Dusty Thursday: Wild Turkey Cheesy Gold Foil 1988

More Thanksgiving Turkey! Today our dusty is a 1988 Wild Turkey 12 year old. Bottles of the 101 proofer from this era are affectionately known as CGF or Cheesy Gold Foil for obvious reasons.

Wild Turkey 12 year old, 1988, 50.5% abv

The nose is caramel with lemon rind and cinnamon. The palate is a Christmas spice pack with ginger, brown sugar, orange rind and clove; the late palate has some nice oak. It gets minty and medicinal on the finish.

This is certainly a nice bourbon but not one that I think is exceptional. The palate is nice, but the finish is a bit heavy on the mint and medicinal notes. From what I understand, it's very popular among Wild Turkey fans, but I've never been as big a fan of old Turkeys as some folks.

Thanks to Brendan Prouty for the sample.

Dusty Thursday: Weller Special Reserve 1945/1952

Every fall, I have a backyard bourbon blowout party called Gazebo West. Named for a party started by bourbon fans in Kentucky, I held my first one four years ago, asking everyone to bring a bottle of something to share. It quickly mushroomed with more friends and more bottles, and now it's a pretty amazing tasting with people bringing fun new stuff as well as digging deep into their collections.  It's one of my favorite nights of the year.

One of this year's most exciting bottles came from LA Whiskey Society founder Adam Herz. Adam can always be counted on to bring the good stuff. This year, he brought us a bottle of W.L. Weller Special Reserve distilled at Stitzel-Weller in 1945 and bottled in 1952. It's bottled in bond, so it's 100 proof.

W.L. Weller Special Reserve, 7 years old, 50% abv

This bottle is in fantastic condition for something this old. The fill level was high, meaning it hadn't suffered from evaporation, and the cork came out like new. We were surprised that it hadn't chipped and cracked like so many old corks.

The nose had equal parts caramel and mint. The palate is fabulous; it's sweet with lots of big spicy notes on a caramel background. The finish is dry with oak, candle wax and a hint of banana along with a bit of damp basement on the nose.

This is great stuff, but interestingly, it does not taste much like a typical Stitzel-Weller. Old Stitzel-Weller has a very distinctive flavor profile, all sweet caramel with some pine and oak. This one had some of those caramel notes, but it had spicy notes that differentiated it from other Stitzel-Wellers I've had.  In fact, given all of the spicy notes, I probably would have guessed it was a rye recipe bourbon had I been tasting blind, though the spice profile is a bit different from rye; it most likely comes from the oak.

Why would this Weller be so different from other Stitzel-Wellers?  Well, there are a few things to consider.  First, this is the oldest Stitzel-Weller distillate I've tasted, and it would have dated from the era when Will McGill, the original distiller, was in charge. He served from the founding of the distillery until his death in May, 1952 so this may have been bottled under his watch as well. Second, the high fill level and pristine cork may have kept this in better condition than some of the other bottles I've had. Part of what we find distinctive about dusty bourbon may be the impact of some amount of oxidation. For whatever reason, that may have been less present in this bottle which had a freshness to it that I don't associate with dusties.

The long and short of it is that while this stuff may not taste like typical Stitzel-Wellers I've had, it was excellent bourbon.

Dusty Thursday: Ezra Brooks 15/101

Ezra Brooks was a brand from the old Medley Distillery. The brand was purchased by Medley in 1959 and became their most prominent brand. Eventually, the distillery was purchased by United Distillers (now Diageo), who shut it down along with Stitzel-Weller in 1992 and sold off the Ezra Brooks brand to Luxco who still bottle it today using Heaven Hill bourbon. The distillery changed hands numerous times but never reopened for business. It is currently owned by South Carolina based Terresentia who are in the process of refurbishing it and, according to Chuck Cowdery, plan to reopen the distillery in 2016.

Today's bottle is a 1981 15 year old 101 proof Ezra Brooks from the Medley Distillery. Per the label, it's "Rare Old Sippin' Whiskey"!

Ezra Brooks 15 year old, 50.5% abv

I don't usually comment on color, but this stuff is dark as night. The nose has typical bourbon caramel notes but also dark chocolate and even some fruit. The palate has dark caramel, espresso and rich, earthy notes. The finish has brown sugar and a touch of earthy bitterness.

This is a really complex, old bourbon. It's just delicious, certainly the best bourbon I've had from Medley.

