Bourbon

William Larue Weller (2008 Release)

/ / Bourbon, Review /

William Larue Weller 2008 Release
62.65% ABV/125.3 Proof
$65
Limited availability of annual releases

What the Distillery Says:
The combination of exceptional aging and the use of wheat in the mash bill produce a whiskey with a very mature, rich and exotic aroma. Its flavor has been described as full, evolving and sophisticated, with notes of vanilla, teaberry, and cinnamon.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Without water the nose is difficult to discern due the exceptionally high alcohol content. With water the nose opens up but it is crazy busy. There are so many different things flying through the nose that it’s still hard to nail them down. The nose on this is very pleasant but is very challenging for me. The only things I can isolate are oranges and honey.
Palate: Without water it’s oily and peppery, most likely coming from the alcohol. Vanilla and cinnamon are the first things that come through with a good measure of water added. It’s also kind of grainy. Cinnamon topped oatmeal maybe.
Finish: The finish is dry and woody without water. Much smoother than I would expect from the bottling proof. With water this goes down like butter. Who says bourbon has to burn? It does leave a very oaky aftertaste.
Comments: I really like this bourbon. I think it’s a good example of what wheated bourbon can be. It’s not as smooth at bottling proof as George T. Stagg but with the right water ratio I think it really shines.
Rating: Must Try

What Matt Says:
Nose: Without water, I get palm sugar and orange shellac. With water, it’s like a carnival (without the carny b.o.); cotton candy, candied green apples and fried dough. Really lovely.
Palate: You certainly know it’s high proof. Warming and dry with dark fruits and palm sugar. It’s not as sweet or complex as the nose suggests. There are a lot of cereal notes, like a hot multigrain breakfast cereal.
Finish: Fire and fresh cut oak.
Comments: Perennially the weak spot in the antique collection, this is still a fine whiskey. Be judicious with the water. While this will never be as smooth as George T. Stagg, trying to make it so will kill the flavor long before yo get it down to regular bottle proof (40-45% ABV). This one will always burn you. Just like that carny with the ring toss game.
Rating: Must Try

Overall Rating: Must Try

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Supply, Demand, & Economics

/ / Bourbon, Irish Whiskey, Other Spirits, Other Whisk(e)ys, Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky

I want to start off by apologizing for the recent slowdown in Whisk(e)y Apostle activity. Matt’s on hiatus and I had all these reviews lined up to do. Unfortunately, my beautiful little angel of a daughter brought home a cold and I haven’t been able to smell anything for the last week and a half. That makes whiskey tasting difficult. Hopefully I will be back up and running this weekend. We’ll have to wait and see.

The time has given me the chance to go through emails from readers both old and new. As I was going through a few it reminded me of an article I’ve been meaning to write for Whisk(e)y Apostle for quite some time. I get asked about availability more than any other topic by a wide margin. That’s really the main reason why my monthly new release summary is exclusively those items coming to the U.S. It’s very frustrating to hear about all the great new releases that we can’t get here.

Why do so many new releases never come to the U.S.?

And if they do come stateside, why can’t I find them near me?

There are three main reasons why you may not see the new release of Glenmorangie or Hibiki in a liquor store near you:
1. Supply
2. Demand
3. Economics

Richard, we just want our whiskey, not an economics lesson. Fair enough. I’ll keep it relevant and in layman’s terms. I promise.

Supply
There are some bottlings that are even made in the U.S. but don’t come to a store near you. It’s driven me nuts for years that I can’t get Buffalo Trace in Atlanta. If I can reasonably drive to Kentucky in a day and buy it, then you would think that they would sell it here right? Well, as the Buffalo Trace label has grown they have to make enough for everyone who wants it. It’s pretty darn good, especially at its price point so the supply has been a little strained. If a producer can only make so much or only have so much on hand then they have to be selective on where they distribute it. Usually, this means the major markets like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. will get it first. This leads right into the demand issue.

Demand
For whiskey that doesn’t see the distribution levels that Jack Daniels and Glenlivet do there has to be sufficient demand in your market for whiskey or the producer won’t bother allocating any to your area. This recently came up in regards to the new Hibiki 12 Year Old Japanese Blend. I’m dying to try the stuff and Matt’s seen it in New York but no hint of it in Georgia. One of our readers asked when we might see some. I spoke with several retailers and ultimately the distributor and importer before getting the disappointing news. Atlanta isn’t a “major whisky market” in the eyes of international whisk(e)y producers. We don’t have the festivals, sales, or interest in our area to warrant some new products bothering to make inroads into our market. If you live in Charleston, Oklahoma City, Wichita, or similar areas you may have the same issue. How do we combat this? As Apostles you have to be a driving force to see this kind of stuff in your area. If 10 local retailers each hear from 20 individuals and then let their distributor know that there’s a sizeable demand for a product in that area then the distributors may talk to the importers and say “Hey we really need to get some of this stuff to Wichita.”

