Bourbon Derby: 21 Days Off: Blanton's

My whiskey for September 12th: Blanton's.

Taste is inextricably linked with our other senses, and, more importantly, our overall perceptive abilities. When we feel alert and interested, our tastes may change; in times of stress, some unfortunate sensitivities are heightened. In times of pleasure, things might overall "feel" better. Our ability to review situations is reflective of our mental state -- when I think back to my favorite meals, for example, they were often on happy occasions (birthday dinners, anniversaries, so on). It's a bit of a self-perpetuating conceit -- I often go to a nicer/more novel place because of a special event, but eating a meal when the moment already feels significant may already make the meal seem better than usual, pre-confirming my desire for things to be special. Later meals at the same places are typically enjoyable, but may not have lived up to that first experience, either because they were novel or because I was particularly receptive to positive feedback.

One of my fondest memories in recent years is sitting and drinking Blanton's with my dad. Because of that, it's difficult to really review it completely objectively outside a blind tasting. After all, the situations I'm drinking bourbon these days -- exhausted, late at night after a bar shift, as my wife and the world sleep around me -- aren't exactly the perfect tasting scenarios. That said, Blanton's is good enough to lift my spirits. The nose is nothing to write home about, but when it hits my tongue, it reminds me of the lovely honeyed taste Scotch aficionados write about. The mouthfeel isn't exactly thick, but it's not really thin or anything. The final taste and finish is a thing of beauty, one of the great back-of-tongue flavors and finishes in the world of bourbon, and whisk(e)y in general. The finish is what brings me back to bourbon -- a peaty scotch has a lovely finish, but nothing matches a beefy bourbon finish, save for a really exceptional (and/or old) American rye. The wood gives so much to the back of the tongue and the lingering taste on the throat. 

I'm trying to avoid looking up outside information as I drink these whiskeys, but, unless my memory fails me, I think that Blanton's is part of the higher rye/lower corn mashbill that BT uses for some of its bourbons. That rye definitely kicks in that "back of tongue" grain interplay I keep harping about.When I want to tell people about the crazy tingling and "dancing-grain" tastes I get in some bourbons, I usually use the Weller bourbons as a point of reference. However, this freshly-cracked bottle of Blanton's is giving me the same thing, but with a rye profile. While Van Winkle is no doubt a great distiller, Blanton's (and Stagg) are the big arguments for how Harlan's mainline BT stuff can go toe-to-toe with the hyped Pappy (and its little bro Weller).

I'm trying avoid dipping too much into my stash of rare (mostly-US-only) bourbons, to keep mostly to whiskies that will be available at the Derby. I'm worried, drinking Blanton's now, that it will be hard to feel as enthusiastic about another bourbon as I do about this whiskey. That said, there are some lovely whiskies lined up on my shelf -- EC12, Wild Turkey, and the entire Four Roses line -- and a lot of them should offer some nice alternatives. Especially when it comes to the nose -- as I finished the last few drops, I can't help but notice how I quickly skip past nosing the whiskey (normally one of my favorite parts of the drinking experience) and just jump to the finish. I do have to say that's a clever way to get me to down my drink quick.

Bourbon Derby: 22 days off: Woodford Reserve

The Derby of Bourbons, 20 bourbons at 3030, is on October 3rd. This is my whiskey for Sept 11.

Had a conversation with a customer tonight about how the only bourbon he drank regularly was Woodford, because it was easy to drink. The Woodford distillery -- a gorgeous tourist destination, but only partially a working distillery  -- is within 25 miles from my parent's house, so I always bring folks who are visiting there. I've been almost 10 times, which is weird considering how little Woodford I actually drink.

It's certainly not a bad whiskey, but tasting it today, it doesn't taste so much like bourbon. Not sure if my tastebuds are incorrectly attuned to bourbon these days, but it really tastes like an irish whiskey crossed with bourbon. Maybe my brain is deceitful; it knows that about half the whiskey going in that pretty little bottle is from a pot still, just like Redbreast. This bottle is mild; the taste and mouthfeel is different than most bourbons-- thick and oily, like a corny baby Redbreast. The finish has some nice spice interplay, but not near what the best wheaters can have. The rye is more or less lost, and the taste is just sweet corn and vanilla; most bourbons have those as notes, but this is ramped up.

It's certainly a whiskey for people who don't like complications or corner cases. No sharp edges on the taste, no harsh burn; it has a lengthier finish than, say, Maker's, but even that is mild and agreeable. Further into the glass and I'm actually less interested in it -- it's drinkable but not much else, like drinking syrupy soda. I can definitely see why Brown-Forman slap it up as the premium bourbon to sit alongside their Jack Daniels line; it's more interesting than the too-smooth Daniels, but it's smooth and easygoing in its own way.

