Average

Smoke Wagon Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Smoke Wagon Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

50% ABV
$45-60
Website
Smoke Wagon Small Batch Bourbon

What the Producer Says

Our high rye content bourbon is aged in the heart of a century-old brick warehouse. To ensure a unique and consistent flavor, barrels are hand selected to create a perfect blend that is smooth and at the same time bold and intense.

Released in 2016, our goal was to create a unique great tasting high rye content bourbon. The problem is that rye ages much faster than corn. So while our younger vintages had a big rye spice flavor (which we love) the mouth feel was too thin and it lacked the sweet, delicate complexity of a well aged spirit. Our older vintages had the smoothness and sweet notes that can only be achieved by moving in and out of #4 char and caramelized oak for many, many years, but the nice rye spice had been aged out!

So what to do? Find the perfect blend.

We combined the two. The younger vintages maintain the bold spiciness of the rye, cut down on the tannins and keep it fruit forward. The older vintage brings in a creamy mouth feel with sweet aromas and taste notes that only appear over time from aging in a barrel. We hope you enjoy drinking it as much as we enjoy making it.

Nose: Balanced oak nose with hints of fruit and dried apricots.
Taste: Initial sweet notes on the front of the tongue. Well balanced mouth feel with spicy notes including white pepper on the middle and back of the tongue from the younger vintage and high rye mash bill. Good balance of sweet and oak flavors including hints of caramel (from the #4 charred barrels, caramelized wood sugar), fruit flavor and rye spice. Finishes smooth with no alcohol burn even at 100 proof.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, oak, salted caramel, musty, cocoa, brown sugar and baked glazed cinnamon buns.
Palate:  Vanilla, caramel cream candies, cinnamon, oak, rye spice, pepper and subtle clove.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with caramel, pepper and oak.
Comments:  Spicy – not objectionable, but for $45 (or more) there are plenty of options for a spicy rye bourbon at nearly half the price that I like as well. Bit of water thickens it up a bit, and tamps the oak edges slightly.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Broken Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon

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Broken Barrel Cask Strength
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves

57.5% ABV
$45
Website
Broken Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

Broken Barrel Bourbon features a unique blend of corn, rye, and barley that makes it perfectly balanced to infuse. We partnered with an incredible world-class Kentucky Bourbon distillery to select the finest bourbon base for our products. The bourbon is aged a minimum of one year (it has to be) to be called a Kentucky Bourbon, which also ensures a specific quality we’re looking for before incorporate our Oak Bill™.

WHAT IS THE OAK BILL?

After a minimum of one year in new charred oak barrels, the bourbon is dumped to steel tanks, where each batch of Broken Barrel is hit with new French oak staves, ex-bourbon barrel staves, and a blend of ex-sherry cask staves.

Rich, complex, layered and beyond beautiful, Broken Barrel boldly goes where other whiskies won’t – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mash Bill:
70% Corn
21% Rye
9% Malted Barley

Oak Bill™
40% French Oak Staves
40% Ex-Bourbon Cask Staves
20% Sherry Cask Staves

A note about Staves – there is a tremendous amount of surface area when using staves to age and flavor a whiskey – much more than merely using the inside of a barrel. There are several more surfaces making contact with the liquid, each adding its own character and flavor.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, candy corn, vanilla, bit of oak and subtle dark fruits.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with caramel and toffee, sharpens with pepper spice and cinnamon, dark fruit notes of black cherry and raisins.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with pepper, oak and dried fruits.
Comments:  Very similar to the Small Batch – guessing it is the same spirit just bottled at a higher proof.  Bit tannic/sharp, although some water tamps that a bit. Similarly young, although I found dialing this in around 105 proof or so definitely brings it up a notch over the Small Batch.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Broken Barrel Small Batch Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Broken Barrel Small Batch
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves

47.5% ABV
$35
Website
Broken Barrel Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

Broken Barrel Bourbon features a unique blend of corn, rye, and barley that makes it perfectly balanced to infuse. We partnered with an incredible world-class Kentucky Bourbon distillery to select the finest bourbon base for our products. The bourbon is aged a minimum of one year (it has to be) to be called a Kentucky Bourbon, which also ensures a specific quality we’re looking for before incorporate our Oak Bill™.

