Evan Williams White Label
Presented at a higher ABV I enjoyed this much more than Evan Williams Black Label, there is plenty of peppery nature to it and a depth of sweetness to keep it interesting. 83/100
Presented at a higher ABV I enjoyed this much more than Evan Williams Black Label, there is plenty of peppery nature to it and a depth of sweetness to keep it interesting. 83/100
A very enjoyable and easy-drinking Bourbon expression sweetness somewhat tempered by toasty oak and the flavours it imbues. 84/100
The spring edition of Old Fitzgerald was a surprising 17 years old. People went nuts. Then Heaven Hill followed it up with a 19-year old release and enthusiasts clamored for it like no Old Fitzgerald before. For the smart few who open their bottle,…
The spring edition of Old Fitzgerald was a surprising 17 years old. People went nuts. Then Heaven Hill followed it up with a 19-year old release and enthusiasts clamored for it like no Old Fitzgerald before. For the smart few who open their bottle, will it be worth the $240 price tag? Plus, now with two extra-aged releases, are the days of 8 and 9-year Old Fitzgerald a thing of the past? Heaven Hill certainly keeps us on our toes for each Spring and Fall release.
Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Fall 2022
Bourbon: Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Decanter Series
Edition: Fall 2022
Distillery: Heaven Hill
Age: 19 years
ABV: 50% (100 proof)
Cost: $240.00
Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Copper penny with a red hue.
Nose:
I expected more oak with the gaudy age statement. It’s still deep with mature oak and leather, but it’s also nutty with butterscotch candy sweetness, rounded out with black tea and a heady, nectarous honeysuckle.
Taste:
The balance is remarkable. With a creamy, buttery texture, the spicy oak coats your mouth as it shifts to vanilla, toffee, and pralines, and then turns back to oak with the full array of baking spices.
Finish:
The finish has a gear shift that I love, but at first, I mistook it as a short, flat finish. After a quick burst it faded but then it rebounded with sustained warmth. It’s oak-driven and dry, still with a touch of cocoa as it fades.
Bottom Line
Pair this with the Spring 2022 release of Old Fitzgerald and you have two of the top ten bourbons of the year, easily. These are remarkable bourbons and strong buys.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly
sent me a sample for this review,
without any strings attached.
Thank you.
One of this past fall’s newest bourbons was 15 Stars Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. 15 Stars is a merchant bottler with the good fortune of being able to source from Kentucky—which of course is getting easier, but not yet for the age obtained by…
One of this past fall’s newest bourbons was 15 Stars Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. 15 Stars is a merchant bottler with the good fortune of being able to source from Kentucky—which of course is getting easier, but not yet for the age obtained by 15 Stars. This 15 Stars bourbon is a blend of 7 and 15-year old bourbons, which is almost unheard of in the Kentucky sourced market.
15 Stars Tasting Notes
Whiskey: 15 Stars Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5% (107 proof)
Cost: $140.00
Appearance:
Dark amber consistent with its age.
Nose:
The age is also evident in the aromas. The proof is hidden behind richly sweet aromas of caramel and vanilla that come with age, along with dark ripe fruit, brown sugar, cinnamon, leather and oak. The leather in particular had a subtly of old worn leather.
Taste:
Creamy and nutty with great vanilla and a little less caramel than I expected. The oakiness is exceptional. It also hides the proof, not that 107 is “high” anymore, but I still would not have guessed that it was over 100 proof.
Finish:
The finish is long, starting with brown sugar sweetness before shifting to a drying oak and more leather as it fades, with some cherry cola as it finally disappears.
Bottom Line
This is an impressive bourbon. My flavor memories can’t peg the source, which I suppose is a testament to the blending and creating something different than the distiller produces. Definitely be on the lookout for yourself or as a gift this season.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly
sent me a sample for this review,
without any strings attached.
Thank you.
I’ve been a big fan of most of Steve and Paul Beam’s limited edition Yellowstone bourbon releases, and I’ve had an excellent private selection, but until now I haven’t really had their standard releases. I suppose that the “Landmark Edition” release isn’t exactly standard,…
I’ve been a big fan of most of Steve and Paul Beam’s limited edition Yellowstone bourbon releases, and I’ve had an excellent private selection, but until now I haven’t really had their standard releases. I suppose that the “Landmark Edition” release isn’t exactly standard, at least insofar as this series of six bottles celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Yellowstone Bourbon brand with different scenes from the national park that inspired the brand.
