The Good Stuff Continued and Introducing Dusty Thursday: Old Weller Original 107

I'm going to use my end of year tasting of good stuff to inaugurate a new feature here on Recent Eats. I taste a fair amount of old dusty bottles that I find in corner stores or through generous friends. I usually don't write these up since they are hard to find and not something you can run out and buy. But since there seems to be precious few on-line reviews of dusty bottles, I thought I would start an occasional series, Dusty Thursday, in which I will review old, out of production American whiskeys. These whiskeys give us a window into the past both in terms of how whiskey tasted and the business of whiskey since they often involve distilleries that are no longer operating or brands that have been sold, often multiple times.

We'll start this series today with one of my biggest dusty treasures. Bourbon from the closed Stitzel-Weller distillery is pretty much the holy grail of dusty hunting. Today's bottle is Old Weller Original 107 from Stitzel-Weller. The bottom of the bottle carries a "79" so it is likely bottled around or later than 1979. The bottle has a federal and state (Oklahoma) tax stamp, abv is indicated only in proof, there is no government warning and volume is listed in milliliters (though on the bottle and state stamp, not the label). It also includes a Louisville address; the bottle came in a clear plastic box with gold colored trim. All of these factors point to a late '70s or early '80s bottle. Later, this expression was changed to "Old Weller Antique."

After Stitzel-Weller was closed by the company now known as Diageo, the Weller brand was sold to Buffalo Trace. A few years ago, they removed the 7 year age statement and changed the bottle design.

Old Weller the Original 107, 7 years old, 107 proof (53.5% abv). No. 3038-A.

Wow! The nose just screams Stitzel-Weller with lovely caramel and toffee notes and a very slight citrus note underneath. The palate has intense vanilla, caramel and candy flavors followed by a musty note, like old dusty boxes in the attic. It trails off with some citrus/creamsicle. It has a satisfyingly chewy mouthfeel and even a slight puckering quality. The finish is almost Cognac like in its sweetness. This whiskey manages to be light and rich at the same time.

Tasting this time capsule of a bourbon, I realize what a tragedy it is that this distillery is no longer operational. These old whiskeys really do have a unique flavor profile. It's true that there is still Stitzel-Weller on the market; you can get it in the Jefferson Presidential Selection bourbons or the Pappy Van Winkle 20 and 23 year olds, but those older whiskeys have a very different flavor profile from this seven year old Weller. While Jefferson and Pappy are certainly good, they taste much more like other bourbons on the market today. The extra age and the wood influence that comes with it seems to compromise some of the sweet and mild character that these younger Stitzel-Wellers had. Maybe seven to twelve years was the Stitzel-Weller sweet spot, and the additional oak mutes those qualities that made it so special. If you're ever lucky enough to find some of this stuff or one of the equally great Stitzel-Weller bourbons from the Old Fitzgerald line, raise a glass and shed a tear for the distillery that is no more.

The Good Stuff Continued: Glenfarclas 40

Glenfarclas is an independent Speyside distillery known for its heavily sherried malt whisky. Last year, they made a big splash by introducing a 40 year old. Most 40 year olds released by distilleries are put into hand blown bottles encased in specially carved boxes made out of antique wood made by forest gnomes. Glenfarclas put their 40 year old in a regular bottle encased in a typical cardboard tube and priced it such that you could get it for around $470 retail. Now, that may seem like a lot of money for a bottle of whisky (and indeed, it is), but it is nowhere near what you will pay for other distillery produced 40 year olds. For instance, Highland Park 40 and Glenfiddich 40 both go for around $2,000. And Bowmore 40? That will cost you $11,000. So in the world of extravagantly priced whiskies, the Glenfarclas 40 is a true bargain.

Glenfarclas 40 year old , 46% abv($470)

The nose on this is really wonderful. It starts with Welch's grape juice and then moves into more classically sherried territory with raisins, but it's also got tropical fruit, some maple syrup and vanilla extract. I could smell it all day. The palate starts with vanilla candy and follows up with soft sherried notes, ending on a slightly bitter note. While it's very nice, the palate is not as interesting as the nose. It feels a bit hotter than 46%. Water brings out some nice woody notes that give it a savory flavor. The finish is sherry and vanilla with maybe a bit of creamsicle.

For being so old, this is incredibly drinkable. It's very well balanced, sherried without being a real sherry bomb. If this were an average priced whisky, it would be something I would want to drink every day. Given the price, that's simply not possible. Still, the Glenfarclas 40 is awfully fun to drink, and the more I drink it, the more I like it.

Blue in the Face: Johnnie Walker Blue King George V

Several years ago, I reviewed the standard Johnnie Walker color line: Red, Black, Gold, Blue. My conclusion was that while the Blue was the best of the bunch, it was way overpriced. Well at $170 per bottle, the Blue is downright cheap next to its well heeled brother Johnnie Walker Blue King George V which weighs in at $350.

One of the things often touted along with the King George V is that it includes malt from the closed Port Ellen distillery, but that seems less impressive when you think about the fact that there is still plenty of Port Ellen single malt available for substantially less than the George V costs with its undisclosed amount of Port Ellen.

The fact is though, King George V isn't competing for those of us who might buy Port Ellen. This is status whisky, pure and simple. It's for the broker who had a good year or a piece of swag in the awards basket for the Hollywood star. They don't know from Port Ellen, they know from Johnnie Walker Blue.

But how does it taste? Well, thanks to a sample from my pal at Scotch and Ice Cream, I'm able to tell you.

Johnnie Walker Blue King George V, 43% abv ($350).

