Bourbon

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Bulleit Barrel Strength Frontier Whiskey
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

60-65% ABV (exact varies by batch)
$60
Website
Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength
We would like to thank Bulleit and Taylor for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

In 2015, Bulleit Founder, Tom Bulleit traveled the globe sharing sips of a new, unreleased style of Bulleit Bourbon with some of the world’s top bartenders. As a whiskey built by the support of the bartending community, Tom wanted to know what they would think about an addition based on higher proof instead of new flavors or finishes. The feedback was overwhelming and reinforced the decision to officially launch Bulleit Barrel Strength Frontier Whiskey in his home state of Kentucky in 2016. Bulleit is now proud to announce the national expansion of Bulleit Barrel Strength across the United States.

Distilled in Kentucky from the highest quality ingredients, this new variant is a barrel strength version of Bulleit Bourbon with the same high-rye mash bill. Bulleit Barrel Strength won Best Straight Bourbon and received a Double Gold Medal from the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and earned a score of 92 at the 2017 Ultimate Spirits Challenge – continuing Bulleit’s history of sharing award-winning whiskeys.

The barrels selected to create Bulleit Barrel Strength were emptied and combined into a single batch without the inclusion of any additional water after the whiskey was removed from the barrels. Aged and bottled at Stitzel-Weller in Louisville, Ky., this new offering allows bartenders and fans of great whiskey the opportunity to taste Bulleit Bourbon straight out of the barrel, uncut and non-chill filtered.

BULLEIT BARREL STRENGTH WHISKEY TASTING NOTES
Nose: Gentle spiciness and sweet oak aromas
Taste: Smooth with tones of maple, oak and nutmeg
Finish: Long, dry and satiny with light toffee flavor, but with deepened oak notes

Because Bulleit Barrel Strength is being bottled straight from the barrel, uncut and unfiltered, the ABV will vary by batch, but will generally range from 120 – 125 in proof.

What Gary Says

Nose:  A tad hot, salted caramel, vanilla, maple/chocolate fudge, oak with subtle cinnamon and a hint of anise.
Palate:  Thick, viscous mouthfeel, rich chocolate fudge with a caramel drizzle, vanilla, hint of maple candies, cinnamon and nutmeg with a bit of pepper spice at the end
Finish:  Moderately long, pepper spice drying into notes of cocoa.
Comments:  I was really excited to hear about this. When I read ‘barrel proof’, ‘uncut’, and ‘unchillfiltered’ – I get chills (forget raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens – THESE are a few of my favorite things!) Does it always add up to an amazing bourbon? No, but it seems to increase the chances I’ll enjoy it. This is one that delivered on that expectation – right in my wheelhouse. Just a lovely rich sweetness. I know their tasting notes and other reviews I’ve read talk a lot about maple, and I get a hint of that – but for me this is rich, chocolate fudge. The thick mouthfeel is lovely as well, and doesn’t really thin out with a few drops of water (which this takes like a champ).  This delivers on everything I look for in a barrel proof bourbon – intense flavor, sweetness, spice, and not too much oak.

Rating: Must Try

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Sonoma Cherrywood Smoked Bourbon

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Sonoma Distiller’s Edition: Cherrywood Smoked Bourbon Whiskey
47.8% ABV
$50
Website

What the Distiller Says

About Sonoma Distilling Co.
Owner/whiskeymaker Adam Spiegel, distilling since 2010
Non-GMO grains milled in-house
Direct-fire heated 250-gallon Copper Alembic pot stripping stills
Barrel size: 15, 30 and 53 gallons of new American Oak from Minnesota & Missouri
3rd degree charred, 12-24 month dry aged wood

Seasonal Release: Fall

MASH BILL
67% Corn (Origin: California & Canada)
20% Rye (Origin: California & Canada)
13% Cherrywood Smoked Barley (Origin: Wyoming; Smoked in Petaluma, CA)

AGED: A minimum of fifteen months with majority of blends above two years

FLAVOR PROFILE: Maraschino cherry, smoke, allspice, and vanilla

What Gary Says
Nose:  Young, vanilla, corn and cherry with a fresh oak note; a hint of clove.
Palate:  Sweet and creamy to start, rich cherry pie with currants, allspice, nutmeg and a hint of root beer – with subtle smoke underneath throughout.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length with a bit of root beer and subtle pepper spice.
Comments:  The cherrywood smoking is a mild influence, although clearly present.  Compared to Sonoma Bourbon, this has more flavor, and I like how the higher barley content plays here.  I do find it a little odd that their bourbon is a wheated mashbill, but for this they went with rye (as that certainly also makes it different).  A very unique pour and enjoyable pour, although it leaves me wondering how this would be if the smaller barrels weren’t part of the mix.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank Sonoma Distilling Co. and Verdant PR & Marketing for sending us a bottle to review.

