The time is finally here! Let’s get down to the competitions. Round 1 of the 2019 BourbonGuy.com Bottom Shelf Brackets opens with Division 1 Number 3 seed Evan Williams Single Barrel (2011 vintage) versus Number 6 seed Jim Beam Repeal Batch.
This is a battle of Limited Edition Releases. Jim Beam’s Repeal Batch is a non-chill filtered, slightly higher proof version of the standard Jim Beam White. It was released to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Evan Williams Single Barrel is a limited release only in that each new release is named for the year that the bourbon was put in oak. For many years this was released after 10 years in the barrel. These days you are down to a little under 8 years. Which Limited Release will win out? Let’s find out!
These were tasted blind in the following order. Tasting notes are from before the reveal.
Jim Beam Repeal Batch
Purchase Info: $18.99 for a 1 liter bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN
Details: Non-chill filtered. 43% ABV.
Nose: Melon, cinnamon, mint, caramel corn.
Mouth: Spearmint, wintergreen, baking spice and caramel.
Finish: Medium length with lingering vanilla corn and mint.
Evan Williams Single Barrel (2011 vintage)
Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN
Details: 7 years 10 months old. 43.3% ABV.
Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, wintergreen.
Mouth: Thin mouthfeel. Almond, brown sugar, baking spice and a light mint.
Finish: On the longer side of medium and warm. Lingering almond, berry and spice.
Pre-reveal Thoughts: Whiskey two (Evan Williams Single Barrel) is the clear winner here. The nose and mouth are richer and the finish is much more satisfying.
Post Reveal Thoughts: No upset here, the higher seed (and higher age) wins in this one. Evan Williams Single Barrel is moving on to face corporate cousin Larceny in Round 2
In order to finish this competition sometime before summer, we are doing two in each post. So moving on to our second 3v6 matchup, we have Division 2 Number 3 seed Buffalo Trace versus Number 6 seed Old Forester Signature.
This match-up lands squarely on the shoulders of you, the readers. Buffalo Trace is the higher seed due to more people nominating it even though it is the lower proof bourbon. Buffalo Trace is the namesake product of the Sazerac-owned Buffalo Trace Distillery. The distillery is located in Frankfort, Kentucky and is claimed by the company to be the oldest continuously-operating distillery in the United States. If you haven’t been there you owe it to yourself to make sure that you do. Far from being the oldest distillery, the Old Forester Distillery is one of the youngest. Though that doesn’t matter much since almost none of the juice that will be going into Old Forester bottles (one day) is produced there. All of the juice in this bottle having been produced in Brown-Forman’s Shively distillery.
These were tasted blind in the following order. Tasting notes are from before the reveal.
Buffalo Trace
Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN
Details: 45% ABV.
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, Cheerios cereal, a hint of green apples.
Mouth: Spicy and warm with brown sugar, baking spice, berries and apples.
Finish: Medium length with lingering vanilla, berries and baking spice.
Old Forester Signature 100 Proof
Purchase Info: $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN
Details: 50% ABV.
Nose: Hickory, caramel, wintergreen, almond.
Mouth: Spicy and warm with vanilla, oak, green apple, clove and cinnamon.
Finish: Spicy and of medium length. Lingering brown sugar, spice, apple and wintergreen.
Pre-reveal Thoughts: This one was a very difficult matchup. In the end, whiskey two won on the strength of its finish. The spice must flow.
Post Reveal Thoughts: And just like that we have our first upset of the competition. Proof won out in this case. Old Forester Signature is moving on to match up against Evan Williams Bottled in Bond in Round 2.
BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. And if you are an iOS user, look for Bourbon Guy in Apple News. Thanks!