The nose on this has sweet malty notes with pineapple, bing cherries and wet grass. On the palate it is malt forward but there are some slightly grainy notes (I first tasted this blind and was pretty sure it was a blend based on these grainy notes) as well as some corn syrup. Despite the Port Ellen, there was no discernible smoke. The finish is very light and short.

This is fine to drink, but it's nothing at all special. It's the type of profile I would probably really like at a higher proof. As is, it's pleasant and drinkable, but at this price, I could probably think of a few hundred whiskies that would be much better. So I implore you, don't buy this stuff, it's not for you anyway (unless you happen to be a Hollywood star, hedge fund manager or someone else who delights in status symbols.

The Good Stuff

Ah, the slow week between Christmas and New Year's Day. It's one of the few times in the year when the whole Western world seems to slow down just a little. I've decided to take this time to step back and enjoy life, and that means trying some of the good stuff. Some choice whiskey samples or the bottles I've been saving for a special occasion, because what better occasion than right now. This week will be a celebration of good whiskey (or at least the whiskey that is supposed to be good). Hopefully it will be fun. We'll start tomorrow with something blue.

Merry Christmas!

Uh oh! I guess I've been a naughty boy.

Last Minute Gift Idea: Sweet Confections by Nina Wanat

I was crushed earlier this year when Nina Wanat shut down her awesome candy company BonBonBars which produced some of the best candy anywhere, ever. But Nina must know the old adage, give me some candy and I eat for a day, teach me how to make candy and I eat for a lifetime, because while BonBonBars is no more, she has a new candy making book out just in time for the holidays.

Sweet Confections: Beautiful Candy to Make at Home, is a fabulous book. It's got some of everything: caramels, fudge, marshmallows, toffee, after dinner mints, you name it.

The best thing about this book is that it is very accessible. I've made lots of chocolate but never made any other types of candy, and I was able to jump right in and make some great things out of Nina's book. The recipes are clearly explained and not overly time consuming. And for the most part, you can do them with ordinary kitchen equipment, although you will need a candy thermometer. Lots of recipes also require a stand mixer, but I found I was able to do fine with a food processer. The only caution I have is to watch how much the recipe makes; some of them make quantities that are larger than you may need (unless you're opening your own candy store) so you may want to halve them.

One thing to be clear about is that this isn't a BonBonBar cookbook. Very few recipes for the old BonBonBars appear (the exceptions are some of their marshmallow candies). My guess is the candy bars were just too challenging for the average home cook, so I will have to wait to see if there is a second volume that teaches me out to make those Scotch bars.

So if you're looking for a great gift for a home cook or lover of sweets, check out Sweet Confections, available for only $12 on Amazon.

2011: The Year in Whiskey

Last year, I complained that it was a pretty ho hum year in the world of whiskey. Well, I'm happy to report that this year was anything but. So let's review 2011: The Year in Whiskey.

Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace was on fire this year. Their Single Oak Project is perhaps the most ambitious project ever undertaken by a distillery. On top of that, they released a new label, E.H. Taylor, with two expressions. As if that wasn't enough, they reinvigorated the A. Smith Bowman distillery with a new line of bourbons and ryes. Pretty amazing output from one distillery, though, with the exception of the Bowmans, much of BT's new whiskey this year was more innovative than tasty. Still, the level of output from Buffalo Trace this year was beyond impressive.

Rye Revolution. The rye expansion continues. There were new ryes everywhere in 2011. Bulleit and Willett brought out LDI ryes, Woodford introduced not one but two as part of their Master's Collection, and Beam announced it would come out with a Knob Creek Rye as well, though it may not be here until 2012. Add to that the Canadian straight ryes listed below, and it goes to show that the rye renaissance is far from over.

Finished American Whiskey. Long a staple of Scotch, wine finishing received some attention from American whiskey this year. The year started with the popular, port finished Angel's Envy and ended with a Cognac finished bourbon from the Parker's Heritage Collection. Given these high profile releases, I'd say we will see more finishing experiments in the future.

Pure Pot Still Power. When there is news from the sleepy world of Irish Whiskey, it usually comes from Cooley, but this year the Midleton Distillery woke us all up with three new pure pot still whiskeys: Midleton, Powers and a cask strength version of Redbreast. It's great to see Midleton playing to the whisky lovers and not just finding new ways to market Jameson.

New Canadians. Canada was also hopping with a 30 year old Alberta Premium, and while we won't get it here, there were a number of American bottlings of Canadian straight rye. Following the lead of last year's WhistlePig, we saw similar ten year old ryes coming from McLain & Kyne (Jefferson's) and the Sebastiani wine group (Masterson's- review coming in the new year). It seems that we're finally getting some good Canadians in the US, though more in the American, straight rye style.

Scotch. The world of blended/vatted Scotch got lots of coverage this year with the highly publicized release of Shackleton's whisky. Meanwhile on Islay, Bruichladdich gave us their first 10 year old from the new ownership, and Kilchoman released an all-Islay whisky which was probably their best to date.

Many of us in California (or within shipping distance) spent our spare time counting our money to figure out how many bottles of K&L's amazing new line of exclusive barrel Scotch we could afford. In one year, K&L gave us a whopping 17 privately bottled single barrels, including two single grains and four offerings from closed distilleries.

More Japanese. Lovers of Japanese single malts have literally been waiting years to get more Japanese Whisky in the US. This year we got the good news that whiskies from Nikka and Suntory's Hakushu distilleries are finally heading for our shores.

I could go on and on. Heck, even those stodgy stalwarts Johnnie Walker and Jack Daniel's came out with new expressions. Let's hope these trends continue and look forward to an exciting 2012!