Old Wm. Tarr Manchester Reserve

I’d like to thank the folks at William Tarr Distillery for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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Oh my goodness. Christmas is right around the corner. That means that there are only about two weeks left out of the 17.93 years that have been 2020. Now I know that the world will not suddenly get better at the stroke of midnight on January 1st, but it is nice to have an agreed-upon date that we can all point to as a possible turning point.

Like the rest of the country, my wife and I have basically been a pair of shut-ins for the last I don’t even know how many months. So we’ve spent most of December ordering food and drink to be delivered to the house. We ordered things like pizza and bagels from New York City, hot chicken from Nashville, and of course food from local restaurants as well. We’ve also been accepting a lot more review samples since we are unable to go on our usual cross-country booze shopping trips.

This brings us to tonight’s whiskey: Old William Tarr Manchester Reserve. I got a press release for this one back in October. It sounded interesting. A whiskey created by history buffs who happen to be whiskey fans. They sound like my kind of people.

According to their website, Old William Tarr Manchester Reserve is a blend of 8-year-old rye (37% corn, 51% rye, and 12% malted barley) and 7-year-old bourbon (75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley). The bottle is age stated at 7 years and the whiskey is bottled at 114° proof. Let’s see how it tastes.

Old Wm. Tarr Manchester Reserve

Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by the distillery for review purposes. I see that Liquor Barn in Louisville is selling this for $79.99 and that the Party Source (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) has it for $76.99 per 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50mL): $5.33 (Liquor Barn)

Details: 57% ABV. Aged 7 years. Blended whiskey: blend of 7-year-old bourbon and 8-year-old rye (per website).

Nose: Red fruits, rose petals, cinnamon, and honey.

Mouth: Red fruits, cinnamon, and caramel.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. The rye really comes through on the finish with notes of cedar, cinnamon, and honey.

Thoughts: I'll be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this one. But I really like it. The rye notes really come through on the finish. I wish I lived close enough to where this was sold to snag a bottle for myself. Maybe in 2021, I mean it doesn’t take that long to drive to Louisville and back. Does it?

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Jim Beam Single Barrel - 108 proof

September 9th, 2020 was the last day that I saw any of my family in person. In this case, it was my mother-in-law and brother-in-law who needed tech support getting a wi-fi signal into a steel garage sitting a couple of hundred feet from her house. The combination of a large house, a steel garage, and the distance between them made for a tricky issue. You couldn’t get even a weak signal inside the building.

I like problems like this. I know enough to do the research on how to solve the problem and it allows me to learn something new. Thankfully, I knew that if I could get a signal into the building, a wi-fi repeater would allow the computer that they used in there to get a connection. And with a little time and experimentation with the position of the router and repeater, I got everything to work.

It was a fun project. I’d originally set up the network quite a few years ago when there was no need to get a connection to the outbuildings (and when the tech would have necessitated a physical connection to get there anyway). But as time passed, needs (and tech) changed. And so I got to do something new and interesting with it.

On the way home, I stopped into one of the liquor stores I traveled past in order to see what I could get in the state of Wisconsin that I couldn’t get in my home state of Minnesota. And while I was picking up my bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Select, I also noticed a bottle of Jim Beam Single Barrel that was 108 proof.

Now as you are probably aware, I usually know a fair bit of what goes on in the bourbon world just because the companies reach out and tell me. But somehow I’d missed that in late 2019, Jim Beam Single Barrel was refreshed. The old white-labeled 95 proof version was retired in favor of a new 108 proof version. Much like with my mother-in-law’s home network, tastes changed since the original was created. The bourbon public wants higher proof, non-chill filtered options. And it seems that Beam was happy to cater to those changing tastes.

Jim Beam Single Barrel - 108 proof

Purchase Info: $38.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Marketplace Foods, Menomonie, WI

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.60

Details: 54% ABV. Barrel#: JB 000207013

Nose: Mint, ginger, caramel, light citrus, and peanut.

Mouth: Caramel, mint, cinnamon.

Finish: Medium length and warmth. Lingering notes of cinnamon, peanut, and oak.

Thoughts: This bottle is deceptively drinkable at 108° proof. I like it neat with no ice. Overall, I’d say that it is a very nice upgrade/refresh from the old 95° version. And I like that the price stayed about the same even more.

