Gary

Managing apostle and whiskey enthusiast

Early Times Bottled-In-Bond

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Early Times Bottled-In-Bond

50% ABV
$23
Website
Early Times Bottled-In-Bond

What the Distiller Says

Early Times, a brand of Brown-Forman, introduced limited-edition Bottled In Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky. The spirit is a tribute to the 75th anniversary of the original Early Times bonded bourbon recipe, the company says. Early Times Bottled in Bond Bourbon follows the guidelines of bonded bourbons and is crafted with pure water, a high corn mash bill and a proprietary yeast strain. The distillate rests in new, charred American oak barrels for a minimum of four years, resulting in a smooth and complex bourbon rich in taste a character, it says. The 50 percent alcohol-by-volume spirit offers flavors of caramel corn that melds with shortbread cookie coated with a hint of chocolate and oak with a trace of cinnamon spice, it adds. Available in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Oregon, Bottled In Bond has a suggested retail price of $22.99 for a 1-liter bottle.

[NOTE: I couldn’t find a direct reference on Brown-Forman’s web-site, so the above information is from Beverage Industry Magazine’s post. The same or very similar content was found on multiple other sources.]

What Gary Says

Nose:  Thick and rich, brown sugar, freshly baked brownies, vanilla, caramel, toasted oak.
Palate:  Rich sweetness (but not overly so), vanilla, salted caramel sundae with notes of chocolate and some oak.
Finish:  Moderately long and wet, a bit peppery at the end.
Comments:  I really like this bourbon – hands down my favorite new whiskey I tried in 2017 (excluding any unicorns/limited editions). Is it a complex, thinking dram? No, but damned if this isn’t one of the more satisfying new bourbons I’ve tried in a while. Rich and intense flavor – and I don’t know that you could beat it for the money. My only regret is only buying just the one bottle when I saw it (thinking “Hey – a liter bottle will last longer, right?”) If you’re like I was, recalling the disappointment that was Early Times 354 bourbon, I think you’ll be rewarded by giving Brown Forman another chance (I mean – not like they don’t know how to make delicious bourbon!) For the money (did I mention this is a 1 liter bottle?), this is an absolute “Must Buy”. I can’t imagine anyone buying this blind and feeling like it was a mistake.

Rating: Must Buy; Great Value

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Winchester Rye whiskey

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Winchester Rye Whiskey

45% ABV
$25

What the Bottle Says

Rye whiskey traces its American roots as far back as the 18th century. Winchester Rye Whiskey builds upon this American tradition. It is a premium rye whiskey, traditionally distilled, barrel aged and uniquely ultrasonic filtered to deliver an exceptionally smooth finish and truly great taste.
Aged a minimum of 6 months in new oak.

What Gary Says

Nose: Bright, young rye, mint, lime soda with a hint of dill.
Palate: Smoother, cereal sweet with a bit of malty orange candy.
Finish: Short and wet (not peppery).
Comments: This is a Total Wine private label produced by TerrePURE spirits in South Carolina. I’ll not get into their whole process, other than to state in my experience, the “unwanted, harsh-tasting congeners” their process reduces . . . might otherwise be known as “character”. If I wasn’t a fan of rye whiskey, there isn’t anything objectionable about this – nothing off-putting. But it doesn’t deliver on my expectations of rye whiskey, which is harsh and brash. On the nose it is very much a young rye, but on the palate it is too smooth and tame. For the same price, if I want a rye whiskey, I’d go for several other options.

