Other Whisk(e)ys

New U.S. Releases – May 2011

/ / Bourbon, Other Whisk(e)ys

All the news in May seemed to focus on American whiskey. That’s never a bad thing. We’ve got some interesting news from Buffalo Trace and a bunch of craft distillers and bottlers rounding out the mix.

Kinnickinnic Blended American Whiskey
Timeframe: Summer 2011
ABV: 43%
Price: TBD
This is an interesting offering from The Great Lake Distillery. They are sourcing Kentucky straight bourbon and blending it with stuff they are making in house. Binny’s has it on the way but I don’t have a hard date on availability yet.

Griff’s Cowboy Whiskey
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: TBD
Price: TBD
I have very little information on this one. I know it’s coming out of Iowa and they were pouring it at WhiskyFest Chicago. That’s about it.

Breckenridge Bourbon
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 43%
Price: TBD
This is a sourced bottling around two years old. The Breckenridge Distillery owns the brand. There seems to be a lot of sourced 2 to 3 year old bourbon and rye hitting the market lately. I’m all for independent bottlers but most of what’s coming out is pretty young and rough. Maybe some of these guys should follow the lead set overseas and lay some of these barrels down for a while before bottling them. Just a thought.

Bainbridge Battle Point Organic Wheat Whiskey
Timeframe: Summer 2011
ABV: 43%
Price: $47
Small batch wheat whiskey made by Bainbridge Organic Distillers in Washington State. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some of this!

Buffalo Trace Single Oak
Timeframe: May 2011
ABV%:
Price: $46.35 for 375ml bottles
This is something really exciting from Buffalo Trace. In their quest to make the perfect bourbon they have launch a massive endeavor to try and isolate what makes the best bourbon. The project goes back more than 10 years and the output is more than 1,396 different bourbon combinations. The first batch came out in May. The whole thing is more than I can put in this post. You really should check it out at http://www.singleoakproject.com.

That’s it for May!

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Early Times

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Early Times Kentucky Whisky
40% ABV
$13 to $15
Available damn near everywhere

What the Distillery Says:
Early Times Kentucky Whisky is distilled, aged a minimum of three years and barreled in used oak barrels at the Early Times Distillery in Shively, Kentucky. We are the only company to own its own cooperage and make its own barrels, which allows us to control how the barrel contributes to the taste characteristics of Early Times. Early Times Kentucky Whisky is known for being a high-quality whisky that delivers a consistently smooth taste and flavor profile while still being offered at a value to our consumers.

Color: Light, bright honey

Nose: A fresh, sharp oak note ripens into a dry clove spice and hay, hints of leather, dill spice and fruit add complexity to a subtle foundation of white chocolate.

Taste: Smooth and creamy malt character with a light oak sweetness and herbal grass notes.

Finish: Mild and clean, and fulfilling with a very pleasant, soft, apple peel character.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Woody, vanilla, peaches, and a light caramel sweetness.
Palate: Very smooth and lightly sweet. It’s almost like it’s not there.
Finish: The finish is a little short and bland. There’s just a bit of oak. Blink and you’ll miss it.
Comments: Brown-Forman sent us a bottle of this with their new 354 Bourbon so that we could compare and contrast. For those that don’t know, the reason why it’s “Kentucky Whisky” and not bourbon is because there’s some aging in used barrels going on. More likely than not, when you order a well drink containing whiskey you’re likely getting Early Times. It’s cheap, plain, and unoffensive. There’s nothing wrong with drinking this straight it just doesn’t bring a lot to the party.
Rating: Probably Pass

We want to thank Brown-Forman for providing us with a bottle for review.