Thanks to Dan Walbrun for the sample.

Dusty Tasting: 1970s Cabin Still

Today we have another dusty tasting sponsored by The Whiskey Jug. Yesterday's dusty tasting showed the decline of Old Crow over the years. Another bourbons that was famously ruined after being sold off was Cabin Still. Josh Feldman, over at The Coopered Tot, did a fantastic post tracing the decline and fall of this former Stitzel-Weller brand. He notes that at some point after Norton-Simon purchased the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in 1972, they started dumping low end Canada Dry bourbon into it.

The bottle provided for this tasting is likely from the mid-1970s (a 1974 copyright appears on the label). The label states that it was "distilled, aged and bottled by Cabin Still Distillery."  That puts it after 1972, when Norton Simon purchased the distillery and stopped using the Stitzel-Weller name, but before the later incarnation, which states "distilled for and bottled by Cabin Still Distillery." Does that mean it could still be old Stitzel-Weller, before the dump of Canada Dry began. Who knows? Let's taste it.


Cabin Still, 4 years old, 40% abv

The nose is caramelly but very light. The palate starts with some nice caramel, but fades away very quickly, and there is only a very faint finish. This isn't bad, but there is very little to it. I actually think this could be Stitzel-Weller, or have some in it, because it has traces of those sweet and creamy caramel notes, though it's very watered down. People forget that not all Stitzel-Weller was great, and Cabin Still was their bottom shelf brand.

Overall, if it was the '70s and I was perusing the bottom shelf, I'd go for the Old Crow.

This was another group tasting, so be sure to check out The Whiskey Jug, The Coopered Tot, It's Just the Booze Dancing, Axis of Whiskey and Bourbon & Banter for more reviews.

Dusty Thursday: Dusty Blogger Old Crow Tasting

Old Crow (right) and new Crow.

No, I'm not tasting dusty bloggers, but I did agree to participate in a dusty bourbon tasting hosted by Josh from The Whiskey Jug. Also participating are The Coopered Tot, It's Just the Booze Dancing, Axis of Whiskey, and Bourbon & Banter.

Josh gave us four dusty, bottom shelf bourbons that he found in his travels.  A comparison of old and new Old Crow, Cabin Still and an old Bellow's. Today, I taste the Old Crow and compare it with modern Old Crow.

Bottle marks date this Old Crow to around 1978, back when the brand was owned by National Distillers before it was purchased by Beam. For further comparison, see my previous review of a 1980s Old Crow, also from the National Distillers days.

Old Crow 1978, no age statement, 40%

The nose is fantastic, candy sweet with some herbal noes. The palate is light and sweet with a shot of spice. It's not complex and nothing really special, but it's very drinkable.

Old Crow, 3 years old, current, 40%

From the get-go, you can tell this is a totally different whiskey. The nose has peanut notes with light sugar. The palate is soapy with artificial fruit flavors, and the mouthfeel is watery thin.  It's very blah, and while it's not horrible, it doesn't have any redeeming features.

Well, this is another clear example of how Beam screwed up the National Distillers brands (they did the same thing to Old Overholt), managing to turn a perfectly drinkable bourbon into a crappy bourbon. Why did you do this to us Beam?

More Bourbon from Japan: Martin Mills 24

This is another legendary bourbon for the Japanese export market. Japan became interested in aged American whiskey about a decade before the US, so there were many aged whiskeys that went to the Japanese market that we never saw in the US.

Martin Mills was a Heaven Hill bourbon distilled in 1974 and bottled in 1999.

Martin Mills 24 yo, 53.5% abv

The nose is deep and rich with espresso notes.  The palate is both rich and savory with red wine notes, and the finish is sweet and candy like.  This one is terrific, changing in flavor from nose to finish with the emergence of sweeter notes toward the end.  It's really well done and quite wonderful.

Dusty Thursday: Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece 18 yo Cognac Finished

It's been a while since I did a Dusty Thursday, so I thought I'd crack open one of the earliest really high end bourbons.

Back at the dawn of the bourbon craze, Jim Beam was a leading innovator in American whiskey. They helped kick start the craze with their small batch collection. Then, in 1999, they became one of the first distilleries to try to move bourbon into the super premium direction.

That year, they released the Distiller's Masterpiece collection, an 18 year old bourbon finished in Cognac cask.  This was the first cask finished bourbon that I know of.  It went for the then startling price of $250. They followed up with a 20 year old bourbon finished in port casks.