Rating: Probably Pass

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Elijah Craig Barrel Select

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Elijah Craig Barrel Select

62.5% ABV
$25 (200 mL)

NOTE: This is a bottle sold in Heaven Hill’s Bourbon Heritage Center gift shop. I couldn’t find any information about it on any Heaven Hill web-site. The bottle, intended to be a small barrel but I’ve heard it referred to as a “grenade”, indicates the name, the proof, and that it is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Sweet caramel with notes of leather under a rough edge with a hint of eucalyptus.
Palate:  Warm, creamy sweet, banana nut bread (but light on bananas), cocoa with a dusting of cinnamon.
Finish:  Moderate in length with a lingering sweetness.
Comments:  On the nose this screams Heaven Hill’s house style, which for me is caramel with a bit of eucalyptus (many get mint, but for me it is a bit different). As a non-age stated member of the Elijah Craig family, comparing it to its siblings might not be fair – but what else could we compare it? There is a familial resemblance for sure, and while NAS I would guess this is maybe 6-9 yrs old (I don’t get “young whiskey” notes, but it isn’t nearly as oaky or complex as the former 12 yr age stated version). I picked this up in their gift shop, and thought it was a “gift shop exclusive” – but Google seems to think different stores offer this for sale – so perhaps not. The bottle is cute, and it was an inexpensive pick-up – although considering it only has 200 mL of bourbon – it isn’t a bargain. I think if you’re there and want to pick up a nifty souvenir – this might be well received. If you’re a fan of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and hoping to get that bourbon in a smaller vessel – I expect you would be disappointed.

Rating: Average

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UPDATE – Experiment: Once opened, does whiskey go bad over time?

/ / Gary's Blog

Just a quick update on our experiment :

All of the bottles are now at their destination fill levels!

Well, technically many hit their level before today, but let’s call this the “start date” for purposes of the air-time/age equation. The six bottles in Group D: 10% Full all were brought down to that level yesterday. The two Group C: 30% Full hit their target on 6/24/2018, and the one Group B: 60% Full was done on 5/19/2018.

From this point on, I’ll visually check the bottles from time to time. If the Group D: 10% Full bottles start to look like they are clearly taking a downward turn (like looking murky or something, which I don’t expect to be the case), that will be when we pull the trigger. Our hope is that doesn’t happen, and we’ll have a tasting to collect results in during the summer of 2020, and be prepared to post results shortly thereafter!

Next step – to device the scoring/assessment approach.  Will share some thoughts/ideas here in the coming months, and look forward to feedback.

Cheers!
Gary

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The GlenDronach 21 Yr Parliament

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

The GlenDronach 21 Yr Parliament
48% ABV
$230
Website

What the Distiller Says
Matured in a combination of the finest Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for a minimum of 21 years, the ‘Parliament’ continues the great GlenDronach tradition of offering fruit-laden intensity in its single malts. This rich expression has been named ‘Parliament’ after the colony, or ‘parliament’, of rooks that have been nesting in the trees that overlook the GlenDronach distillery for almost 200 years. Bottled at 48%, the ‘Parliament’ is non chill filtered and of natural colour.

TASTING NOTES
APPEARANCE: Deep amber with a cherry wood sheen.
NOSE: A delicate mix of ripe autumnal fruits – notably blackberries and red plums. Rich Oloroso sherry and candied orange segments. Spiced oatmeal biscuits and toasted oak fragrances bring excellent weight and balance.
PALATE: Resolute flavours of fine Oloroso sherry and bitter chocolate sauce, which has been spread liberally over homemade plum pudding. This is all infused with fabulous spicy notes – cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Full bodied with smooth tannins.
CONCLUSION: Long and lingering.

What Gary Says
Nose:  Thick sherry, fruitcake soaked in alcohol, orange marmalade with cloves, allspice, hints of toffee and leather w/ lingering vanilla pipe smoke.
Palate:  Sweet with chocolate, citrus, currants, raisins; balanced nicely with allspice and nutmeg over oak.
Finish:  Long and lingering w/ a bit of tannic smoke as it trails off.
Comments:  A sherry bomb to be sure, but delicious (if you like that sorta thing). This was the first 21 yr old single malt I ever purchased (in large part because it was only $130 back in 2017, which was a steal). A very nicely balanced dram, with a bit more spice and oak to go with all that dark fruit sweetness. While delicious, if offered a free pour of this or the 15 yr Revival – I think I’d go with the 15 yr.
Rating: Stands Out

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