Economics
However, some things will just never come to the U.S. The reason is that the cost for the producer to make it and send it here is more than they can make on the sales. Whiskey production is a business after all. The United States is one of the few countries that sell 750ml bottles instead of the 700ml international standard. (South Africa & Sweden are a couple of others) It’s also one of an even smaller list of countries that says that by law all full sized bottled spirits sold within its borders must be in bottles with a volume of at least 750ml. So if you’re making a very small amount of whiskey or it’s a vintage or single cask bottling and you know you can sell all 100 bottles that you’ll make at 700ml across the world then it doesn’t make sense to set up a whole new bottling line just send 10 750ml bottles to the U.S. The government justifies it as protecting the consumer. There are points on both sides of the argument but I still want more variety and I don’t care if I have to give up 50ml to get it.

I know this doesn’t take the sting out of missing out on the latest and greatest new thing but I hope it at least helped in understanding what’s going on. Keep pushing for more stuff in your area and you may be surprised by what you get.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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New U.S. Releases – January ‘10

/ / Bourbon, Irish Whiskey

We’re kind of in the lull of whiskey releases this time of year. There are no major U.S. festivals or holidays to tie new releases to so it’s been pretty quite. I only have two lined up for you.

“?” Maker’s Mark
Timeframe: TBD/June
ABV: 47%
Price: TBD
This is pretty major news in terms of bourbon. Fans have been chomping at the bit to get something new from Maker’s for a long time. We don’t have too many details yet beyond the proof. They haven’t even come up with a name yet. I heard rumor of a June release but John Hansell said that Master Distiller Kevin Smith is still tinkering with the final iteration so who knows.

Knappogue Castle 1994 Vintage Irish Whiskey
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 40%
Price: $100
This is a special 15 year old release from the Bushmill period of Knappague. It should be interesting.

That’s all that’s come across my desk in the last month. There are always a whole bunch of things that you can’t get here but I try to focus of U.S. availability. That seems to be a rarity in whiskey blogging for some reason. As always, if I missed something please let me know.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Evan Williams

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
43% ABV/86 Proof
$10 to $15
Widely Available

This is interesting because it’s the first time we’ve actually been asked by one of our registered user to review a whiskey. “cwilson” in Atlanta wanted our thoughts on Evan Williams. I know Matt doesn’t have a bottle of this handy so I’m taking a moment during my brief dictatorial reign while he’s on sabbatical to post about EW so here goes…

What the Distillery Says:
Evan Williams, the second largest selling brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in the U.S., is named for Kentucky’s first distiller of 1783. As the flagship brand of Heaven Hill’s Bourbon portfolio, Evan Williams’ extra aging gives it a richer, smoother Bourbon taste than the competition.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Charred oak, honey, citrus, and the slightest hints of tobacco.
Palate: Very creamy on the mouth. The palate doesn’t stand up to the promise of the nose. There is a light sweetness and mellow oak without many other pronounced flavors except a hint of licorice. It’s easy to drink but there’s not much there to make you want another.
Finish: The finish starts mildly peppery and then settles into a well worn oak. Not offensive but not stunning.
Comments: First let me give props to Heaven Hill for continuing to bottle EW at 86 proof when so many others like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam have gone to 80 proof. Kudos boys! I was surprised how easy EW was to drink. It’s not all that flavorful but it goes down well.
Rating: Average

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Gateway Series #12: Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon
45% ABV/90 Proof
$20-25, Widely Available
Website

What The Distillery Says:
The distillery doesn’t say much about the whiskey (even on the website). At least they lack some sort of pithy statement of purpose. What we can tell you is that this is the most widely available wheated bourbon on the market. That means the folks at Maker’s Mark use wheat instead of rye in the mash. Maker’s also lacks an age statement. The bourbon spends at least six years in barrels, but is not bottled until everyone agrees that it has reached maturity. So what does that mean? Read on.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The Maker’s nose is a very pleasant olfactory experience. It’s a lightly sweet nose with very understated alcoholic notes. At the back of the nose is a damp woody note that reminds me of an old log cabin.
Palate: Lightly sweet, grassy, and mellow. Classic wheated bourbon. As it moves through the mouth the oak jumps forward.
Finish: The higher proof shows as a slow warmth down the esophagus. The oak remains but begins to turn slightly nutty and sweet. Maybe this is what acorns taste like?
Comments: Maker’s is a consistenly enjoyable dram. I’m always more than content to drink this neat. I’m not sure if it fits in the Gateway Series. It’s really more of a transitional bourbon moving away from the standard and toward the premium. This is the same issue I had with the Three Glens when we reviewed them.
Rating: Across the bourbon spectrum it falls mind center. Among the Gateway Series it stands out.

What Matt Says:
Nose: There is that damp cold feeling I’ve mentioned before. It’s almost like a wet tea bag of English breakfast tea left on the counter too long. There are also some citrus, caramel and floral notes. Despite being higher in proof than the rest of the Gateway Series, the nose is not very sharp or alcoholic.
Palate: Oak, wheat berries, English breakfast tea.
Finish: Cherry lollipops with very little burn and a touch of oak.
Comments: I’ve never given Maker’s Mark much thought. I’ve mostly experienced it in really sub-par cocktails. That is not a statement on the whiskey itself, but on the cocktail crafters. Maker’s is the only American whiskey within the Gateway Series that I would consider drinking neat. It is not as bold or complex as some of the harder to find or more expensive brands, but it is quite enjoyable and easy to drink.
Rating: Average

Overall Rating: Average

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