I need to pick something more interesting tomorrow. Maybe Wathen's or Van Winkle 10? Certainly don't regret drinking this, but I do regret the lateness of the hour. To bed!

Bourbon Derby: 23 days off

Just getting thoughts down here...

Been a while since I drank bourbon. I've certainly had a slug here or there (feel dirty calling it a "dram"), but the last year has seen me drink less bourbon than I have in a decade, due to learning about beer and cocktails and all that fun jazz.

So, a few whiskeys a week, to re-orient my tastebuds. I'm actually going to aim for one a day, to lead up to Toronto Bourbon Week.


First off is Jim Beam White Label. Figured it would be an appropriate starting point, as it's most folks' starting point with bourbon. I don't get the nuances I used to, which makes me trying whiskey all the more important. Still, that corn-y-ness, the raw cornbread and yeast Jim Beam flavor is still there, and makes that first sip a little tough. It's watery, too, lacking the viscous mouthfeel and complex flavors of the amaros and such I've been drinking recently. The finish is a bit unpleasant for a bourbon -- not bad, mind you, and certainly nowhere near harsh, but thin and not too exciting. That said, I can see why this was the fancy step up from Kentucky Tavern for me a decade ago; its harshness is a mild, rounded back of the mouth sort, the kind that doesn't gag. I find I let my mouth open for oxygen more to let the taste escape. There's some acidity on the sides of the back and tip of the tongue. It's certainly more sippable as the pour opens up and I'm ten minutes in; the sweetness comes through, and it's not wholly drowned in ethanol. Still, you can barely taste it as a rye-flavoured whiskey; 80 proof probably cuts back on the intensity a bit much.

Not sure what I would do with it in a drink; feels like it would get lost. On the rocks, I recall, it tastes like the dirty-but-an-institution bars you go to see grungy bands at; Black Cat in DC, the Dame in Lexington, Little Brothers in Columbus, hell, even Lee's Palace here in Toronto. Watery whiskey that is made inoffensive by the cold, then you chew on the whiskey-flavored ice to hydrate and save money on buying another. Corn-water-with a little finish, so you know you're drinking bourbon.

Jim Beam. You ain't bad but sure you ain't any good.

Jefferson's Revisited

JEFFERSON'S SMALL BATCH
Jefferson's -- Unknown Distillery

$49.85 - 82 Proof

Yeah, gave it another try. Still not a huge fan, and it's not cheap. Thomas Jefferson HATED whiskey, by the by, and thought it would be the downfall of a nation. He was super into wine and grumpy when he couldn't get his favorite vines to grow in the Americas. Maybe this whiskey was why?

Oily, light, burnt, a little chemical, a little sulfurous.

Taste -- Not undrinkable, just Poor (1 out of 5)

Value -- Nice bottle. Poor.

BBQ # 3 - Where is Bourbon made?

I get a lot of questions about bourbon at work. In the hopes of saving myself some effort, I am putting some answers to common questions up here on the blog. That way, if you have been referred to here from my work, you can get a more in-depth answer than I could likely give you at the bar.


WHERE ARE THE BOURBON DISTILLERIES?

There have been a couple of people, over the last 3 months, who have asked me where to visit during a quick stop in Kentucky. Basically, if you're travelling to Kentucky, you're probably going to Northern Kentucky (near Cincinatti), Louisville, or my old hometown of Lexington. For Northern Kentucky, you're about equidistant from Lexington. Here are some good places to check out.




WOODFORD RESERVE -- only about 20 minutes from Lexington, in scenic Woodford County, is Woodford Reserve. They don't actually make a lot of whiskey here; it's really more a tourist destination. They tour is pretty great and they have lengthier tours in certain months you can reserve. Definitely a great introduction to bourbon, just like the whiskey itself.


LAWRENCEBURG - about 40 minutes west of Lexington, Lawrenceburg is home to both Four Roses and Wild Turkey. I haven't been back to Wild Turkey since they opened their newly renovated distillery, but I hear it is great. Four Roses has a very nice tour during the on-season, but is nothing special during the summer.


BUFFALO TRACE -- The Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort is probably the best distillery overall to visit; they give you a very thorough tour even off-season, and their hard hat tour (which requires calling ahead for reservations) is fantastic. Plus they experiment a lot, which gives you the chance to see some interesting upcoming products, and they let you try both their standard whiskies and their white dog, which is pretty educational. It's halfway between Lexington and Louisville, too.


