Good reviews and High West American Prairie Bourbon

May 29, 2018 Eric Burke

Image: A bottle of High West American Prairie Bourbon I received as a gift and the card I received with it. The text on the card states: "Deer dog siTTR, Tank u 4 bee sOO gOOd 2 mEE U R bESt GOG siTTR u GOOOD WAkER & gOOD @ beLLEE RUBss. ps. No …

An interesting thing that I've only recently realized is that while my hobby is providing reviews for things that other people have made, my living is made providing services and creating objects that live and die by reviews from other people. I'm a Freelance Graphic Designer, I have an Etsy store, and I watch people's dogs.

It is amazing how bad a poor review or a lost client can feel when you've worked your ass off. It is why I try to couch negative reviews in the nicest way possible. Very few people set out to purposefully create a bad product so just because I think a poor review is justified and is good for consumers, I don't want to discourage someone just because being a dick will get more clicks than being nice about it.

Conversely, a great review will make you feel like you are on top of the world. Like all the hard work you put into a job was noticed and made someone's life better. It's even better when that good review is hand-delivered and is accompanied by whiskey.

Which is what happened to me last week.

There is a dog that I have been watching at least once a week for the last six months or more. He was just a pup when it started and we've had the pleasure of watching him grow up. Last Friday, our client came up the walkway holding a bag that looked suspiciously like a booze bag. In it was a very lovely card letting us know how much she appreciated all we do for him and a bottle of High West American Prairie bourbon. Which was doubly appreciated as we hadn't reviewed it previously.

Long story short: if you appreciate someone, let them know. It'll make their day.

High West American Prairie Bourbon

Purchase Info: This bourbon was a lovely gift of appreciation from a dogsitting client. Suggested retail price is $34.99.

Details: Age stated as 2 years old. The High West website says that is is a blend of 2- to 13-year-old straight bourbon whiskeys with one of them being an MGP bourbon of the 75% corn, 21% rye mashbill.

Nose: Butterscotch, mint, cinnamon and a hint of pickle juice.

Mouth: Sweet with a nice mouthfeel. Caramel, nutmeg, dusty oak and a hint of anise.

Finish: Medium length. Notes of cinnamon, mint, and oak.

Thoughts: The folks at High West have a reputation for sourcing whiskeys from multiple distilleries and blending them to make a tasty end product. This is no exception. Even though the product is legally only 2-years-old, this is a pretty good dram. They recommend using it in a cocktail, but I think it works just fine on it's own.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Wild Turkey Longbranch

May 24, 2018 Eric Burke

As this is billed as a collaboration between Matthew McConaughey and Eddie Russell, I'm guessing I'm supposed to start this post with some famous movie quote, something along the lines of "alright, alright, alright" or some other such piece of pop culture detritus.

I'm not going to do that.

I like Matthew McConaughey as an actor. I've liked him in most of the roles he's played. I was a bit curious when he came on as "Creative Director" for Wild Turkey, but he seems to have made a couple of good commercials. I paused a bit when Wild Turkey announced a collaboration between said Creative Director and Eddie Russell in the form of a new bourbon. I love Wild Turkey, and I wasn't sure what an actor could bring to a brand that was built under Jimmy Russell.

However, the bottle was only $36, so I decided to find out.

Wild Turkey Longbranch

Purchase Info: $35.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 43% ABV. Filtered...err...Refined with an oak and mesquite charcoal.

Nose: Brown Sugar, Wintergreen, nutmeg and a hint of day-old campfire ashes

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel. A lot of baking spices, wintergreen.

Finish: Full-mouth finish with a nice lingering tingle. Notes of mint and baking spice.

Thoughts: This is a version of Wild Turkey that turns down the "kick" but turns up the spiciness. I don't know that it will appeal to Wild Turkey die-hards, but it would probably appeal to those who are "Wild Turkey Curious." I like it. It certainly isn't my favorite Wild Turkey expression. It's better than the 81 proof. But I like 101 and Rare Breed much better. But then, I've heard of this compared to Old Grand-Dad 114's Basil Hayden. I think that is a good comparison. It's got a lot of the same flavors as it's more assertive brothers, but is accessible to the newcomer. And much like that, if it gets more people in the door, I guess it's done it's job.