WHAT IS THE OAK BILL?

After a minimum of one year in new charred oak barrels, the bourbon is dumped to steel tanks, where each batch of Broken Barrel is hit with new French oak staves, ex-bourbon barrel staves, and a blend of ex-sherry cask staves.

Rich, complex, layered and beyond beautiful, Broken Barrel boldly goes where other whiskies won’t – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mash Bill:
70% Corn
21% Rye
9% Malted Barley

Oak Bill™
40% French Oak Staves
40% Ex-Bourbon Cask Staves
20% Sherry Cask Staves

A note about Staves – there is a tremendous amount of surface area when using staves to age and flavor a whiskey – much more than merely using the inside of a barrel. There are several more surfaces making contact with the liquid, each adding its own character and flavor.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla bean, bit of alcohol, corn flakes with a hint of sherry.
Palate:  Sweet with vanilla, caramel, subtle toffee, baking spices with cinnamon, cherries and raisins.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with spice notes and dried fruit.
Comments:  Similar to the Broken Barrel California Oak, this tastes fairly young to me (and is 2-3 years old) – but I like this better. I was surprised with the note of alcohol on the nose at this proof, and that to me speaks to the immaturity of the spirit – even given time in the glass. As I’m not a big wine guy (but do like some sherry matured and finished whisk(e)y!), I definitely preferred this better. I think this use of different barrel staves in various quantities provides some interesting possibilities (similar to Maker’s Mark use of finishing staves, but used within a barrel); just wish they would use more mature spirits.

Rating: Average

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Broken Barrel California Oak

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Broken Barrel California Oak
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves

44% ABV
$35
Website
Broken Barrel California Oak Bourbon Whiskey
We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

TWO WORLDS COLLIDE

Born in Northern California, raised in Southern California, our founder Seth has California running through his blood. Enamored with Kentucky, and loyal to home, he combined his two favorite states into one award-winning bottle of whiskey. Distilled in Owensboro Kentucky – this Straight Bourbon whiskey is finished with 80% Central Coast Cabernet barrel staves, and 20% French Oak staves. The charred virgin French oak gives a common character found in the wine, while also rounding the sweet dark fruit flavors bleeding from the freshly dumped wine barrels. The marshmallow forward, cherry center, and oak-heavy finish lingers, while remaining balanced and approachable. As our Founder says:

“California Oak was created as a bourbon that could seamlessly bring the wine drinker into the world of whiskey. This is a step into our world and a every day sipping whiskey made to be drank neat, and often.”​

Mash Bill:
70% Corn
21% Rye
9% Malted Barley

Oak Bill™
20% French Oak Staves
80% Central Coast Cabernet Wine Barrel Staves
​
Broken Barrel California Oak Bourbon was awarded the Gold Medal in 2020 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for finished bourbon.

Batch 001 | Launched March 2020

What Gary Says

Nose:  Soft oak, red wine cask, corn bread, dark fruit notes with subtle cherry.
Palate:  Sweet with vanilla, light caramel, nutmeg, subtle baking spices with red wine notes.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, damp with spice notes and tannic oak.
Comments:  This tastes like fairly young whiskey to me. That’s distinctly different than what I would call ‘small barrel craft’, as there isn’t anything objectionable, but it also isn’t very exciting. Very easy to drink, and not priced outrageously.  When ‘straight bourbon whiskey’ is on a label of a bottle of whiskey without an age statement, that should mean it is 4 years old.  I reached out and was informed that this product (and the other bourbons to be reviewed here forthcoming) are registered with the TTB as Distilled Spirits Specialty (DSS), and because it is stave finished versus barrel finished, it is not allowed to have any further age statement beyond “Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey”.  If that is how the TTB handles this, put me squarely in the camp of believing they are doing a disservice to consumers, as this only leads to confusion. But I digress – this is younger than 4 years old (2-3 years old, and I’d guess closer to the 2 year mark).  As there are more and more bourbons with cask finishes (which this isn’t exactly that, being finished with staves rather than IN various casks), this doesn’t stand out like it might have 5 years ago. The immaturity of the spirit may disappoint whiskey enthusiasts expecting something resembling a four year old bourbon.