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Sonoma Bourbon Whiskey

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Sonoma Bourbon Whiskey

46% ABV
$40 – $45
Website

We would like to thank Sonoma Distilling Co. and Verdant PR & Marketing for sending us a bottle to review.

What the Distiller Says

About Sonoma Distilling Co.
Owner/whiskeymaker Adam Spiegel, distilling since 2010
Non-GMO grains milled in-house
Direct-fire heated 250-gallon Copper Alembic pot stripping stills
Barrel size: 15, 30 and 53 gallons of new American Oak from Minnesota & Missouri
3rd degree charred, 12-24 month dry aged wood

WHISKEY TYPE: Wheated Bourbon

MASH BILL
70% Corn (Origin: California & Canada)
25% Wheat (Origin: California & Canada)
5% Malted Barley (Origin: Wyoming)

AGED: A minimum of fifteen months with majority of blends above two years

FLAVOR PROFILE: Toasted vanilla, almond, toffee brittle, and coffee

What Gary Says

Nose:  Young, freshly baked cornbread with a malty twang, vanilla, hint of sandalwood; a tad sharp.
Palate:  Sweet entry that sharpens with notes of vanilla, roasted (not quite burnt) popcorn, a hint of bitter dark chocolate with smokey oak.
Finish:  Short and drying with lingering pepper spice.
Comments:  I really like the bottle – as in, the container and label.  We’re big on transparency here, and they do a really nice job of providing a ton of information on the label (and I’m not a graphic designer, but I thought it was well organized and presented).  They give you the mashbill right there, including the origin of the ingredients. This is a redesigned label, and I think they’ve definitely improved it over the prior versions.
On to the whiskey itself – this is a young, aggressive bourbon. Most enthusiasts associate wheated bourbon with being less spicy and softer than rye mashbills. I think the sharpness and aggressive nature is a function of the smaller barrels. I get why a small whiskey company is drawn to use smaller barrels; whiskey picks up color and flavor “faster”. If you filled a 15 gallon and 53 gallon barrel with the same distillate on the same day and compared them in 6 months, 12 months, 18 months – the smaller barrel will be darker and picking up flavor from the wood faster. But you can’t leave it in a smaller barrel for very long before (in my opinion) it gets just too oaky. To be clear – this isn’t too oaky, but I am left wishing they would scrap the smaller barrels and let some whiskey age a bit longer in the 53 gallon barrels. I think this is the primary reason I don’t care for a lot of “craft” whiskey.
All that said, I didn’t find the palate or nose off-putting; just about what one would expect from a young bourbon.

Rating: Average

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Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

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Old Forester 1870 Original Batch
45% ABV
$45
Website

What the Distiller Says
In 1870 George Garvin Brown created Old Forester on Louisville, KY’s famous whiskey row. In honor of that milestone year in bourbon history, we have crafted a tribute – Old Forester 1870 Original Batch – the first craft expression in the Old Forester Whiskey Row Series.

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch echoes George Garvin Brown’s original 1870 batching process. Back then, Brown batched barrels obtained from three distilleries to create a consistent flavor profile. To emulate that process today, we also select barrels from three warehouses, each barrel originating from a different day of production, with a different entry proof and a different age profile.

The three expressions of Old Forester are then batched together to craft Old Forester 1870 Original Batch. This 90-proof bourbon will be minimally filtered, to honor the processes available to George Garvin Brown at that time.

TASTING NOTES
NOSE: Clove notes spice up a medley of citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, blood orange), all softened with a delicate, sweet, floral honeysuckle character.
TASTE: Baking spices (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg) flow into a citrus-fruit mix and shortbread sweetness.
FINISH: Soft, with lingering fruit and spice character.

