Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon Bottled in Bond, 6 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 50% ABV $12
What Richard Says: Nose: Slightly alcoholic opening up to sweet caramel covering vanilla pudding before easing into a nice honeysuckle. Palate: Creamy with more vanilla and caramel sweetness with just a hint of leather and black pepper. Very easy to drink. On a follow up tasting session this was more corn forward than the earlier sessions. A bit of fluid bourbon (no pun intended) that changes a good bit depending on the situation and precedents. Finish: A like hot at first and then it smooths out to a little woodiness and a good dose of black pepper and cinnamon. Comments: No “the distillery says” section you ask? Well, that’s because they don’t say much of anything. Even in this day and age you’d be hard pressed to find a website from Heaven Hill featuring or even mentioning this version. It’s an old one that’s been around a while. It doesn’t get a lot of press but like the Very Old Barton Bottled in Bond we just reviewed this is an often overlooked very solid bourbon at a ridiculously good price. It’s not going to rock your world but for $12 you can sit back and enjoy good drink while all the Johnny-come-lately’s are paying $500 for a bottle of Van Winkle 10 year old. Rating: Stands Out, Great Value
Very Old Barton Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond 50% ABV $12-$15 Website What the Distillery Says: Very Old Barton has been carefully distilled and aged for generations in Bardstown, Kentucky. This classic bourbon whiskey has a bold and rich taste that goes down smooth, just as it has for decades.
The opening sip rushes opulent flavors of vanilla bean, exotic close and worn leather over the tongue. As the experience progresses, the shear mass of this whiskey is realized. The velvety body flows through the pallet leaving a trail of royal splendor. The finish is as decadent as the beginning.
What Richard Says: Nose: Vanilla, caramel, cornbread, cinnamon, and clove. Palate: Burnt caramel syrup, black pepper, polish wood, oiled leather. Finish: A little rough around the edges at first but it settles into a mellow oakiness. Comments: You’ll notice from the photo that this is “Aged 6 Years”. You won’t find that anymore. Instead you’ll find a “6” on the neck in conspicuously the same place. Sazerac owns Barton and it’s brands along with Buffalo Trace. In recent years they keep touting their inventory shortages. I can understand that. Demand for bourbon keeps rising. But what I don’t understand is how the company is handling that. Several of their lowered priced brands have seen their age statements disappear to “allow them the flexibility to bottle the bourbon when it’s ready not when it hits a certain age.” Fair enough, but what isn’t fair is that a number of these bottle still have the number in the same place but without the “aged” and “years” to accompany it. Sazerac says the bourbon in here is still six years old and the taste profile hasn’t changed noticeably to me. However, I do take severe umbrage to leaving the six on there. Sazerac says they did market research and this was the best choice to the consumer but I don’t care. I still think its blatantly dishonest, misleading, and is just another in a series of moves like this by the company. I used to be a Buffalo Trace and Sazerac super fan but the way they are handling their inventory (or profit) problems I find appalling. They still make great whiskey and this is a great bourbon and the price is pretty hard to beat. But integrity is important to me too. It’s up to you to decide how you feel about the labeling (and potential product) changes the company is undergoing. Rating: Stands Out, Great Value
Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Sour Mash Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 45% ABV $25 to $30 Website What the Distillery Says: Named after Master Distiller Emeritus Elmer T. Lee, this whiskey is hand selected and bottled to the taste and standards of Elmer T. Lee himself. Perfectly balanced and rich, as declared by the man who knows how great bourbon should taste.
The nose brings notes of clover, vanilla, and old leather. The flavor balances fruit, honey and vanilla with a light spiciness. A long and warm finish.
What Richard Says: Nose: Buttery toffee, vanilla, and cinnamon. Palate: More of a honey drizzled over cornbread sweetness with vanilla cream, stone fruits, and a black pepper back. Finish: Initial pepper spice and cocoa powder smoothing out in to oak and leather slowly fading away. Comments: A great bourbon at a great price. The quality of recent Elmers I’ve had were not on the same level as what I feel it used to be. However, there are a number of private selections of Elmer T Lee out there and I find that some of these are truly exceptional. Since it is a single barrel bourbon it really is up to the barrel you get your bottle from. That said, there is an overall profile for the brand and the various bottlings don’t vary THAT much. Even still, if you do get a great bottle you may want to go back and buy a few more from the same source. There’s no guarantee subsequent barrels will be on par with that bottle you loved. Rating: Stands Out
Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Sour Mash Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 46.5% ABV $35 Website What the Distillery Says: In 1949, a slight young man fresh out of college with an engineering degree came to work at Buffalo Trace Distillery (then known as the George T. Stagg Distillery). That man was Elmer T. Lee, and little did anyone know, he would become a legend in the bourbon industry – a Master Distiller, creating the world’s first single barrel bourbon in 1984 and revitalizing the bourbon industry.