Reviews of the series were mixed at best and the collection faded. Recently, now that finishing has caught on, Beam has brought back the Distiller's Masterpiece label for some new bourbons.

Today, I'm going back to the early days to try a slice of bourbon history: the original 18 year old, Cognac finished Distiller's Masterpiece.


Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece, 18 year old, 49.5% abv

I need to start this one out with a disclaimer.  I am not a fan of Beam bourbon, and I'm generally not a fan of finished bourbon.  Based on this, I definitely did not have high expectations for this bottle.

The nose on this has some rye spice and then sweet, almost sherry like notes.  The palate has brown sugar and vanilla with lots of candy notes.  The finish is minty.  This stuff is just delicious.  It's sweet without being cloying, and the wine finish really comes through.

Given my dislike of Beam and finished bourbons, this one really surprised me. It just goes to show that you should always keep an open mind.  Now I'm interested in trying the port finished version.

Dusty Thursday: Jack Daniel's 90 Proof (Circa 1974)

Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 has been around for years, but the proof has gradually dwindled.  Originally, it was bottled at 90 proof.  In 1987, it went down to 86 proof and then in 2002 it dropped to the legal minimum of 80 proof.  Today's dusty is a 90 proof Jack from 1974.

Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 (circa 1974), 45% abv

The nose is sweet with maple syrup and perfume notes.  Compared to the sweet nose, the palate is surprisingly dry with oak, smoke and tobacco.  The finish is peppery/spicy leading to medicinal notes.  Yum!

This is really delicious stuff, a far cry from the syrupy sweet JD of today.  If this is what Jack used to taste like, it makes me understand how it built such a loyal fan base.  It's got bold flavors like spice and tobacco and some real complexity.  I feel like I should go back in time Terminator-style and stop whoever was responsible for turning this stuff into the cloying, 80 proof crap it is today.

Dusty Thursday: Four Roses - The Bad Old Days

Given the love heaped on Four Roses these days, it's easy to forget that it's only been a big name in quality bourbon for about a decade, at least in the U.S.  Prior to 2002, it was owned by the now defunct Seagram's Company.  It had been popular in the post-prohibition years, but around the 1960s, Seagram's decided that it would concentrate on the export market.  The only thing Four Roses made for the US was crappy blends.  All of that changed in 2002, when Kirin, the Japanese beer company, purchased the distillery and let the roses bloom.

Today, I'm going back to the bad old days and tasting a circa 1978 Four Roses Light Whiskey.  Light whiskey is a whiskey distilled to more than 160 proof, a higher distillation proof than is permitted for most American whiskey, such as bourbon or rye, for which 160 proof is the maximum.  Light whiskey can only be stored in used or new uncharred oak.  This is a blended light whiskey, which means it is mixed with straight whiskey, but the straight whiskey must be less than 20% of the total composition.  Light whiskey lies somewhere between bourbon and vodka on the spirits spectrum, though unlike regular "blended whiskey," it does not contain any neutral spirits (which are spirits that must be distilled at above 190 proof).


Four Roses Light Whiskey, A Blend, 43% abv

The nose has an ever so slight vanilla note.  The palate is...awful.  It tastes mostly of alcohol.  It's like a lightly sweetened vodka, with honey and maybe a touch of wood.  There is not much whiskey character at all.  This stuff really has no redeeming value.

Whenever you hear someone (like, say, me) mourning the old days when bourbon had a special taste that you can't find anymore and things were cheap and plentiful, remind them (or me) that not everything was better back then.  Exhibit A is Four Roses, a whiskey that went from terrible to amazing in a few short years.


Thanks to Matt P. for the picture and sample.

Dusty Thursday: Hill and Hill Bourbon (1976)

In terms of dusty whiskey, Los Angeles is pretty much shopped out.  It's been a long time since I found a good, old bottle on the shelf.  Even the dusties I left behind are long gone.  These days, I'm pleased to find even a bourbon with a mediocre reputation if it's from the old days, and so there's this.

Hill and Hill was a lower end National Distillers label that is no longer around.  This bottle is a half pint circa 1976 that I picked up in the San Gabriel Valley.  It cost me all of $4.

Hill and Hill Bourbon,  4 years old, 80 proof (40% abv)

The nose is pretty decent with some brandy like sweetness and some solid rye spice.  It actually smells like it has some age on it.  The palate is also nice and spicy with some wood notes and a nice sweet, caramel note at the end.  The finish retains that sweetness and again gives some brandy type notes.