What Gary Says
Nose:  Soft, vanilla crème brûlée with pecan pralines, subtle musty oak and cherries.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, sweet with pears, honey, and vanilla ice cream, sliced almonds and cinnamon.
Finish:  Short, wet with vanilla and cinnamon notes.
Comments:  Some of these Old Forester expressions left me quite underwhelmed. This doesn’t remind me of those at all, and is simply delicious! Less spicy and edgy than your typical Old Forester. While the finish is on the short side, there isn’t anything off putting here for me. Not tremendously complex, but a really nice summer sipper!
Rating: Stands Out

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Chicken Cock 10-Year-Old Double Barrel Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Chicken Cock 10-Year-Old Double Barrel Bourbon
Batch #3 of 6
52% ABV
$250
Website

What the Producer Says
Charleston, SC (October 2018) Grain & Barrel Spirits (“G&B”), an innovation-driven craft spirits company, brought Chicken Cock Whiskey back to its rightful place as a heritage-driven American Whiskey in 2012, when CEO Matti Anttila discovered the “Famous Old Brand.” Since that time, G&B has fully returned the brand to its ancestral home in Kentucky and continues its quest to resurrect the historic pre-prohibition favorite with the introduction of a limited-edition release of 10-Year-Old Double Barrel Bourbon.

Originally established in 1856, in Paris, Kentucky, (ten years before Jack Daniels), Chicken Cock rose to fame as the house whiskey at the Cotton Club, one of the most legendary speakeasies, during Prohibition. Known as “The Famous Old Brand” and “The Whiskey in a Tin Can,” Chicken Cock was smuggled in sealed tin cans and ceremoniously opened tableside. After prohibition ended, the brand enjoyed a resurgent couple of decades before a distillery fire put it out of business for more than 40 years.

The brand’s latest limited-edition release arrives just in time for the holiday season. Chicken Cock 10-Year-Old Double Barrel Bourbon is the brand’s most unique and special limited release yet. Master Distiller and 40+ year veteran Gregg Snyder selected twelve barrels of 10-year-old bourbon, marrying two barrels at a time to create a perfectly balanced, extremely smooth, small batch bourbon (only 1,980 bottles were produced). Through countless samplings, he determined the “perfect proof” at 104-proof, with a slight amount of pure water to open up the flavors, and non-chill filtered to retain the rich amber colors and exquisite taste profile. Featuring the Pre-prohibition Era Style Bottle with sipping glass cap and a Mash Bill of 70% corn, 21% rye and 9% malted barley, the coveted expression was distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and aged and bottled in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Chicken Cock Whiskey is now being produced at the Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBCo) in the bourbon capital of the world. Through BBCo’s collaborative distilling program, G&B’s Gregg Snyder will collaborate with Bourbon Hall of Fame Master Distiller Steve Nally and BBCo’s first-class distilling team, to produce its high-quality, small-batch whiskey, bourbon, and rye for many years to come. BBCo and G&B concluded their first distillation of 616 barrels at the end of August.

“From the day I discovered Chicken Cock Whiskey, my goal was to eventually return the brand to its ancestral home,” said Matti Anttila, CEO of Grain & Barrel Spirits. ”The historic brand is now officially 100% back home in Kentucky, a mere 80 miles from Paris, where its story began 162 years ago. The legend of Chicken Cock never died. In fact, we believe that the brand’s best years are still ahead of it.”

Only 330 cases of the 10-Year-Old Double Barrel Bourbon limited-edition release will be available beginning this month in select markets including CO, GA, FL, KY, NY, SC and TN, and online at https://chickencock.passionspirits.com/chicken-cock.html. The suggested retail price for a 750ml bottle is $250, which may vary by market.

Tasting Notes
Appearance: Beautiful, Warm Rich Amber Color
Aroma: Robust Sweetness, with distinctive Caramel and Vanilla aromas, nicely complimented with the perfect amount of Oak Lactones.
Taste: Simply stated: “AWESOME”, full bodied bourbon at the Perfect 104 Proof that highlights a beautiful balance of Sweet Caramel, Vanilla and Toasted Oak, with a hint of Dark Chocolate.
Finish: Wonderful, long Rich and Flavorful Finish with a lingering of Sweetness

What Gary Says
Nose:  Sharp, vanilla crème brûlée with oak, fall leaves and a hint of cocoa.
Palate:  Biting salted caramel with vanilla, toasted honey, cinnamon, cracked pepper with subtle bitter chocolate.
Finish:  Moderate in length, drying with a pepper bite.
Comments:  On the nose this felt higher proof than 104, so this definitely has some bite to it. A fair amount of oak, more than I get in most other 10 yr bourbons. If you’re a fan of sharp/spicy bourbon with a good deal of oak, this might be right in your wheelhouse. The packaging looks well done, and if you’re a fan of collecting for the bottles, or the rarity of a limited release – more power to you. I think this is priced mainly for that market. If you’re just looking for a bourbon to sip and enjoy, and couldn’t care less about the packaging or bottle count, I think you’re likely to find it cost prohibitive.
Rating: Average

We would like to thank Grain & Barrel Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

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