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Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Special Release 2020: Barrel Proof Rye

I’d like to thank the folks at Jack Daniel’s for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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We are going to do something a little bit different tonight. Usually, my wife and I do our tasting notes on Sunday afternoon. It’s a nice relaxing weekend activity that allows us to have plenty of time to think about our notes before publishing. Then when I’m writing we enjoy a little of that night’s topic just to verify that we hadn’t gone completely crazy on Sunday. Well, tonight I called a last-minute audible. These notes are from tonight and I had never tasted this product before 1 pm this afternoon.

You might be asking why I was drinking at 1 pm on a Thursday afternoon. And that would be an understandable question. Well, today I had the opportunity to have my very first Zoom call. And it happened to be with the new Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Chris Fletcher.

Which is where the booze came in.

See this was a call with other writers to introduce the 2020 Jack Daniel’s Special Release. Being an opinion writer and not a reporter, I didn’t have many questions. But luckily for you, the other writers did. Here is what I learned about this particular release.

• The whiskey in this release was distilled in January 2015, so it is in the 5-6 year range. That is typical for Jack Daniel’s single barrel releases.

• The mashbill is 70% Rye, 12% Malted Barley and 18% Corn which is the same as their other rye releases.

• Jack Daniel’s rye distillate is run through 3 feet of charcoal before barreling instead of the 10 feet that their “bourbon mashbill” is run through.

• Their Master Distiller used the words “Bourbon Mashbill” to describe their non-rye whiskey.

• The majority of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrels come from the top floors of about 30-40 of their warehouses that had been previously identified as producing good single barrels. This release came from those same areas.

• There were 200 barrels in this release and they got about 130-150 bottles per barrel.

• The sample release of 130.8° proof is about average for their whiskey barrels after 5-6 years.

• This release was non-chill filtered, only being run through a single cellulose pad to keep the barrel chunks out of the bottles.

• This began to roll out nationwide at the end of November and the suggested retail price is $64.99.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Special Release 2020: Barrel Proof Rye

Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by Jack Daniel’s for review purposes. Suggested retail price is $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.33

Details: 5-6 years old (unofficially as isn’t on the label). 65.4% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon red hots, brown sugar, maple, vanilla, and chocolate.

Mouth: Spearmint, spicy cinnamon, dusty oak, barrel char, maple, vanilla, and dark chocolate.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering mint, cinnamon, and barrel stave.

Thoughts: I will be specifically looking for this on every trip to the liquor store for the next while. It’s a delicious rye whiskey. I'm a fan of the single barrel rye that is on shelves year-round, but it really sings at barrel proof. I really like this one.

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Bib & Tucker 10-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

I’d like to thank R\West for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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I love the holidays. And I don’t mean that in a manner that will cause Fox News talking heads to lose their shit. I mean it literally. I love the Autumn Holidays. I love the time of year from October 1st until January 1st. I love Halloween, I love Thanksgiving, I love Christmas and I love New Years Eve. This is my favorite time of year. Between the spooky decorations of October to the food of November to the fun lights of December, I’m in heaven.

Well except for one thing. I hate winter. Even more so, I hate snow. And historically, well, let’s just say that snow is a big part of this time of year. But, among all the bad curveballs 2020 has thrown our way, one that I’ve really liked was the weather. We’ve had one weekend of heavy snow. And that disappeared almost immediately. It has been glorious. For me, that is. I’m sure that people who depend on snow for their winter recreation, or who make their living off of winter recreation, are less happy about it.

But one thing that we can all be happy about is bourbon. At least if you drink, and if you don’t why are you reading this? Anyway, tonight I’m going to take a look at the second sample of Bib & Tucker that I received. This one is 10 years old and bottled at 92° proof. Like the 6 year old version, it was also distilled in Tennessee and bottled by Bib & Tucker.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Bib & Tucker 10-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was graciously provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $74.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: 46% ABV. Distilled in Tennessee. Batch 2. 10 years old.

Nose: Oak, cherry, and menthol.

Mouth: Spicy with cinnamon candies, cherry, and oak.

Finish: Sweet and oaky with cherry and cocoa

Thoughts: This is delicious. Spicy on the mouth and sweet on the finish. I'm really digging the cocoa notes that come with the finish. It's a bit out of my price range for a frequent purchase, but would make a lovely splurge or gift.