But it’s probably the same bourbon used for the standard releases. I reached out to the brand manager for information about the bourbon itself. I asked for the mash bill; the age/ages contained in this small batch; and whether the blend included bourbon distilled at Limestone Branch, Lux Row, or perhaps a third area distillery that everyone knew was the source for Lux Row (or some combination). Unfortunately, despite several requests, I got nothing back.
I suppose sometimes it can be better to not know the source, but I’m still interested to see how Limestone Branch and Lux Row are coming along.
Bourbon: Yellowstone Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Edition: Landmark Edition celebrating Yellowstone’s 150th Anniversary
Distillery: Unknown
Age: Unstated
ABV: 46.5% (93 proof)
Cost: $42.99
Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Light amber.
Nose:
Classic caramel with baking spice and nuttiness, along with faint orange zest and maybe some toasted marshmallow.
Taste:
More classic bourbon notes as predicted by the aromas: caramel and vanilla, baking spice, and a fair oak note, but young green oak. I lost the citrus but gained light fruit. This hits many of the marks without really exceeding any expectations.
Finish:
Crisp finish of oak and black pepper with a quick hit of heat.
Bottom Line
This is a nice standard bourbon, although too short on the finish. There’s no particular pizzazz and it doesn’t necessarily stand out, especially in the crowded $40-$50 range, where there are some absolute stunners. In contrast, every bottle from Limestone Branch has been beautiful, and some have been stunning. I have faith in Steve and Paul that the contents will one day match that beauty.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly
sent me a sample for this review,
without any strings attached.
Thank you.
There’s a new resurgence of Old Fortuna, the historic Kentucky Bourbon brand dating back to the late 1800’s. Its first release is a small batch of just six barrels aged at least six years and bottled at 102 proof. Fortuna was a popular brand…
There’s a new resurgence of Old Fortuna, the historic Kentucky Bourbon brand dating back to the late 1800’s. Its first release is a small batch of just six barrels aged at least six years and bottled at 102 proof.
Fortuna was a popular brand from the late 1800’s until the midcentury downturn for bourbon, when the distillery closed. It was started by a name well-known in Louisville—the Hollenbach family. Phillip and Louis Hollenbach founded Hollenbach Bros. in 1877 and by 1882, they were blending whiskey with the Stitzels at the Glencoe Distillery for the Old Fortuna and Glencoe brands. Business was good enough that they bought the Glencoe Distillery in 1902. Prohibition shut them down, like so many other distilleries, but at least there was still medicinal whiskey. After Repeal, they built a new Glencoe Distillery and sustained Fortuna’s popularity.
Now the brand has been revived by Rare Character with a throwback label and the all-important “Kentucky” designation as its state of distillation.
Fortuna Tasting Notes
Whiskey: Fortuna Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 51% (102 proof)
Cost: $84.99
Nose:
The caramel hits first with oak… It has some familiarities but I’m not taking a guess just yet. I get graham cracker, brown sugar, vanilla, and a more oak and rye than I had expected.
Taste:
The palate is incredibly balanced with the flavors just as predicted by the aromas. The same sweet flavors of caramel, brown sugar, and vanilla complement oak, black pepper, rye, and tobacco as a late arrival. The sweetness shifts to a bit of crème brûlée with cherries and citrus zest. It has flavor for days.
Finish:
The finish is long and classic Kentucky bourbon, not overly sweet, with a gentle warming swell.
Bottom Line
When historic brands are revived out of the blue, I tend to be suspicious. I have sales resistance. But then I tasted Fortuna…
The six-year age statement has to be coming in under the rule about having to use the youngest whiskey in the bottle because this drinks much older than a six-year bourbon. True to form, Rare Character knocks this one out of the park. I’m now curious whether anyone is better than Rare Character on getting access to prime barrels or being able to pick diamonds in the rough.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly
sent me a sample for this review,
without any strings attached.
Thank you.
At 10 years old and 50% ABV / 100 proof this is a robust Bourbon offering from Rebel, sweet and cereal spirit from the Wheated mashbill is infused with plenty of wood influences, produced in batches which may vary but will retain this essential nature …
Ever since Old Crow and Old Taylor aggressively protected their trademarks in the 1800’s, setting the stage for current-day trademark law, bourbon brands have kept trademark attorneys busy. Diageo’s Bulleit brand and W.J. Deutsch & Sons’ Redemption brand have been locked in litigation for…
Ever since Old Crow and Old Taylor aggressively protected their trademarks in the 1800’s, setting the stage for current-day trademark law, bourbon brands have kept trademark attorneys busy.
Diageo’s Bulleit brand and W.J. Deutsch & Sons’ Redemption brand have been locked in litigation for years, but as of last week, the federal district court in the Southern District of New York entered a permanent injunction against Redemption. In sum, the court ordered Redemption to change its bottle and trade dress immediately.
In 2017, Bulleit sued Redemption, claiming that Redemption’s 2016 packaging redesign was “strikingly similar to that of Diageo’s Bulleit whiskey and copies the same vintage style and appearance,” and alleging that this infringed on Bulleit’s trademark and trade dress rights. Redemption responded with bluster, stating that Bulleit’s complaint “is devoid of any merit whatsoever” and asserted its own claims against Bulleit, even alleging that Bulleit had obtained its trademark fraudulently by making knowingly false statements to the Trademark Office.
Earlier this year, the parties went to trial in New York, with Redemption losing its counterclaims against Bulleit, but without Bulleit being awarded any damages. While Bulleit was not able to convince the jury on the issue of damages, the jury concluded that Bulleit’s trade dress is valid and protectable and that its packaging is famous, which paved the way for Bulleit to ask the court to enter an injunction.
That’s just what Bulleit did after the trial, and the court agreed that an injunction against Redemption was warranted. On September 7, 2022, the court recounted Bulleit’s use of its iconic bottle for 21 years, that it was nationally famous, and that Bulleit spent $56 million advertising in the five years before Redemption’s bottle redesign in 2016 (a year in which the court noted that Bulleit had $150 million in sales). It probably did not help that Redemption’s witnesses admitted that “consumers already know and love” Bulleit.
The jury’s conclusion that Bulleit’s trade dress was diluted by the Redemption packaging created a presumption that Bulleit was irreparably harmed, but Redemption still argued that Bulleit failed to prove a loss of any goodwill or erosion of its trade dress. The court disagreed, finding instead that Bulleit had provided “ample evidence show[ing] a loss of goodwill and the whittling away of the distinctiveness of Bulleit packaging to the detriment of its reputation and its ability to signify to the public that it is a unique product… .” When Redemption introduced its new packaging, Bulleit’s growth declined from the high 20’s, to 10 percent, and then single digits, while Redemption earned over $21 million in profits.
So, what does this mean for Redemption? First, although it might appeal, Redemption has been ordered to stop using its current packaging that looks like Bulleit’s. Whatever Redemption bottles had been sold by the brand as of September 7 can be sold to consumers, but there can be no new sales to distributors. Second, Redemption was ordered to redesign its packaging to “convey a substantially different commercial impression.”
While Bulleit’s victory was not nearly as convincing as Brown-Forman’s legendary triumph over Barton in the Woodford v. Ridgewood case, it continues a long line of authority that should keep new brands cautious and should act as a warning to marketers who push for brand redesign to capture the look and feel of popular brands. Originality is the safest way to avoid expensive lawsuits.
With 1.9 million barrels of American Whiskey aging in six rickhouse sites, you have to figure that Heaven Hill had room for some more limited editions, and sure enough, Heaven Hill recently announced a new annual release called the “Heaven Hill Heritage Collection.” The…
With 1.9 million barrels of American Whiskey aging in six rickhouse sites, you have to figure that Heaven Hill had room for some more limited editions, and sure enough, Heaven Hill recently announced a new annual release called the “Heaven Hill Heritage Collection.” The first of this new annual spring release is a 17-year age-stated bourbon using Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mashbill (78% corn; 10% rye; 12% malted barley).
The Heaven Hill Heritage Collection will complement the fall limited edition release of Parker’s Heritage Collection, which Heaven Hill explains is “more experimental.” I’ve also considered Heaven Hill’s twice-per-year release of the Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond decanter series to be a limited edition of its own, and for spring 2022, it’s also a whopping 17 years old (the oldest to date in the series). I couldn’t think of a better way to try these than together.
Heaven Hill Heritage Collection No. 1
Bourbon: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Edition: First!!
Distillery: Heaven Hill
Age: 28% 20-year; 44% 19-year; 28% 17-year
ABV: 59.1% (118.2 proof)
Cost: $275.00
Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Beautiful brown, worn penny, showing its age.
Nose:
Vanilla, oak, old leatherbound books, and deep, deep cherry. Gorgeous depth.
Taste:
Oak driven in the way that reminds you that you’re kidding yourself when you say six-eight years is the best range for bourbon. There’s nothing like this kind of oak when a distillery catches it before it becomes over oaked. There’s still the required caramel and vanilla, along with tobacco, leather, and nutmeg. It’s downright sultry.
Finish:
Steady, long, and warm with an introduction of nutty cocoa.
Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Spring 2022
Bourbon: Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond
Edition: Spring 2022
Distillery: Heaven Hill
Age: 17 years
ABV: 50% (100 proof)
Cost: $185.00
Tasting Notes
Appearance:
More amber than the Heaven Hill Heritage Collection, but still leaning brown.
Nose:
Oak and honey appear first, but what really impressed me was the sweet berries, more like homemade jam. The aromas are absolutely enticing.
Taste:
Mellow with the plenty of oak, but not nearly as much oak as I expected from the extra aging. Butterscotch, sweet glazed fruit pastries, and custard all compliment the oak, leather and cinnamon, producing a creamy, balanced, elegant bourbon.
Finish:
Moderately warm but long and sustained.
Bottom Line
We all knew that Heaven Hill has the supply of incredible whiskey that could support limited editions along with a stable of moderately-priced classics, and here’s the proof. No other distillery has (or can) match the diversity of what Heaven Hill has aging in its rickhouses, and I’m excited that Heaven Hill is now showcasing that it has more than just Parker’s Heritage Collection to add to the yearly discussion about the best bourbon. At this early stage of 2022, these two are top contenders.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly
sent me samples for this review,
without any strings attached.
Thank you.
I continue to look forward to each of the three yearly releases of Larceny Barrel Proof. The second release of 2021—B521—is a little higher in proof that A121, and the third release (C921) is slightly higher. I remember that the first release of the…
I continue to look forward to each of the three yearly releases of Larceny Barrel Proof. The second release of 2021—B521—is a little higher in proof that A121, and the third release (C921) is slightly higher. I remember that the first release of the year had distinct black pepper note that mellowed out with some air, so I’m interested to see how the next two are different.
Larceny Barrel Proof B521 Tasting Notes
Bourbon: Larceny Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Distillery: Heaven Hill
Age: NAS, but 6-8 years
ABV: 60.5% (121 proof)
Cost: $49.99
Appearance:
Standard amber and squarely in the color range for the age (Heaven Hill’s new Bourbon Experience in Bardstown has a cool interactive exhibit that shows color profiles based on age).
Nose:
Savory spices with oak, but also with rich caramel for balance.
Taste:
Floral and spice are most prominent for an overall dry flavor, but it’s on a backdrop of caramel and maple syrup sweetness, which is really accentuated with a splash of water, bringing out creaminess that’s lacking at barrel strength.
Finish:
Crisp and dry on the finish, more than I usually get from Larceny, but a splash also sweetens and extends the warming finish. There’s a really nice almond that appears on the finish too.
Larceny Barrel Proof C921 Tasting Notes
Bourbon: Larceny Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Distillery: Heaven Hill
Age: NAS, but 6-8 years
ABV: 61.3% (122.6 proof)
Cost: $49.99
Appearance:
Also squarely on hue.
Nose:
Most oak of the three for 2021, with nougat, brown sugar, and the slightest black pepper and leather. Really gorgeous.
Taste:
Sweet vanilla, maple syrup, chocolate covered cherries, and dark fruit dominate before oak fills in with a cocktail quality orange zest.
Finish:
Long and dominated by brown sugar, honey, and cinnamon during the fade.
Bottom Line
The three 2021 batches of Larceny Barrel Proof have shown the available variations and room for people to have their favorites. With Batch A121, I thought it needed some air, with Batch B521, I thought that it needed a splash of water, and C921 I liked best neat—for me it was by far the best of the three. Even though it was the last batch of 2021, it is probably showing up in many markets here in early 2022, so be on the lookout. This is a very strong buy folks.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly
sent me samples for this review,
without any strings attached.
Thank you.