Maker's Mark: Seared Bu 1-3

May 22, 2018 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Maker's Mark for providing this sample to me with no strings attached. As always, all thoughts are just my opinion and should be taken as just that.

Image: close up of the label of the Maker's Mark: Seared Bu 1-3 bottle

I have spent the last two evenings re-mulching the flower beds in front of my house. If I did it all at once, this would be a much more onerous task, but luckily the pick-up truck can only hold so many cubic yards of mulch. So I get to break it up into three much more manageable (though, to this out of shape drinker, still tiring) jobs. We like to get the ruby red mulch. Not only is it an attractive color, but it nicely accents the green plants that it surrounds.

Does this have anything to do with tonight's whiskey? Not really. I just wanted to whine about my sore back for a bit.

Well, maybe there is one connection. Red. Tonight I'm tasting a lovely limited edition, gift shop only, version of bourbon's favorite redhead, Maker's Mark. It is a sold out release, so I'm basically bragging at this point. But the knowledge of how good, or not, this release is might help you decide whether or not to make the trip to Maker's to stand in line the next time they announce a super limited, distillery only release.

In case you hadn't guessed it already, I'm tasting the Maker's Mark Seared Bu 1-3 bourbon tonight. It is an off-shoot of the Private Select program we discussed back in December. This time they are featuring a new stave that wasn't included in the Private Select program. Not because it didn't taste good, but because it didn't play well with others.

So what is this Stave Bu 1-3? According to the press release, it is a "virgin seared and sous-vide French oak stave." And according to author Carla Carlton, that means precisely what it sounds like: the seared staves were soaked in temperature-controlled water for some length of time. How does this help the stave make the whiskey taste different? No idea. I'm not a wood scientist (though if a wood scientist is reading this, I would love to know, and will happily publish, the answer).

But for now, you probably don't care about that. You just want to know how it tastes.

Maker's Mark Seared Bu 1-3

Purchase info: This sample was kindly provided to me free of charge by Maker's Mark. The suggested price was $39.99 for a 375 mL bottle.

Details: 55.35% ABV. Batch #1. Sample date April 24, 2018. Stave profile 10 Seared Bu 1-3.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, ripe cherries.

Mouth: Very warm when neat. Buttered toffee, honey, baking spices, and a light fruitiness.

Finish: Long and warm. Lingering dark chocolate and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is delicious. Forget making me want to drive down to buy it; this bourbon makes me want to live near the distillery so I could be first in line on the off chance there is something like this put out again. I'd love it if this one was added to the permanent line-up along side Maker's Mark, Maker's 46, and the cask strength ones.

As this is a barrel-strength release, I'll let you know that this holds its own with, and can benefit from, a little water. All the flavors stick around, but the heat gets knocked down some so you can enjoy them. I absolutely love this one. I'll be sticking this in the closet to share when company comes over.

1792 Bottled in Bond

May 17, 2018 Eric Burke

I've been reading a lot of old 1950s and 1960s magazines lately. I'm reading them for the history but, as I create ads for a living, I can't help but be struck by the advertisements as well. And of course, these particular magazines have a lot of booze ads in them.

Knowing that the bourbon crash was only a few years away, I am struck by the differences between the bourbon ads and the ads for clear spirits. The bourbon ads highlight luxury and impressing those you entertain. They are full of photos of men in tuxedos and women in fancy dresses. They look really old-fashioned. By contrast, the ads for clear spirits are fun. Even half a century later, they still have a freshness about them. It isn't hard to see why bourbon lost the war for the 1960s and 70s drinker.

