Daviess County Medium Toasted Finished Bourbon is the second in the Daviess County Toasted Finished Series. What’s it like? Read our full review to learn more!
The post Daviess County Medium Toasted Finished Bourbon Review appeared first on Bourbon Obs…
Daviess County Medium Toasted Finished Bourbon is the second in the Daviess County Toasted Finished Series. What's it like? Read our full review to learn more!
The post Daviess County Medium Toasted Finished Bourbon Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .
Lux Row Four Grain Double Single Barrel Bourbon is a new release from Lux Row Distillers. It is a blend of both single barrel wheated and rye bourbons. Learn what it’s like in our review!
The post Lux Row Four Grain Double Single Barrel Bourbon Review…
Lux Row Four Grain Double Single Barrel Bourbon is a new release from Lux Row Distillers. It is a blend of both single barrel wheated and rye bourbons. Learn what it's like in our review!
The post Lux Row Four Grain Double Single Barrel Bourbon Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .
By Richard Thomas The American Single Malt isn’t an official thing yet, but it seem inevitable that it will become one in the near future, and heretofore that has been a category dominated by small and medium-sized distillers. Yet it seems Brown Forman is showing some serious interest in the category. First came Woodford Reserve …
By Richard Thomas
Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt
(Credit: Brown Forman)
The American Single Malt isn’t an official thing yet, but it seem inevitable that it will become one in the near future, and heretofore that has been a category dominated by small and medium-sized distillers. Yet it seems Brown Forman is showing some serious interest in the category.
First came Woodford Reserve American Malt, but notice that this whiskey isn’t a single malt, because it isn’t made with 100% malted barley. Now the second-biggest whiskey brand in the world is weighing in on the category: Jack Daniel’s now has a full-on single malt whiskey, complete with an Oloroso Sherry cask finish. It is true that Jack Daniel’s has released a single malt before, but this one is a regular brand-extension, not a special edition. I’m quite sure Brown Forman’s rivals over at Diageo, owners of the top whisky brand Johnnie Walker, paled at the news. True
The new make for this all malted barley, column-distilled whiskey was drip-filtered through Jack Daniel’s signature vats of sugar maple charcoal, just like all the whiskeys made at the distillery. From there, it was aged for five years in new white oak barrels, then finished for three years in 79.25 gallon Sherry casks. Eight years later, this Tennessee meets Scotland style of whiskey was bottled at a very not Scottish 90 proof.
The Whiskey
Tennessee whiskey, new white oak and Sherry casks have all combined to take the coloring of this pour beyond being merely amber. Instead, it looks like strongly brewed tea: brown with red highlights.
The nosing leads with boozy four-berry jam, strongly underscoring the Sherry cask finish. Behind this is buckwheat honey and vanilla. It’s a thick, potent scent. Sipping on the malt reveals that boozy berry current joined by earthy cocoa, again laid over vanilla and dark, buckwheat honey. Finally, the finish turns to raisins and toast oat bread smeared with honey, before turning lightly peppered.
This is an intensely flavorful pour, and although it certainly doesn’t occupy some mid-point between Scotch and Tennessee Whiskey, one can see something of a Scottish style Sherry bomb in it. Also, like everything coming from Lynchburg, it is supremely smooth, and this despite its intensity.
The Price
This stuff comes in one-liter bottles, priced at $100 each.
James E Pepper Decanter Barrel Proof Bourbon is a blend of bourbons all distilled at the James E Pepper Distillery. It has an enjoyable, but unexpected, flavor profile. Read our full review to learn all about it!
The post James E Pepper Decanter Barre…
James E Pepper Decanter Barrel Proof Bourbon is a blend of bourbons all distilled at the James E Pepper Distillery. It has an enjoyable, but unexpected, flavor profile. Read our full review to learn all about it!
The post James E Pepper Decanter Barrel Proof Bourbon Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .
By Richard Thomas Rating: A The revived brand King of Kentucky is the latest ultra-aged entry to enter the lists of the Autumn Release Season, the period when most of the prized annual editions are sent to market. This year, King of Kentucky enters its sixth edition. The modern rendition of King of Kentucky was …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: A
King of Kentucky Bourbon 2023
(Credit: Brown Forman)
The revived brand King of Kentucky is the latest ultra-aged entry to enter the lists of the Autumn Release Season, the period when most of the prized annual editions are sent to market. This year, King of Kentucky enters its sixth edition.
The modern rendition of King of Kentucky was conceived as a cask strength, single barrel bourbon, matured out to late middle age or older. Amazingly, this whiskey has somehow surpassed the fever surrounding all things Buffalo Trace, and especially the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC). In most respects, King of Kentucky is an Old Forester answer to George T. Stagg; although the latter isn’t a single barrel, they are comparable in most other respects. Yet a quick check of retail data suggests the market value of a bottle of King of Kentucky outstrips that of George T. Stagg by around a thousand dollars. Doing better than BTAC is doing well indeed.
For this 2023 installment, Master Distiller Chris Morris set aside a lot of 51 barrels filled in 2007, so it is a 16 year old bourbon. The single barrel my sample came from rated 125.8 proof. The yield was a run of roughly 3,900 bottles.
The Bourbon
I really have reached the point where I look forward to the arrival of my annual sample of King of Kentucky, and now that the sixth edition has been reached, I’m debating whether to do a feature summarizing the line now or next year. It really is that consistently good.
The nose had a well-rounded, well-aged staple bourbon character to it: Brown sugar, cocoa powder and dried blueberries and cranberries served in an oaken teacup. The flavor comes forward like a slice of boozy fruitcake with vanilla syrup poured on top, except the fruity bits are chocolate-covered dried berries and raisins. On the back end, this is submerged in a wave of cinnamon, ginger and tannin seasoning, which rolls off into the finish. This particular batch of King of Kentucky — and keep in mind, it’s only one example of 51 — is velvety, full-bodied, a little sophisticated and supremely delicious.
The Price
Officially, this is supposed to go for $300 a bottle. Unofficially, the market value (not the secondary/black market, but what genuine retailers are actually asking for on-demand purchase) is $2,700. Only one year has failed to score in the A grade.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Each member of the seminal Jim Beam Small Batch Collection is now the center of its own brand line-up, and three of the four have had rye whiskeys either as limited editions or regular extensions. But of those three, I think the most appropriate to have rye whiskey attached to …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B+
Basil Hayden Malted Rye
(Credit: Beam Suntory)
Each member of the seminal Jim Beam Small Batch Collection is now the center of its own brand line-up, and three of the four have had rye whiskeys either as limited editions or regular extensions. But of those three, I think the most appropriate to have rye whiskey attached to its brand name is Basil Hayden. When the Small Batch Collection came into being in the early 1990s, Basil Hayden was the eight year old, premium version of the Old Granddad high rye bourbon.
While these four expressions each became the center of their own little universe, American Whiskey changed around them and with them. First came the Rye Craze of the early 2010s, hand in glove with the craft whiskey boom. These two forces gave rise to an interest in malted rye, with the first 100% malted rye I became familiar with being the Old Maysville Club from Old Pogue. Several years later, Basil Hayden has come around to the idea.
The Whiskey
First, it’s been a while since I handled a full bottle of Basil Hayden, and one of my complaints was the cheapness and flimsiness of the copper belt that used to ride around the waist of the bottle. That has been addressed. It’s now a robust adornment that won’t slide around, run the label and possibly cause you to drop the bottle. Basil Hayden Malted Rye is bottled at 80 proof, and in a departure from the Kentucky rye style, it is indeed a 100% malted rye.
With its dull copper look, the pour instantly tells you its in the Basil Hayden vein: it suggest a light bodied, dry whiskey. The nose dives right into that character: caramel and toasted biscuit, accented in cinnamon and citrus zest. The liquid is light and silky on the palate, the last being the surprise. It isn’t dry at all. A little molasses, a little toasty biscuit and a little lemon. You really need to let it sit on the palate and roll it over, because it isn’t the full-bodied kind of whiskey that rushes out to meet you. That dry finally makes its appearance with a spice and sandalwood kick at the end, but even that kick comes in light, and is really more like a nudge of the foot.