I expected this to be terrible, and it's actually quite good.  Despite the age statement, this tastes much older than four years; it has that rich, caramel flavor that I've seen in older bourbons from the '70s.  I'm guessing this one is a glut whiskey, filled with older stocks that the distilleries didn't know what to do with back when bourbon supplies far outstripped demand.  It just goes to show, you shouldn't make assumptions based on the label.  I could drink this stuff all night, and that's what I call four dollars well spent.

Dusty Thursday: The Real Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey

Yesterday, I sampled the new Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey.  That one is a Kentucky whiskey from an undisclosed distillery (or distilleries), but long ago, when Michter's was a real distillery, the sour mash whiskey was made in Pennsylvania from a mashbill of 50% bourbon, 38% rye and  12% malted barley and aged in a mixture of new and used barrels.  I was lucky enough to have a generous friend who shared a sample of a miniature bottle of the real stuff with me (pictured, right); I know he likes some char on his bourbon, let's see what it's like.

Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey, 43% abv.

The nose is a bit soapy with some of the sandalwood notes that I often get on old Pennsylvania ryes.  The palate too is soapy with a lot of sandalwood.  Spicy notes dominate the finish.  This is much more similar to the old Pennsylvania ryes than it is to any bourbon I've had.  I generally like the sandalwood notes in those old ryes, but the soapy notes in this clashed with them.

This is absolutely nothing like the contemporary version I reviewed yesterday.  Whereas that one tastes pretty much like any current bourbon, the original Michter's tastes nothing like a modern bourbon.  Of course, the original Michter's was not only made in Pennsylvania, it was made in a pot still, which imparts a very different flavor to a whiskey.  The new Michter's was almost certainly made on a continuous still, which probably accounts for some of the differences between the two.  (UPDATE: Sam K. points out in the comments that the pot still was the doubler and the whiskey went through a typical continuous still first).  In addition, soapiness is a characteristic that I have found in a number of dusties, and it can be a result of poor storage or handling over the years, and the small quantity involved in a miniature bottle makes it even more susceptible to the ravages of time.  All this is to say that the current state of this whiskey might not reflect what it tasted like in its prime, but that's always a risk with dusties.

Despite its flaws, I'm intrigued by this old Michter's, particularly the Pennsylvania rye notes.  I'll have to see if I can track down some more of this stuff.

Dusty Thursday: Who's Afraid of an Old Dog? - Old Dog American Whiskey

Occasionally I stumble on a whiskey that's more conversation piece than treasure.  This one, provided by my pals at the LA Whiskey Society, falls into that category.  It appears to be a prohibition era "American Whiskey" called Old Dog (helpfully translated as "Perro Viejo") with a nice dog on the label.  It's a full sized bottle but there is no bottle volume or proof listed. The label states:

Reg. DSP No. 17070-A
Elaborado y Embotellado por

La Destileria Española

N. San Juan, Colonia del Valle, Mexico DF

So what do we have here? The Spanish translates to "made and bottled by the Spanish Distillery." Colonia del Valle is a neighborhood of Mexico City (i.e. Mexico DF).  The DSP number does not match any US DSP, and I have no idea what distillery identification, if any, Mexico was using at the time.  The best guess is that this is a whiskey made in Mexico for distribution in the US during prohibition.  Of course, technically, it is properly labeled as American Whiskey since, although we in the US forget it, the Americas include the entirety of North and South America.   

What is this stuff like?  The color is a very light yellow.  It smells nothing like whiskey.  It starts with a strong paint thinner type nose, but that quickly fades into mint, licorice and vanilla ice cream.  The nose is strangely alluring, like the smell of gasoline.  On the palate it's....hellll no!  Look, I'm pretty obsessive in pursuit of my hobby, but I draw the line at mystery liquor from unknown distilleries most likely made for unlawful smuggling.  This could have literally anything in it. People went blind and died from drinking questionable liquor during prohibition; I'm not about to be the last casualty of bad prohibition whiskey.  You've got to draw the line somewhere, and I'm drawing it at this Old Dog. I do have a brave (or crazy) friend who tried it (Cognac guys are nuts) and said it wasn't terrible but tasted nothing like whiskey. Of course, even if this isn't poison, that doesn't mean it's whiskey; it could be distilled from sugar or anything else.