I did find it interesting though that bourbon was advertising itself as a luxury item for the ultra-rich and swanky. When I first started drinking alcohol, you could barely give bourbon away. When I first started drinking bourbon, it was an affordable luxury. You could get something old and really delicious for $30-40. Of course, these days the pendulum has swung back again. I saw an article touting an 11-year old bourbon from a major producer for $110 today. $10 per year of age, from the big guys, seems a bit ludicrous to me, but then there is a reason I'm the guy who runs the "Bottom-Shelf Brackets."

Luckily for those of us who drink on a budget, there is one producer who seems to have found their niche producing affordable limited edition bourbons. Sazerac's Barton distillery has been quietly putting out delicious, affordable bourbon after delicious, affordable bourbon in the 1792 line. Tonight I have a glass of the 1792 Bottled-in-Bond. Let's see how it tastes.

1792 Bottled-in-Bond

Purchase info: $39.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV. Distilled and bottled at DSP-KY-12. Non-age stated though the bottle says "well-aged."

Nose: Almond, Caramel, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Good heat with cinnamon and nutmeg followed by brown sugar and mint.

Finish: Spicy and long with a heat that sort of creeps back up on you right in the middle of the chest.

Thoughts: This is a tasty bourbon. Spicy and warm, it doesn't have the almost overwhelming heat of the 1792 Full Proof. Instead, it feels like a warm blanket straight from the dryer: pure comfort. It won't knock your socks off, but then you won't need to mortgage the house to afford it either. It sums up what brought me to bourbon in the first place: a tasty, affordable, luxury.

A pair of Knob Creek Rye Single Barrel picks

May 15, 2018 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Two Knob Creek Rye Single Barrel Picks from Ace Spirits. Bottles 5722 and 5858.

Almost on a whim, I decided to go to Kentucky this past weekend. I was officially going to pick up the bottle of Wilderness Trail Family Reserve Bottled in Bond Bourbon (that we had been on "the list" to get for over four years). But honestly, the bourbon was a perfect excuse to get away and spend a long weekend with my wife. And maybe meet up with a few friends while we were at it.

As I do every time I go to Kentucky, I did a little shopping. This time around, I was specifically on the outlook for private selections from stores where I had good luck in the past. And I did well this time around. I think I brought back around four or five different store picks. I got an Elijah Craig, a Four Roses and, some Limestone Branch Wheated Bourbon. What I didn't see was a bottle of Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye is, as you might have guessed, a single barrel version of Knob Creek Rye. And much like the single barrel version of Knob Creek Bourbon, this rye comes in at a higher proof than it's batched brother. 115° proof to be exact.

Though I can get the standard, batched version of Knob Creek Rye for $25 per 750 mL bottle, I splurged on the two-pack from Ace Spirits a while ago. $95 for two 750 bottles. Let's see if barrel selection and a 15° proof bump are worth twice the price.

Knob Creek Rye, Single Barrel: Barrels #5722 and #5858

Purchase Info: $94.98 for the pair of 750 mL bottles at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN.

Details: 57.5% ABV. 6 years old (not listed, but I asked Louis, the owner at Ace, for the age and he confirmed both of these are six years old, he just declined to have the info put on the bottle).

5722 Nose: Spicy with backing spices, mint, caramel, and oak.
5858 Nose: Dusty oak and spearmint.

5722 Mouth: Mint, sharp oak, peanut, and baking spices. Quite hot.
5858 Mouth: Nice mouthfeel. Sweet honey, mint, strong baking spices and oak.

5722 Finish: Very warm and long. Lingering peanut butter and baking spice.
5858 Finish: Warm and long. Lingering sharp oak, baking spice, and peanut.

Thoughts: Both of these are good, doubly so if you are a Knob Creek Rye fan. I am getting a lot more peanut in them than I would have expected, especially since I don't remember ever getting that on the batched version. As for how they compare, 5722 has a much richer nose and is hotter with a lot of peanut notes. 5858 is sweeter with a nicer mouthfeel, but the nose isn't as nice as 5722. I'm happy to have bought either of these. If I were buying just one, I'd get the 5858.

