all, a very good bourbon, and one I would recommend.

Like the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and pretty much every other new release this year, Stagg Jr. has been tough to find, so if you want it, it might require some hunting.

The Pappy Bubble

Not surprisingly, last week's Bonham's auction featured some pretty ridiculous sales.  Someone, for instance, coughed up $380 for the good but not great Ardbeg Alligator released two years ago for $100 (Keep in mind that Bonham's charges all kinds of fees so the seller didn't make anywhere near $380 but the buyer did pay it).  But what really had me scratching my head was the price for Pappy Van Winkle.  A 20 year old Pappy went for $654 and 23 year olds went for $892 and $773.  Unlike the Ardbeg Alligator, these are bottles that are in current release.  At last fall's release, the 20 year old was selling for $125 and the 23 year old was $240. If you go to places like the new Bourbon Exchange Facebook page (a site apparently set up for those who miss the pleasure of getting gouged on ebay), you will hear similar stories.  Keep in mind, the Pappys listed at the Bonham's auction did not include a date; they did not appear to be older bottles.  They were likely bottles that someone purchased within the last few years for the standard retail price.

This is exhibit one showing that there is a whiskey bubble in the secondary market that will likely collapse sometime in the near future. Currently, you have a situation in which people are willing to pay extraordinary prices for whiskeys like Pappy and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection that are not truly rare.  They may be hard to find right now, but they aren't rare in the literal sense in that there are plenty of them out there, and they are released every year.  In fact, that's the Beanie Baby model.  The product appears scarce because the company closely controls production and allocation, and in response, people hoard them.  It's very easy for a market like that to collapse.  

As an independent bottler, Van Winkle currently has a limited number of casks available for bottling, but that could change.  Tomorrow, the company could find a way to acquire additional stock allowing it to double production, or Diageo could buy the brand and quintuple production, and pop goes the bubble...no more secondary market.  Some more savvy collectors would still look for certain bottle codes, but that's not most people who are driving this market, as demonstrated by the amount paid for standard bottles in the Bonham's auction.  

Even if production stays at current levels, there will eventually be a crash.  As noted above, the allocations have led to hoarding (just go to any bourbon forum or website and you'll see photos of people's collections of dozens or in some cases hundreds of Van Winkles and BTACs).  The fact that there is so much product out there is going to leave some hoarders holding so many that they will eventually have pressure to unload them.  They will move, lose their job, go into debt...or die, and their massive collections will start to trickle into the secondary market.  Eventually, people will realize that these are not so hard to come by.  And by the way, the same is true of A.H. Hirsch 16 (the most common version with the gold foil cap); even though there isn't new production and it's from a closed distillery, there is a huge amount of it in collectors' hands.  

Preston Van Winkle is none to pleased with the idea of a secondary market for his current products.  As he told me:

As for auctions, I have no problem with people selling true collector bottles, ones that will never see production again or that are truly non-existent at retail. I have a BIG problem with people buying our products purely for profit. It takes away from legitimate fans who just want a bottle to drink. Often times the people who are in it for the gain are the ones who manage to get their hands on large amounts so that makes the problem that much worse.

For my part, I look forward to a market correction which injects a modicum of sanity into this situation. It saddens me to see enthusiasts who had once preached "drinking the juice" now trying to capitalize on Pappy  fever by unloading their bottles at ridiculous prices.  It's especially ironic given Pappy Van Winkle's own creed, that he would make fine bourbon "at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must."  He had his priorities straight.  Maybe we can all take a lesson from the man whose picture is on that $892 bottle of bourbon.

   

A Truman Cox Tribute with Some Bowman Bourbons

The whiskey world suffered a huge blow recently with the death of 44 year old A. Smith Bowman Master Distiller Truman Cox.  Tributes to Cox and his work by John Hansell and Sam Komlenic at Whisky Advocate are worth a read.