After 36 years of service to Buffalo Trace Distillery, Elmer retired in 1985, but continued to travel the world as a bourbon ambassador for Buffalo Trace. He regaled bourbon fans with stories from his past, while educating them about the history and heritage of America’s native spirit. Shortly after his retirement Elmer was honored with his own namesake single barrel bourbon. Every week Elmer visited the Distillery in which he had spent so much of his life, went to the laboratory, and personally selected the barrels for his namesake brand.
Sadly, in 2013 Elmer died just a few weeks shy of what would have been his 94th birthday. Now, Buffalo Trace honors Elmer again with the release of a commemorative edition Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon at 93 proof, his age when he passed.
Selected from the same warehouse floors which Elmer liked to find his “honey” barrels for his namesake bourbon, the commemorative edition is packaged in the same square bottle as the standard Elmer T. Lee, but with an upscale black label with gold embossed lettering bearing Elmer’s signature. His distinctive profile adorns the front of the label while the back label details of Elmer’s life and his legacy.
“We’re remarkably fortunate to have known Elmer. His contributions to the bourbon industry, Buffalo Trace Distillery and all our lives are countless. We want to honor our friend and give back to his family and his favorite cause, the Veterans of Foreign Wars,” said Kris Comstock, bourbon marketing director. “Profits from the sale of this commemorative edition Elmer T. Lee Bourbon will go to local VFW Post 4075, in which Elmer was active until the end.” Elmer served as a radar bombardier in the United States Army Air Corps (now known as the United States Air Force) in World War II.
“The barrels selected for this bourbon taste much the same as the standard Elmer T. Lee bourbon in which he was so proud. Barrels were tasted and carefully evaluated by the team at Buffalo Trace to ensure each had the smooth and balanced sweetness that Elmer T. Lee Bourbon fans have come to love,” continued Comstock.
What Richard Says: Nose: A little herbal grassy note followed by green tea, vanilla, butterscotch, and burnt sugar with just a hint of cinnamon. Palate: Creamy with a buttery toffee sweetness backed with a black pepper and mint rye kick. Finish: A little hot on the finish. As mellow as the nose and palate are this is surprisingly aggressive on the way out. Mint and oak notes pervade after the pepper finishes dancing around the edges of the tongue. Comments: This is much better than most of the Elmers I’ve had recently. I was in love with the Elmer T Lee bourbons I had the early part of the last decade when I first discovered them. It was like liquid candy in a very non-cloying way. It just hit all the right buttons. Sadly, in the intervening 12-13 years I feel that the bottlings have gone down hill. You can come across a great private selection from time to time but the stuff coming from the distillery picks is a shadow of it’s former self. This commemorative release in the closest I’ve seen to the old Elmers that I miss so much. A great bourbon at a great price. Rating: Must Try
Stagg Jr Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 64.35% ABV $50 to $55 Website What the Distillery Says: George T. Stagg built the most dominant American distillery of the 19th century, during a time known as the Gilded Age of Bourbon. Uncut and unfiltered, this robust bourbon whiskey ages for nearly a decade and boasts the bold character that is reminiscent of the man himself.
Rich, sweet, chocolate and brown sugar flavors mingle in perfect balance with the bold rye spiciness. The boundless finish lingers with hints of cherries, cloves and smokiness.
What Richard Says: Nose: A bit hot on the nose. Give the alcohol time to settle and it comes through with mint, clove, and a little cinnamon. Palate: Nice viscous mouthfeel. Vanilla, mint, brown sugar cookies, leathery, with a back dose of pepper. Finish: Oak, mint, and leather in equal measure. Comments: Not bad at all. However, this isn’t George T Stagg. Given that the 2013 Stagg Sr. release has a nearly identical proof I can say this one drinks hotter and younger by a good measure. Still, it stands up well on its own. I’ve had a few of these and the batches (distinguishable only by the proof) don’t vary much. It’s made in batches on purpose to give a consistent profile, not unlike Stagg Sr. It’s worth grabbing if you come across one. Rating: Must Try