Even if this is the exception to the idea that old whiskey should be for drinking, it's a fun bottle and a great conversation piece. Good dog!

UPDATE:  My friend who tried the whiskey (and only had a sip or two) reported to me that he woke up that night with terrible acid reflux and feeling dehydrated and just weird.  So far, he can still see.  Was it the Old Dog?

Adventures in Dusties: Old Fitzgerald

I do a lot of hunting for dusty bottles and have become pretty good at dating old bottles from the past thirty or forty years based on clues like tax stamps and other label issues.  My pal Adam from the LA Whiskey Society, though, is in a totally different dusty hunting league.  He specializes in identifying and dating bottles from seventy to more than one hundred years ago and has a deep knowledge of early twentieth century bottle manufacturing, including the companies that made bottles, their trademarks and the processes used to make the bottles.

Adam has posted an engaging story on the LA Whiskey Society site in which he finds a bottle labeled Old Fitzgerald 1859.  He tells the story of how he evaluated the bottle and what he determined that it most likely contained.  It's a great post, sort of a bourbon mystery, that he titles Adventures in Whiskey:  The Case of the Strange Fitzgerald.  (It's listed as episode one, so I can only hope there will be future installments about other interesting bottles).

Dusty Thursday: Virginia Gentleman 90 - The Fox

Since I spend so much time on obscure and nearly impossible to find dusties, I thought I would dedicate a post to something more recent.  My post on the Bowman distillery made me think of Virginia Gentleman, the storied old brand from A. Smith Bowman.  Owned by Buffalo Trace, the Bowman Distillery has added a number of higher end labels and deemphasized its budget brands over the last two years.  Around 2011, it discontinued the higher proof version of Virginia Gentleman, known as "the fox" because of the fox hunting scene on the label.  Given that these were only discontinued a couple of years ago, my guess is there might still be some on the shelves, especially in the Mid-Atlantic.  The one I'm reviewing today was part of a blind tasting and dates from 2003.


Virginia Gentleman 90, 45% abv

There is lots of sweet candy on the nose.  The palate is sweet and a bit soapy with a touch of cough syrup which leads into a medicinal finish.


I poured some of this side by side with the standard issue Virginia Gentleman.  Honestly, they aren't too different.  The standard Gentleman has some bubblegum sweetness which is missing in the 90 proof version, but they are very similar and the extra five points of abv seems to make only a minor difference.


See the LA Whiskey Society ratings for Virginia Gentleman 90.

Dusty Thursday: Pre-Fire Heaven Hill

November 7, 1996 was a sad day in bourbon history.  It was the day when fire ravaged the old Heaven Hill distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. The distillery was destroyed.  Over the next few years, the other Kentucky distilleries pitched in to help it distill, notably Brown Forman which made all of Heaven Hill's Rittenhouse rye through last year.  In 1999, Heaven Hill bought the Bernheim Distillery, a state of the art distillery owned by Diageo which it had used to make wheated bourbon after it closed Stitzel-Weller but was now trying to unload.

Pre-fire Heaven Hill whiskeys are getting dustier and dustier.  There are a number of bottles still around, and certainly, all of the whiskeys aged over around 16 years are, of course, pre-fire, but it's pretty tough to find younger pre-fire whiskeys.  Today's is an Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond.  It has no age statement, but we know it's pre-fire because Bonded whiskeys are required to list the distillery number and this one clearly states DSP-KY-31 on the back label (The new Heaven Hill/Bernheim distillery would be DSP-KY-1).  This one was bottled around 2001.

Old Heaven Hill BIB, 50% abv.

The nose on this super sweet with maple syrup, cotton candy and corn syrup.  It's like a trip to the fair.  The palate is light, sweet and buttery, then it turns to a medicinal cough syrupy note which lasts into the finish.

This is not my favorite flavor profile.  It's too sweet on the nose and too medicinal on the palate.  I've had some great pre-fire Heaven Hill, but I'd likely choose a later Bernheim era Heavean Hill BIB over this one.

That's the thing with dusties; you never know what you're going to get.

Dusty Thursday: Kentucky Vintage 1974

The current bottling of Kentucky Vintage is an independently bottled bourbon by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. This bottle, however, is a rare Japanese export of the same name. The label states 1974 as the vintage year and it was bottled in 2000 exclusively for the Japanese market. Based on the name and what I've heard about it, I assume it was also a KBD product, but I don't know for certain.

Kentucky Vintage 1974, bottled 2000, 25 years old, 47% abv

The nose has mango, tropical fruit and a bit of shampoo. The palate is very sweet, like fruit punch, and the finish is bitter. Water doesn't help.

Yuck. This stuff is terrible.


See reviews of Kentucky Vintage 1974 by the LA Whiskey Society.

A Dusty Curiosity: Brown Forman President's Choice

Brown Forman introduced a President's Choice bourbon into its line in the late 1960s, but prior to that, it used the President's Choice label for gifts to special customers and other clients. The official name is actually the President's Choice for Distinguished Gentleman. The label includes the following description:

This whisky was selected by the President of Brown-Forman Distillers Corporation for its perfect balance and true Kentucky Bourbon flavor, and set aside for his private stock. This rare Bourbon was custom distilled and specially bottled at the direction of the president at the proof of 90.3 selected for barrel #989843 through barrel #989867.

Hmm, distinguished gentlemen? I'm not sure I qualify, but let's give it a try anyway. This bourbon was bottled in 1963, a blend of 24 barrels.


Brown Forman President's Choice, bottled 1963, 90.3 proof/45.15% abv

Another nice dusty nose, this one is rich, sweet and candy-like; It reminds me very much of some of those great, dusty Old Foresters I like (another Brown Forman bourbon). The palate is sweet with peppermint and vanilla, moving onto spices in the late palate. It's very rich and densely flavored, though a bit flatter than the nose. The finish is short and spicy.

Sweet and rich, this is a very drinkable bourbon.

See the LA Whiskey Society reviews of Brown Forman President's Choice.

Dusty Thursday: Eagle Rare 101 (circa 1979)

Back in February, I sampled a bottle of the now discontinued Eagle Rare 101 distilled, as is today's version, by Buffalo Trace. The bottle I'm sampling today, though, dates to before the label was sold to Buffalo Trace. It was originally a Seagram's brand made at the Old Prentice Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, which is now Four Roses.


Eagle Rare 101 Old Prentice, (circa 1979), 10 years old, 50.5% abv

The nose is a bit musty and very woody with some sweet maple syrup The palate is heavily spicy and minty in a mouth wash sort of way which continues into the finish. This is a very nice bourbon and one I'd happily buy if it was available, but I must say I preferred the later, Buffalo Trace version of the 101 that I sampled back in February.

See the LA Whiskey Society reviews of Eagle Rare 101.

Dusty Thursday: Fairfax County BIB 1955

The A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Virginia dates back to the 1930s. Built just after prohibition's end, it was most famous for Virginia Gentleman Bourbon. The distillery was sold to the Sazerac Company/Buffalo Trace in 2001; Virginia Gentleman and other bourbons are still made there though now they get their first distillation at the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky.

This bonded bottle of Bowman's Fairfax County Bourbon was distilled in 1950 and bottled in 1955. It's described on the label as "Heavy Bodied," whatever that means.


Fairfax County Bourbon, distilled 1950/bottled 1955, 100 proof.

The nose is quite lovely with vanilla and floral notes. The palate is floral then a minty note kicks in which turns herbal. The finish is a tad bitter. Water is actually terrible for this one, bringing out even more bitterness.

This is a nice enough bourbon, though not one that is particularly exciting. It's fun to try a Virginia bourbon from that era.

See the LA Whiskey Society reviews of Fairfax County Bourbon.

Dusty Thursday: Old Grand-Dad BIB 1945

Old Grand-Dad is another bourbon with a long heritage, going back to the nineteenth century. For years, it was made at the Old Grand-Dad distillery which was closed after National Distillers sold the brand to Beam in 1987.

This very dusty Grand-Dad is bottled in bond and was distilled in 1945 and bottled in 1949.


Old Grand-Dad BIB, distilled 1945/bottled 1949, 4 years old, 100 proof.

This one has an amazing nose that starts with a big blast of rye then moves to toffee, butterscotch and brandy. The palate isn't quite as strong as the nose. It has very dry, spicy notes with cinnamon and wood. The finish is pleasantly briny and spicy.

The nose on this is absolutely fantastic. The palate is good but lacks the sweet notes that balance the nose so well. Water mellows it nicely, bringing out maple syrup, citrus and honey.


See the LA Whiskey Society reviews of Old Grand-Dad BIB 1949.