BARDSTOWN -- Bardstown gives you access to the Bardstown Bourbon Cultural Something or Other (really the Heaven Hill bottling plant and warehouses, which have a great behind the scenes reservation-requiring tour that shows you a lot of the bottling and production end you don't see elsewhere). Bardstown is also the home of Barton distilleries, which only recently has started running tours. Right next to Bardstown is Loretto, home of Maker's Mark and one of the nicest-looking distilleries.


LOUISVILLE -- Go a bit south of Louisville and you can visit Jim Beam's big operation. I haven't been there for years, so I'm not sure what they offer for premium tours.

W.L. Weller 12 Year Review

W.L. Weller 12-Year Old
Buffalo Trace - Sazerac
$44.95 (Website Only) -- 90 Proof

Earlier this summer, the LCBO offered a few interesting Buffalo Trace products as a direct order for customers online -- the E.H. Taylor Bourbon (which I believe was bottles from the 3rd distinct release of that specialty brand in recent years), Buffalo Trace White Dog (unaged whiskey from the still), and the W.L. Weller 12 Year. Old Weller Antique used to be one of my go-to value bourbons in Kentucky (along with Kentucky Tavern and Very Old Barton, depending on how much money I had at the time), and while that bourbon line is gone, the Weller 12yr and the Weller 107 proof are still around (for now).

What makes the Weller notable is that it is the "baby" version of the famed Pappy Van Winkle line. Julian Van Winkle serves as the master distiller for the Weller, Rip Van Winkle, and Pappy Van Winkle lines, and he uses recipes based off the old Stitzel-Weller recipes; most notably, all the aforementioned whiskeys are wheated bourbons (like Maker's Mark). The Van Winkle family were the master distillers at Stitzel-Weller; S-W is a legendary distillery among bourbon nerds, known for its wheated bourbons with rich, cognac-y flavours.

The Weller line tops off at the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection's William Larue Weller, which is released unfiltered at barrel-strength, often well above 120 proof (60%). Previously, the Weller name was used to distinguish between whiskey that contained mostly Buffalo Trace-distilled product (the Wellers) and whiskey that also contained product distilled elsewhere (the Van Winkle line, which contained some aging whiskey from Stitzel-Weller and other defunct distilleries). Nowadays, the stock of old Stitzel Weller has dried up (the last was distilled in the early 90s), so the younger bourbons in the Van Winkle line (the 12yo Lot B and the 15 year old) contain mostly Buffalo Trace product, making the lines extremely similar. To my taste buds, there isn't much appreciable difference between the W.L. Weller 12 year and the much-hyped Rip Van Winkle 10-year and Pappy 12 Year Lot B.

The nose isn't anything remarkable, but it is good. This whiskey sparkles -- when I hold it on my tongue, I can feel the grain interplay tingle my tastebuds. It's mouthfeel is thicker and oilier than Makers, but, as a wheater, it's taste is light and playful enough to drink almost incidentally. It's like a good Collins in whiskey form. Unlike other wheaters, the finish lingers just long enough without vanishing.


This is a GREAT (4 out of 5) whiskey. While I prefer the toughness of the 107 proof version, we don't get it up here, and the extra age adds a bit of complexity to the finish.

It is also a VERY GOOD value. While there are lots of good bourbon at this price range, and while we're paying almost $25 more than Kentucky prices for this bourbon, the uniqueness of the Van Winkle line and the huge markdown compared to the similar Van Winkle products make this an awesome value. Hopefully the LCBO leans on Buffalo Trace to make this bourbon a regular feature north of the border!

BBQ -- Basic Bourbon Question #2

I get a lot of questions about bourbon at work. In the hopes of saving myself some effort, I am putting some answers to common questions up here on the blog. That way, if you have been referred to here from my work, you can get a more in-depth answer than I could likely give you at the bar.

WHAT DOES PROOF MEAN?

Alternatively, why does this bottle say "proof"?

Proof is pretty simple -- figure out how much alcohol, by overall volume, is in the spirit, and double that number. You found its proof! (Basic algebra tells us we can reverse that too -- half of proof is ABV.)

The term proof came from how they used to measure alcohol -- they would mix a gunpowder with a bottle of booze and then set it on fire. If it burst into a bright flame (usually blue!) it would be "Proof" that the alcohol was good -- at least 50% ABV. Nowadays we have much more accurate ways of telling the amount of alcohol in a spirit (proof back then was actually a bit higher than the aimed-for 50%), but that was where the term came from, and it mostly just stuck.

Bourbon, to be bourbon, must be at least 80 proof, or 40% ABV. That means that in addition to containing weird flavoured additives that keep them from being real whiskey, a lot of "flavoured" and "spiced" whiskies are under 80 proof, further disqualifying them from true whiskeyhood. They're not my cup of tea, but if you like 'em, though, more power to you.