The A. Smith Bowman distillery was a sleepy distillery that made Virginia Gentleman bourbon before Buffalo Trace let Truman Cox and his predecessor Joe Dangler wake it up, releasing premium bourbons and ryes under the Abraham Bowman label. 

In memory of one of the whiskey greats, I'm going to sample two of the most recent limited releases from Truman Cox's A. Smith Bowman Distillery.


Abraham Bowman Port Finished Bourbon, 7 years old, 50% abv ($70)

This most recent Bowman limited edition bourbon was finished for 8 months in a bourbon cask that was refilled with port for two years before it was used to finish this bourbon.

The nose on this is really nice with a balance of sweet candy notes and wood with some fruit and wine noes in the mix as well.  The palate is very sweet, with caramel and maple syrup, but lacks some of the balance of the nose.   It's quite hot for being 100 proof.  Adding water produces some sour, acidic notes.

I've never been much of a fan of finished bourbons, and this one doesn't convince me otherwise.  The nose is beautiful, but the palate doesn't quite keep up with it.  It's good, but not exceptional.

Abraham Bowman Limited Edition 1994, 73.75% abv ($70)

This is another limited release Bowman, the third in that series.  It was distilled in 1994 and aged over 17 years; it's hard to find outside of Virginia and Maryland.  At 147.5 proof, this is Stagg level stuff.

The nose is very similar to a Stagg (which makes sense given that it's the same mashbill and a similar age and proof), with huge polished wood notes and some candy sweetness.  It also has some good rye type notes with some light mint and spice.  The palate has a lot going on; there's wood, vanilla, anise, mint and some rye; the only flaw is an acidic note that pushes some of the other flavors to the background around mid-palate.  The finish is sweet mint and spice, like a good mint julep.  It's very hot, of course, but once it's diluted and airs out a bit, it's very nice.

Despite it's high proof, this isn't quite up to Stagg quality, but it's good stuff with lots of complexity. 

The willingness to experiment with these limited releases is a real tribute to all of the folks at Bowman, including the great Truman Cox.

Is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection in Decline?

For the past decade, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has consistently distinguished itself as the best of American whiskey. Few other whiskeys have been able to even come close to the quality of the quintet of George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17, Thomas H. Handy rye and Sazerac 18 year old rye. Even while the whiskey have become hard to find, the price has remained fairly consistent, making them a great value...if you can find them.

Over the last two years, however, the quality of these whiskeys appears to have declined. They are still great, but they have come down to earth from their previously astronomical levels. In December, I wrote about my disappointment with the 2012 George T. Stagg, but the 2011 was also a bit off balance, especially when compared to the 2010 and other earlier versions, which were so bold yet also balanced and complex.

I recently sampled the 2012 Weller and found a similar phenomenon. Both the 2012 and 2011 lacked the complexity of earlier versions, especially the excellent 2009 edition. There were more off notes, sour and bitter, than in previous versions. (See LA Whiskey Society Reviews of George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller through the years).

I haven't been as consistent in trying the other BTAC whiskeys, but I've noticed a similar drop in quality in all of those I've tried over the last two years.

I want to reiterate that these are still great whiskeys, but before 2010, they were absolutely phenomenal. Time will tell if this is a steady decline or merely a dip in quality.

Have you noticed a difference in your BTAC?

Stagg-nation: George T. Stagg 2012

George T. Stagg, along with Pappy Van Winkle, has become the most renowned and hard to get bourbon out there. I don't really bother with these annoyingly hard to find whiskeys anymore, but I'll certainly give it a try if a friend drops me a sample.


George T. Stagg 2012, Distilled 1995, 16 years 9 months old, 71.4% abv. ($70 - in theory)

The nose has rich, woody bourbon goodness like only Stagg can have. The palate starts off quite tannic but then moves to candy and wood with a dash of pepper; the acid returns for late palate and the finish with a touch of mildew. A few drops of water brings out a chocolate milk like sweetness but also makes it lose a shocking amount of the woody notes which are reduced to a faint char in the late palate, making it one dimensional.

I've been drinking George T. Stagg since around 2005, and some of those bottlings have been among my all time favorite whiskeys. Starting with last year, though, I feel like Stagg has lost some of its luster. It's still very good bourbon, but the last couple of releases haven't been as transcendent as the earlier ones.

Just to make sure I wasn't being overly nostalgic, I did a side by side tasting with the 2010 Stagg, one of my favorites. Sure enough, the 2010 had a richness and complexity that was lacking in this year's release. The 2010 has a huge dose of polished wood and leather mingled and balanced with candy sweetness, the two maintaining a perfect balance well into the everlasting finish. This year's Stagg is certainly good, and I wouldn't turn down a glass, but it lacks that level of complexity, and given how hard Stagg is to find, it makes me even less likely to hunt for it.

See the LA Whiskey Society reviews of George T. Stagg 2012.

Trader Joe's Bourbon

Trader Joe's has done a number of private label whiskeys, but never a bourbon, until now. Trader Joe's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a new product on their shelves. It is distilled at Buffalo Trace's 1792 Barton Distillery and goes for a typically TJ's affordable price of $15.


Trader Joe's Kentucky Bourbon, 45% abv ($15)

The nose is very nice, woody with a nice rye kick, burnt caramel and cloves. The palate is much less complex with lots of vanilla, and some spice on late palate, but it fades to bitterness in the end which lasts into the finish which is quite bitter.

This one starts well but doesn't hold up. Even for $15, there are better bourbons on the shelf. I expected more out of Buffalo Trace/Barton, but maybe there is a reason they aren't releasing this under their own label.

Dusty Thursday: The Inagural Sazerac 18

To commemorate the beginning of the fall whiskey season and the impending release of this year's Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, I thought I'd reach back to the first BTAC. The Antique Collection debuted in 2000. Back then it was a three bottle release featuring Eagle Rare 17, William Larue Weller and Sazerac 18. George T. Stagg would join the party in 2002 and his pal Tom Handy would be the last addition in 2006.

I first picked up a bottle of Sazerac 18 back in 2005 and formally reviewed it way back in ought seven. I've been lucky enough to get my hands on some of the original 2000 release of Sazerac 18 year old rye.

The thing about Sazerac 18 is that since 2003, Buffalo Trace has been using the same distillate for all its Sazerac ryes. Apparently, there was enough rye distilled in 1985 for them to transfer it to steel tanks after 18 years, and since 2003, they have been drawing the Sazerac 18 from those same steel tanks. That makes the pre-2003 ryes even more unique since, unlike everything since '03, they were made from different distillate (though it remains to be seen if this year's Saz 18 will be from the '85 run).

Sazerac 18 (circa 2000), 45% abv.

The nose is beautiful with plenty of spice and even some of those sandalwood notes that I've found on old Pennsylvania ryes, followed by some botanical/herbal notes. The palate takes all of those notes and combines them with some sweet, overripe fruit, but that sandalwood notes really dominates toward the end and into the finish.

This is more like an old Pennsylvania rye than any Kentucky rye I've had. It's totally unique and has a different character from the more recent bottlings of the 1985 vintage rye.

Dusty Thursday: Cream of Kentucky Bourbon

Cream of Kentucky was a bourbon brand owned by the Schenley Company which owned a number of distilleries. Based on the Frankfort address on the bottle (it actually lists three cities, but the back label shows that it was distilled in Kentucky), it was likely distilled at the George T. Stagg/Ancient Age Distillery, now Buffalo Trace, which was owned by Schenley at the time. It appears to be from the 1970s or late 1960s.


Cream of Kentucky Bourbon, 40% abv

This has a nice nose with plenty of old bourbon style candy notes. The palate has a nice richness to it with burnt caramel notes and just a bit of spice, though it turns a bit dull before fading without much more than a slightly woody finish. Still, pretty good stuff.