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Bib & Tucker 6-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

I’d like to thank R\West for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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A couple of months ago the folks at R\West reached out to me to let me know that they were taking over the Bib & Tucker account and asked if I wanted some samples to review on the site. Now, I’d walked past Bib & Tucker numerous times. I figured that anything in a bottle that pretty must not be that good. I figured that kinda like the old joke about the guy with the jacked-up pickup (or the sports car for those of you who grew up in more urban settings), they must be overcompensating for something.

That said, I like decorating my house with pretty bottles so I always intended to buy a bottle someday.

So because of that vague future plan to purchase a bottle, I said yes. Not that I expected a full bottle, but I figured the sample would let me know (when I finally got around to buying a bottle) if I was buying expensive prop whiskey or something I’d actually want to drink.

Bib & Tucker 6-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was graciously provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $45.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.07

Details:46% ABV. Aged in Tennessee. Batch 22. 6 years old.

Nose: Cherry, mint, and wet rock.

Mouth: Cinnamon, cocoa powder, caramel, and mint.

Finish: Medium finish in both length and heat. Lingering notes of cinnamon and wet rock.

Thoughts: This reminds me of a George Dickel whiskey. And since it is distilled and aged in Tennessee, it may very well have some Dickel in it. I like it, but it will depend on the cost as to whether I decide to pick up a bottle. I have a weird psychological hangup right around $45. $45.99 and I’m thinking $45 and have no problem paying for it on a whim. $48.99 (like I see it sell for locally) and I start mentally rounding up to $50 and $50 is where I start to scrutinize the cost a little more.

I said it was weird.

I’m really liking this as a sub $50 whiskey (so $45ish and below in practice) but I’m not 100% sold on if I’d lump it in with other $50+ whiskeys. Especially since I am really liking how it plays in cocktails and I usually don’t spend that much on whiskeys that I end up using as cocktail ingredients.

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Heaven's Door Trilogy

I’d love to start this out by quoting the song that this whiskey is named after, but I’m of an age that I identified Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door as a Guns N Roses song instead of as a Bob Dylan song for most of my young life. I may never get that association out of my head and out of respect for other people my age who have had Axl Rose’s voice inflicted upon them, I’m not going to mention this again.

Heaven’s Door Whiskey is a brand created in collaboration with Bob Dylan, musician, native of my adopted home state of Minnesota, and (as I learned while researching the brand) Iron Gate Artist. The brand website is filled with images of Mr. Dylan creating his gates. In fact, the artwork on the front of each bottle is a representation of some of those gates.

I had no idea. I thought that was pretty cool.

These bottles came out of a multipack that I found on an end cap in my local Total Wine. I originally thought it was a gift set and I had slotted it in as part of last week’s rundown. But that post got a little too long to tack three reviews onto the end of it. And honestly, I don’t know if it was a holiday gift set or just a way for folks to try their core whiskeys.

So, here are the three core releases from Heaven’s Door. A Tennessee Bourbon, a Straight Rye finished in French Oak, and Double Barrel Whiskey (a blend of three six-year-old whiskeys that was aged in a second barrel for an additional year). Let’s see how they taste.

Heaven's Door Tennessee Bourbon

Purchase Info: $56.99 for three 200 mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. This whiskey at the same store is $46.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.13 (for the 750 mL)

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Cherry, vanilla, cola.

Mouth: Sweet. Cinnamon, vanilla, cherry cola, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and warmth. Lingering notes of cherry and oak.

Thoughts: The nose on this is delicate but delicious. I'm loving the vanilla, cherry cola notes on the whiskey. I usually turn my nose up at "celebrity" whiskey brands, but this is good. I'd buy it again.

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Heaven's Door Double Barrel Whiskey

Purchase Info: $56.99 for three 200 mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. This whiskey at the same store is $46.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.13 (for the 750 mL)

Details: 50% ABV. Three 6-year-old whiskies combined then rebarrelled for a year.

Nose: Spearmint, Caramel, bubblegum, and raspberry

Mouth: I'm going to date myself on this one, but the first note I got was the "cardboard flavored gum" that came in a pack of Topps baseball cards in the early '80s. There are also mint, caramel, cinnamon, and oak notes.

Finish: Medium length and Warmth. Lingering cinnamon, and oak.

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Thoughts: Not really as much of a fan of this one. I definitely prefer the Tennessee Bourbon. The oak is a bit too forward and not well integrated. This one is a meh.