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Canadian Club 12 Year

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Classic 12 by Canadian Club Blended Canadian Whisky
40% ABV/80 Proof
$21.99
Website

What the Distillery Says:
Canadian Club Classic 12 is a special blend of 12-year-old whiskies, aged in re-charred oak barrels. It’s an exceptionally smooth, warm and full-bodied whisky with strong overtones of oak and toffee. It is the perfect whisky to enjoy by itself or as part of a classic cocktail.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The nose has a buttery sweetness that reminds me of silver or gold Caribbean rum.
Palate: It starts off mellow and sweet and then slowly heats up to a spicy oak. The rye really shows through. There are also notes of vanilla and more of that rum character from the nose.
Finish: The finish is long and dry with a lot of oak.
Comments: I find this to be a decent dram. It’s probably still best in the cocktail mixer category but like Jack Daniels and the like, I wouldn’t shy from drinking this straight if it was offered to me. A noticeable improvement over the 10 Year Old. Much more robust flavor.
Rating: Average (slightly better than average but I still wouldn’t call it a stand out)

We want to thank Emma with SHIFT Communications for providing us with a bottle for review.

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Crown Royal Black

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Crown Royal Black Blended Canadian Whisky
45% ABV/90 Proof
$30 to $35
Widely available across the U.S.

What the Distillery Says:
“Robust, full bodied blended Canadian whisky.”

What Richard Says:
Nose: Warmth, mild oak, and a little burnt sugar. Very bourbon like.
Palate: Surprising sweetness on the palate like brown sugar. There’s something else that reminds me of something sweet and chewy. It could be raisins but that doesn’t seem quite right.
Finish: The finish starts off warm, moves toward a medicinal note that I’m not a fan of and then finishes with a charred oak flavor.
Comments: Crown basically positions this as the big brother of their standard offering. Kicked up a notch if you will. I really think that’s a needed notch. There’s a lot more going on here and I like it a lot more than standard Crown. I’d actually choose to drink this. That said, I’m not a big fan of Crown so if you are, you might not like this different approach. It’s kind of like Crown for bourbon drinkers.
Rating: Average

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New Releases: March ’11

/ / Bourbon, Other Whisk(e)ys

I’m a little late with the post this month but there are some interesting things coming down the pipe that will hopefully take your attention off of my tardiness.

Buffalo Trace 2011 Experimental
Timeframe: February 2011
Price: $46.35/375ml
ABV: TBD
So the story goes with this year’s experimental release comes from several barrel of stock Buffalo Trace acquired with the Old Charter brand back in 1998. They were poking around in those barrels and came across three groups they thought were worth bottling: 7 barrels from 1989, 8 barrels from 1991, and 8 barrels from 1993.

Heaven Hill Trybox Series
Timeframe: May 2011
Price: $24.99
ABV: 62.5%
This is the first two in a new series Heaven Hill is launching. This is the stuff coming right off the still, unaged. One will be a bourbon new make and the other a rye new make.

Four Roses 2011 Limited Edition Single Barrel
Timeframe: May 2011
Price: TBD
ABV: TBD
This year’s release will use the OBSQ recipe for those Four Roses geeks out there. That translates into a mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley and a more floral yeast strain. 3,600 bottles will be available. Get yours while you can.

Woodinville Headlong White Dog Whiskey
Timeframe: Now
Price: TBD
ABV: 40%
These guys are a new distillery in Washington that opened last year. Headlong is their first whiskey product and is 80 proof white dog. The folks at Woodinville are also aging whiskey and hopefully some of that will be available by the end of this year but we’ll have to wait a see. Another really cool offering is a “Age Your Own” whiskey kit where you can buy white dog and a miniature barrel and do the aging on your own. The guys over at Woodinville sent me a sample bottle of Headlong so I’ll have a review soon.

Big Bottom Whiskey
Timeframe: Now
Price: Port Cask – $35, 3 Year Old – $28
ABV: 45.5%
Big Bottom is a new independent bottler out of Oregon. They are coming to the market with two whiskeys, a 3 Year Old 36% rye Bourbon and a 2 Year Old Bourbon finished in Port Cask that held 10 Year Old Tawny Port. As of right now you can only get this in Oregon or from K&L Wine but I traded emails with Ted Pappas, the head honcho over at Big Bottom and there is a good chance of it coming to Georgia and Tennessee in the near future. I’ll keep you posted.

That’s it for March. It was an interesting month. Most the stuff is not something you would consider mainstream. Stay tuned for that Headlong review. I should have it up by the end of next week.

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