One of the reasons I buy Rye is to use it in cocktails. I found that this one didn't work as well in typical Rye Cocktails, but worked great in ones that often call for bourbon. When I made a Sazerac, I would often mix it in a 50/50 ratio with Bulleit Rye to up the Rye notes.

As to the question of if either of these is worth twice the recent local price of the standard Knob Creek Rye. I'll just say, I'm happy to have purchased both of these once, but I'd be hard-pressed to justify a second bottle of either at current prices. If Knob Creek Rye goes back to its regular price, that might change though.

Tattersall Straight Rye Whiskey

May 8, 2018 Eric Burke

About two and a half years ago, I paid a behind-the-scenes visit to Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I walked away impressed with what they were doing and how they were doing it. The one thing I was a bit sad about was the lack of whiskey. But, knowing that better times (or at least times filled with more whiskey) were ahead, I wrote the following:

The notable exception is whiskey. Right now the cocktail room uses a bourbon that is sourced from a distillery in Kentucky and bottled by them for use in their cocktails.

Don’t be sad though. They have started production on a rye whiskey as well as wheated and rye bourbons. The rye whiskey will be 100% rye using rye grain and rye malt and aged for at least two years. They want to put out a straight product.

Well, it looks like days full of whiskey have arrived for Tattersall as their two-year-old rye whiskey is now for sale at many fine liquor stores in the state of Minnesota. As soon as I saw the announcement I ran out to buy a bottle.

Tattersall Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: $34.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV. 100% Rye mash.

Nose: Dark rye bread

Mouth: Nice, thick mouthfeel. Rye bread, molasses, mint, and nutmeg.

Finish: Not very hot but the flavors of wintergreen and molasses last a very long time.

Thoughts: This is a very interesting whiskey. Based on the timeframe and the fact that they say it is 100% rye, I have to assume that they stuck with the rye and rye malt recipe that they mentioned to me a couple years ago. If so, I think you should try this whiskey. Maybe at a bar, but give it a try. I admit this will not be to everyone's tastes but I like it. I like the idea of more rye styles than barely legal rye (51% rye) and 95-5 rye (MGP) being on the market even more.

Curious on what else Tattersall is doing? Well, when this came out they also put out a whiskey made from Stargrazer, a beer from local brewer Bauhaus Brewlabs. And looking back at that old post I found this tidbit:

For the bourbons, though they wouldn’t tell me the ingredient ratios, they did let me know that they are using different malts for both the wheat and the rye bourbons as well as a specialty yeast that was developed in Scotland.

Hmmm.... this might be one to keep an eye on.

Pure Kentucky

April 26, 2018 Eric Burke

So I'm watching the NFL draft tonight. I'm nominally a Green Bay Packer fan, but honestly, I don't really care that much about NFL football anymore. Growing up, the NFL was all I cared about. But today? I think I watched two games last season and one was the Super Bowl.

These days college football is the only sport I care about. I'm so obsessed that I even read off-season blog posts about recruiting. But that is just the off-season because honestly caring about recruiting is creepy. During the season, even if your team isn't in the running for a championship, there are those players that everyone talks about. Those that you just know are going to be playing on Sundays. And that's why I'm watching the NFL Draft. It is fun to watch the kids that you've been following all year see their dreams come true. After today though, I'll probably only see them play occasionally.

Sometimes a person likes something that it seems like they shouldn't, if you don't know the whole story.

And you could say that statement makes tonight's whiskey fit the theme. This is a bourbon that I've walked past for years. But I finally bought it. I tend not to like bourbons that are overproof. This is 107 proof. Even though I almost always like the single barrels that Willett puts out, I've been much less high on the brands they blend barrels to make. But...

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Pure Kentucky

Purchase info: $35.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: Non-age stated. 53.5% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, nougat, cinnamon, clove, mint and a nutty note.

Mouth: Nice heat as you might expect from 107° proof. Thick and chewy mouthfeel. Flavors follow the nose with caramel, cinnamon, clove, pepper, and mint.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering nougat, baking spices, and nuttiness.