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Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey finished in Vosges Oak Barrels

Purchase Info: $56.99 for three 200 mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. This whiskey at the same store is $75.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.07 (for the 750 mL)

Details: 46% ABV. Finished in toasted oak barrels from Vosges, France

Nose: Cinnamon, ginger, cedar, tall wild grasses, citrus zest

Mouth: Spicy and sweet. Bubblegum, citrus, cedar, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Follows the month with bubblegum, cinnamon, and oak.

Thoughts: This is good, but not $75 good. I'd happily accept a glass if you are buying though.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

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Parker's Heritage Collection 2020: Heavy Char Bourbon

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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So I got my COVID test back. Turns out I’m negative for COVID and am just sick with a helluva cold. Very happy about that. Especially since that means that I hopefully won’t be losing my sense of smell or taste. Both of which are super useful for tasting whiskey. Luckily I had a backlog of tasting notes that I’ve been working through posting that should, hopefully, cover me until I can get back to tasting whiskey in a critical manner.

For now, I guess I’ll just have to drink it in a medicinal manner. Did anyone get a prescription for me?

Tonight’s set of tasting notes is for the sample of Parker’s Heritage that Heaven Hill was nice enough to send me. It’s the 14th release in the series which is named for former Master Distiller Parker Beam, who sadly passed back in 2017. Like every release going back to 2013, some of the proceeds from this year’s bottling will be going toward ALS research.

This year’s release features Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% Rye. It was aged for 10 years in “heavy char” barrels (Level 5 char) on the sixth floor of Warehouse Y. There were 102 barrels in the batch. The suggested retail price is $120.

Parker's Heritage Collection 2020: Heavy Char Bourbon

Purchase info: This was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $120.00.

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $8.00

Details: 60% ABV. Mash bill: 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% Rye. 10 years old. Level 5 char. Aged on the sixth floor of Warehouse Y. 102 barrel batch.

Nose: Vanilla, oak, caramel, and cocoa powder.

Mouth: Nice and spicy with cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and just a hint of mint.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. Lingering sweet notes of cinnamon, caramel, leather, and mint.

Thoughts: This is just straight-up good bourbon. There are no gimmicks, just the flavors that made us all fall in love with bourbon. The flavors I would list if you asked me to describe bourbon to a novice: caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, spice, a nice burn, and some dark chocolate and leather for depth. I really like it.

With water: This is 120° proof so I should probably add some water to see how it reacts. Water really brings out the caramel on the nose. It reduces some of the richer notes in the mouth allowing the drier and spicier notes to shine. Personally, I'm thinking I prefer this neat.

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Wild Turkey Rye (81 proof)

Don’t tell my wife this, but I can be quite absent-minded. Even when I was young, I’d wander into a room and have absolutely no idea why I was there. I once found a tv remote in the refrigerator. I even once forgot my Aunt’s name.

I wasn’t proud of that last one. She’d been in the family since before I was born. I’ve made sure to use her name repeatedly every time I’ve talked to her since. I really want to make sure that she knows I remember.

Another recent example is tonight’s whiskey. Last month I did a rundown of all the Wild Turkey Rye whiskeys in comparison to their most recent rye release, Rare Breed Rye. But, do you know what I didn’t do? Look to see if I had ever reviewed any of them prior to that.

Luckily for me, I’d done the 101 Rye multiple times, both before and after its hiatus a few years back. I’d also reviewed Russell’s Reserve Rye. But…yeah. Never did the standard 81 proof version. I’m thinking that it is about time to remedy that. Especially since my bottle is getting a bit low.

Wild Turkey Rye (81 proof)

Purchase Info: $22.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.53

Details: 40.5% ABV

Nose: Mint, dried grass, clove, cinnamon, and a candy sweetness.

Mouth: Mint, cinnamon, cedar, and a light sweetness.

Finish: Short and pretty gentle. Lingering notes of mint and cinnamon candies.

Thoughts: I think of this one primarily as a cocktail ingredient. The flavors stand up well to other ingredients in rye-based cocktails. It's ok neat, but nothing to write home about. I'd much prefer a pour of 101 Rye if I was going to sip neat. For a cocktail though, I think I prefer the 81. It tastes just as good in spirit-forward cocktails, but is less expensive and allows you to consume slightly less alcohol.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.