This Basil Hayden really is unlike any other 100% malted rye I’ve had before. Some common elements are there, but most are absent, so I can say Beam really is working some its magic to make their expression distinctive. It’s a lovely, light-bodied sipper. I urge you to never put it in a cocktail, where its character will be lost. Instead, trot this bottle out in spring and autumn, when there is no need for ice, on those occasions when you don’t want your whiskey to put hair on your chest.
The Price
The MSRP for a bottle of Basil Hayden Malted Rye is $60.
By Richard Thomas Rating: C- As the craft whiskey boom really took off in the early 2010s, many small producers were on the look out for techniques to reduce maturation time or bypass it all together. The classic was to age in small or tiny barrels. The best examples of this tailored their production process …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: C-
Glyph Spice
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
As the craft whiskey boom really took off in the early 2010s, many small producers were on the look out for techniques to reduce maturation time or bypass it all together. The classic was to age in small or tiny barrels. The best examples of this tailored their production process to make a better new make, something that would be drinkable after a mere several months in a cask that was 10 gallons or less. Many did not, giving rise to the whole “craft whiskey sucks” meme that is still kicking around to this day. Others used the small barrel concept and took it a step further, such as Defiant using spiral oak cuts (maximizing surface area) and dropping those into the whiskey, with decidedly mixed results.
The most interesting have been attempts to take a more high-tech approach, such as the ultrasonic TerrePure process. Again, when one takes in the gambit of these more laboratory-oriented methods, some achieve results worth further exploration and others come as as being mere gimmicks. Cleveland Whiskey attempted to circumvent maturation by using pressurization, with notoriously bad results. Yet some, like Bespoken Spirits, show some promise.
Glyph Spirits says they “[craft whiskey] ‘note by note’ in less than 24 hours using flavor and aroma molecules extracted from more efficient sources in nature.” By that, they mean they extract flavors directly from “plants and yeasts” and then add this to neutral grain alcohol (corn vodka, basically).
That is all very interesting, but the label is somewhat more substantive, because it must be approved by the TTB and meet certain legal requirements. Glyph Spice is a “spirit whiskey with natural flavors,” and spirits whiskey is a blend of the aforementioned neutral spirits with 5% to 20% whiskey. Spirit whiskey was a creation of the Great Whiskey Bust of the 1970s, as big distillers scrambled to create lighter products that they felt the vodka, wine and lite beer drinking Boomers of the day wanted. So, this is a little actually whiskey of some kind, corn vodka and added flavoring. Glyph is also keen on calling attention to how environmentally friendly their process is, using less water and energy than traditional distilling.
The Whiskey
The pour has a dull copper look to it, and a nose that is light, but has a slight bite to it, despite being only 40% ABV. The scents are of pine needles and canned fruit medley. The flavor delivers more pine attached to allspice. This is a simple enough drink, and it might make for a good mixer in the right company.
The Price
One thing Glyph Spice has going for it is that it is pretty cheap. I’ve seen it listed with online retailers in the $16 to $22 range.
Copper & Kings is an American brandy distillery (with a cool rooftop bar), located in Louisville, Kentucky. They distill their brandy in pot stills and age it in used bourbon barrels and new charred oak barrels, creating a brandy for the bourbon d…
Copper & Kings is an American brandy distillery (with a cool rooftop bar), located in Louisville, Kentucky. They distill their brandy in pot stills and age it in used bourbon barrels and new charred oak barrels, creating a brandy for the bourbon drinker. So, it was only natural that they release a Kentucky bourbon finished in apple brandy barrels. Read our Copper & Kings Bourbon review to learn all about it!