Thoughts: To finish the thought from above even though I've been less than high on other brands that Willett blends barrels to create, I like this one. It is thick and chewy. The proof is high, but not too high. There is good caramel. It reminds me a bit of the Willett distilled Old Bardstown, though I don't know if it has any Willett distilled juice in it. I'm going to say that I like this in spite of all the things that say I shouldn't. I liked my first bottle of Willett-distilled Old Bardstown but wasn't a huge fan of the second one from a year later. This reminds me of that, but I still like it. The proof is a little high for me to drink neat, but that is how I like this one. It's a nice change of pace bourbon.

Bulleit Rye: Revisited

April 24, 2018 Eric Burke

In light of recent allegations made by the daughter of Tom Bulleit of his homophobia and mental and physical abuse toward her, I have made the decision that BourbonGuy.com can no longer endorse products bearing the Bulleit name. An update has been added to reflect this change.

Image: A bottle of Bulleit rye with the word "Revisited" over it.

It has been two thousand, one hundred, thirty-seven days since I last published a review of Bulleit Rye. It was so long ago that I was still writing posts about the new additions to my whiskey stash (often without reviews). It was my sixth ever official post (fifteenth overall) and only the third instance of the hand-drawn review symbols that have become a mainstay of the site ever since. It was also the first review to earn a "love" rating. Back then I had this to say about it:

"For the price of this whiskey, there is no reason for it to not always be on your shelf. It works great in cocktails and I love to drink it neat. Inexpensive, tasty and versatile."

So almost 6 years ago, I thought that this was the bee's knees. The best rye I'd had. And even at that early date, I'd had quite a few different ryes. Something about that 95% rye mash bill made me very happy. Even now, I tend to prefer the MGP Indiana-style rye over all others. Kentucky Ryes are just spicy bourbon. Canadian 100% ryes can be good, but these days it feels like they are either under-proofed or overpriced. I haven't had enough of the "Rye Mash with Malted Rye" style 100% Rye to make a firm judgment, but the ones I've had so far have been more interesting than good.

It is safe to say that over the years, this has been the most common rye to hit my shelves. I use it in cocktails, I drink it neat, and I use it in blending experiments (which only makes sense since it was originally developed as a component of a blended whiskey). But one thing I haven't done for almost 6 years is sit down and do a thoughtful tasting of it. I'm curious how my palate has shifted in the intervening years.

Bulleit Rye

Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: MGP distilled. 95% Rye Mash. 45% ABV.

Nose: Mint, cherry, and pipe tobacco.

Mouth: Spicy with mint, dill, cherry, and pipe tobacco.

Finish: Medium length with lingering spice, mint, and cherry.

Thoughts: This is the first Revisited whiskey that I have downgraded the rating on. It's not that I like it any less than I did six years ago, I've just raised the bar for those that I "love." It's interesting how little the notes on this whiskey have changed for me. I still get cherry and pipe tobacco. A combination, it is safe to say, I have never gotten on another whiskey. Yet I got it here almost 6 years apart. That is a testament to the prowess of both MGP and Diageo. I really like this one. And honestly, I'll repeat my message from six years ago, tortured grammar and all: "For the price of this whiskey, there is no reason for it to not always be on your shelf."

Update:

Actually, it turns out that there may be a reason to not have this on your shelf. There are options for the MGP 95% rye on the market that don’t involve the moral balancing act required by the Bulleit brand. On one hand, MGP rye is delicious, on the other I’d rather not continue to enrich a man alleged to have physically abused his own daughter over her sexuality. So, I will be seeking out this juice from other brands, you however are free to make your own choice in the matter.

Blog

High West American Prairie Bourbon

Wild Turkey Longbranch

Maker's Mark Seared Bu 1-3

1792 Bottled-in-Bond

Knob Creek Rye, Single Barrel: Barrels #5722 and #5858

Tattersall Straight Rye Whiskey

Pure Kentucky

Bulleit Rye

Update: