Company: Few Spirits
Vol: 46.5%
Age: NAS but less than 4 years
Classification: American Rye Whiskey
Breakdown: 70% rye, 20% corn, 10% malted barley
Price: c. £62.50

History

FEW Spirits are from Evanston Illinois just outside of Chicago, which also happened to be, and still is, home to the Temperance Movement of America. Ironically, the company name and initials used ‘FEW’ are derived from a former President of the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement, Francis E Willard. We don’t think she would be particularly amused with that, but then again, maybe she would see the funny side.

FEW Spirits boast, very loudly and proudly on their website, that they are one of only very few distilleries whose spirits continue to remain truly handcrafted and small-batched. Their standard whiskey offerings include regular bourbon, single barrel bourbon, rye whiskey (reviewed below) and a cask strength rye whiskey, which happens to have been the subject of our very first guest review on this website. You can read it that review here.

As well as a regular American gin they also make a very interesting barrel gin which has been aged in oak barrels which apparently tastes like a gin but with the maturity of bourbon.

The Gents stumbled across the FEW bourbon brand (almost literally) a few years ago during our seemingly never-ending quest to try every new bourbon that we find. It wasn’t particularly memorable at the time but what we do remember was how unique the bottle design, shape and labelling was. You’ve got to love a bottle shape… we must do that Top 10 bottle list someday. Anyway here are our thoughts below.

The Review:

For this review we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass as usual. Mav was suffering with a cold but he put a brave face on and drank the whiskey anyway!

Nose

What we got – Fresh, a little fruity, citric with eucalyptus. Aromas of the outdoors, particularly grass on a sunny day. Smaller amounts of nuttiness and vanilla rear up the longer you nose. Some Rye noses can be a little harsh, but overall, we found this to be very pleasant

What they say we should get - The aroma is particularly fruity with notes of apples, pears and plums with a spicy after thought

Palate

What we got – Not as spicy as you might expect. Quite buttery for a Rye with notes of honey and fresh fruits throughout (Mr Pie). At the back-end a little pepper shows up with orange rind. Dare we say like an Old Fashioned but without the extras?

What they say we should get - The flavour is as fruity as the aroma with more apples and pears but also a little unripe banana and candied orange peel

Finish

What we got – Differences were found between us with regards to the overall finish. Mav thought it was medium but with structure, whereas Mr Pie called out a lengthy and dry finish. Neither of us could find too many lasting flavours

What they say we should get - The finish is long and lingering with notes of fresh orange juice, spice and apple tart

Summary

Few Rye Whiskey – Distilled from grain, artisan spirit, by the few, for the few. We love the funky taglines, love the bottle and love the labelling but more importantly, did we love the whiskey?

If you look at the tasting notes from the experts, you could easily translate these into, “Apples, apples, how do you like those apples? We most certainly found the fruits but not in every layer. This whiskey is so far away from the preferred tasting profile of one half of the Gents (that would be Mav, if you’ve not familiar with our previous work) but both of us were overall generally impressed, particularly by the juicy and crisp palate of the whiskey

It is not one of those lip curling, tongue twisting ryes which are not always to everyone’s tastes, but we found that this whiskey has a texture, depth and subtleness you don’t often find in a rye whiskey. Don’t get us wrong, you will have to be a fan of rye whiskey to make an investment in this bottle for it to be worthwhile. When the cost goes well beyond the £50 mark you really do need have affection for the rye profile.

We are definitely looking forward to exploring their portfolio further. This whiskey is not cheap this side of the pond so sample buy or find in bar before you take the plunge.

Score

5 out of 10 - Mav

7 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Review Posted - January 2019

Company: Jim Beam
Vol: 63.7%
Age: 7 years 2 months 5 days
Extra Note: Batch 2015-02
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Breakdown: 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% barley
Price: c. £60

Preamble

Wow, doesn’t time fly when you’re drinking whiskey? We first reviewed this bourbon back in November 2016 and looking back at the review below amuses the Gents somewhat. After a recent tasting, our nose, palate and finish notes are still pretty accurate, even though the finishing comments are a little short. We also declared that we generally add water to the higher proof bourbons. Right or wrong, we definitely don’t do that on a regular basis these days. Maybe if we did our tasting notes would benefit?

The number of releases each year has fallen since 2016 and for the past 2 years there have been 4 batches each with a different age and strengths. Everything you ever wanted to know about Booker’s bourbon can be found at their dedicated website Bookers.

We have now reviewed the full suite of the Jim Beam Small Batch collection and we were surprised to find that Booker’s was not in first place once you’ve combined our review scores. In reverse order we scored the collection as Basil Hayden, Knob Creek, Booker’s and in first place Baker’s. You probably don’t need us to tell you that they are all fine bourbons and each are well worth a place in your bar collection.

Review Updated - January 2019

History

Booker’s is part of the Jim Beam small batch collection (others being Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s, and Baker’s) and has the highest alcohol content of the collection. Each release differs in age and ABV. Ages are between 6-8 years and the ABV is between 60.50% and 64.45%.

The history of Booker’s is a fascinating journey through the bourbon legends. Jim Beam’s grandson Booker Noe (6th generation of bourbon makers) began bottling this cask strength (i.e. straight from the barrel to the bottle), uncut and unfiltered as gifts for family and friends. These hand selected offerings were taken from the centre of the warehouse where the company reports is the perfect spot with regards to temperature and humidity to produce the finest bourbon. The recipients of these gifts encouraged Booker Noe to release these bottles to the wider public. The very first limited release of 1,000 6 bottle cases were made available in 1988. From 1992 onward these selections were released to the general public. Today there are around 6 releases a year. After Booker Noe’s death in 2002 the honour of selecting theses barrels is now in the hands of his son, Fred Noe.

The Review

For this review we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass and due to its very high ABV added water after tasting neat.

Nose

What we got – Butterscotch, toffee, brown sugar, sweetness, caramel, honey, vanilla, blackberry, (mixture of Toffos and Werthers original sweets) oak and a hint of leather

With water – adding water opens up the dram with a little smoky tobacco (Mr Pie)

What they say we should get - Robust vanilla and caramel notes; slightly smoky

Palate

What we got – Starts hot, super fiery and oaky, oily (Mr Pie), toffee apple, hint of coffee and tobacco. Its intensity levels out after each tasting

With water – with only a few drops it calms the intensity down significantly

What they say we should get - Deep and complex flavours of vanilla, nuts and oak

Finish

What we got – Super long and a little dry

With water - Pretty obvious but the diluting of the bourbon reduces the finish from to long to medium

What they say we should get - Long and full; perfect for easy going sipping

Summary

Full disclosure - Mav was suffering from severe influenza (a cold) during this review.

For the incredibly high ABV this bourbon surprisingly does not over power you on the nose in the first instance. Super multifaceted, intense, flavoursome bourbon and it is incredibly easy to pick out numerous smells on the nose. The heated palate could be tempered down for a more comfortable experience with a sphere of ice if you prefer. The Gents generally also add water for tasting the particular high ABV bourbons but so far (definitely for Mav) have not found that this improves the occasion.

Mr Pie struggled a little bit with Booker’s and found it a little overpowering (cue mass hysteria from the internet world). Perhaps Mr Pie was off form on the night or just not yet able to appreciate such complex engineering.

As mentioned on the corresponding podcast the expert tastings notes were taken directly from the Booker’s website as we were unable to find explicit tasting notes for this batch. Not the most descriptive of tasting notes from their website but we certainly aligned with them. However Booker’s suggest that this is “perfect for easy going sipping”. We don’t necessarily agree with this generalised statement. You really have to be an experienced aficionado and lover of the higher strength whiskies to sip on this all night.

Score

8 out of 10 - Mav

7 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Original Review Posted - November 2016