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By Alex Southgate Rating: B+ I am sure this is going to wrinkle a few noses out there, but as a rule I’m not a big fan of very smoky whiskies. I love a good Scotch just like the rest, but the heavy peaty aroma that comes with many expressions is something I find a …
By Alex Southgate
Rating: B+
Lochindaal 2020 Single Malt
(Credit: Berry Bros. & Rudd)
I am sure this is going to wrinkle a few noses out there, but as a rule I’m not a big fan of very smoky whiskies. I love a good Scotch just like the rest, but the heavy peaty aroma that comes with many expressions is something I find a bit off-putting. This being said, I’ve never been someone unwilling to try something new so I went into today’s tasting with an open mind. I have to say, in this case, I was pleasantly surprised.
To give you a bit of background on today’s tipple, Lochindaal was a distillery located in Port Charlotte, on Islay. It is now defunct, and usually when you see a whisky bearing the Lochindaal name, it is a Bruichladdich being done as a negociant‘s bottling. Lochindaal 2010 is from Berry Brothers & Rudd. This expression is a heavily peated Scottish malt that was aged in a first-fill bourbon barrel. As you will come to see shortly, this is a whiskey that doesn’t mess around when it comes to scent or flavor. It’s a small run of 238 bottles and comes in at a cask strength of 59.8%.
The Scotch
Lochindall 2010 is a lighter whisky that’s easy on the pour, only leaving faint legs. It’s a soft amber hue in the glass and very inviting to the eye. The aromas hit you from the bottle and the scent only becomes stronger on the pour.
This malt is smoky from the moment it hits the glass. I had to let it sit for a second to give my senses a chance to clear because all I could smell initially was peat, to the point of it being slightly overpowering. It has to be said though, that when you get beyond that there’s a lot going on to the nose.
Lochindall 2010 is a very dry smelling Scotch. The front end brings notes of burning sandalwood, apple and orange zest. This lifts leaving a heavy hit of spice, with notes of cinnamon and clove. We are left with a raisin sweetness and the inviting scent of baked wheat.
This is a whisky that will put hairs on your chest, and certainly hits hard on the first sip. Once the initial alcoholic charge has cleared your palate is hit with a pleasant but unexpected fizzy sensation. This carbonation is paired with sea salt and the heat of roasting chili. This is accompanied by notes of burning embers and more tones of dry spice. The finish is tropical with notes of grapefruit and the unmistakable citrus punch of lemon.
As I mentioned earlier I’m not a fan of peaty Scotches. This being said, I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. This is the sort of thing that on a cold winter’s day would be perfect for taking the chill off the bones. The best way to describe this whiskey is as explosive in the best possible sense.
Personally, I like something a little smoother as I’m more the sort to curl up and enjoy a long glass in front of the fire with a good book. This being said, Lochindaal 2010 probably wouldn’t be finding a permanent home in my liquor cabinet. There are two reasons for this. The price, which we’ll get to in a moment, but also because it’s not something I’d reach for regularly.
None of this means that this isn’t a very enjoyable whiskey and I can certainly see those of you that want to put a bit of fire in your belly while having a very tasty experience at the same time loving this expression. For me, personally, I would absolutely enjoy a glass or two if I were out with friends but not something I’d go looking for.
The Price
Lochindaal 2010 isn’t an inexpensive tipple, coming in at around £207 UK, but then, as I mentioned, there are only 238 bottles of it out there. At that price this would definitely be a great consideration for those collectors amongst you.
IJW is a little known company that actually produces quite a few whiskeys. The majority, if not all, of their whiskeys, are sold through Total Wine & More. A relatively recently release is their McFarlane’s Reserve 12 Year Old Bourbon Finished in …
IJW is a little known company that actually produces quite a few whiskeys. The majority, if not all, of their whiskeys, are sold through Total Wine & More. A relatively recently release is their McFarlane's Reserve 12 Year Old Bourbon Finished in Cabernet Sauvignon Barrels. I have found their prior whiskeys to be well balanced, in addition to being very good values. This one also does not disappoint. Read all about it in our full review!
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