Rating: Average

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Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / ,

Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey
Aged 20 Years

50% ABV
$500
Website
Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye
We would like to thank Grain & Barrel Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (Dec 6, 2021) – Grain & Barrel Spirits’ (“G&B”) has released a limited-edition Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey, which was aged for 20 years and bottled in a Prohibition-era Chicken Cock replica apothecary-style bottle at 100 proof (50% ABV). The mash bill contains 90% rye and 10% malted barley.

Originally established in Paris, Kentucky in 1856, Chicken Cock – known as “The Famous Old Brand” – was forced to move production up to Canada during Prohibition. The Canadian Rye whiskey produced during that period was then smuggled back into the U.S. in tin cans, earning the brand the nickname, “the whiskey in a tin can.” It was around this time that Chicken Cock rose to fame as the featured house whiskey at The Cotton Club (located in Harlem at 142nd St. and Lenox Avenue), one of Prohibition’s most legendary speakeasies. Here the brand was ceremoniously opened table-side where Duke Ellington and his orchestra regularly performed on the Cotton Club’s stage. In an excerpt from ‘Music is my Mistress,’ Ellington said, “during the prohibition period, you could always buy good whiskey from somebody in the Cotton Club. They used to have what they called Chicken Cock. It was a bottle in a can, and the can was sealed. It cost something like ten to fourteen dollars a pint.” ($140+ today).

“This luxury spirit and commemorative tin honor Chicken Cock’s Prohibition-era history and a period where the brand ventured north to carry on its tradition of bringing high quality whiskey to patrons across the country,” said Matti Anttila, founder of Grain & Barrel Spirits. “This rare straight rye whiskey signals a return to pre-prohibition times when the classic spirit was more prevalent, while also honoring the brand’s history and heritage. We even maintained the spelling of ‘whiskey’ versus ‘whisky’ on the original tin from Prohibition.”

Tasting Notes:

  • Appearance: aged 20 years in a used bourbon barrel, the whiskey glistens with a soft, yellowish-brown hue
  • Aroma: sweet candy combined with slight grassy rye, earthy notes, hints of citrus/orange peel, spice and white pepper
  • Flavor: a wonderful combination of vanilla, spice and sweet molasses, nicely complimented with mild overtones of pepper, citrus and toasted oak
  • Finish: a long finish with a wonderful balance of pepper, spice and sweetness, that lingers with a buttery mouthfeel

After Prohibition, Chicken Cock enjoyed a resurgent couple of decades before a distillery fire just after World War II put it out of business. In 2012, Anttila rediscovered the brand and set out to resurrect it to its Prohibition-era glory alongside Master Distiller Gregg Snyder whose résumé includes distilling, cooperage, and executive positions with Brown-Forman, Austin Nichols, as well as board positions with the Associated Cooperage Industries of America, Kentucky Distillers’ Association, and others. Since that time, the team has introduced a flagship KY Straight Bourbon and KY Straight Rye Whiskey, made in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Company as part of its collaborative distilling program.

Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey (1,595 6-pack cases) is available for the suggested retail price of $499.99 per 750ml bottle online via Passion Spirits, Flaviar, Caskers, and Cask Cartel and soon nationally via special allocation.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Sweet, cotton candy, grassy with mint, herbs, lemongrass, subtle orange zest with a hint of pine.
Palate:  Vanilla with oak, herbal rye spice, cinnamon and pepper with a notes of citrus and brown sugar.
Finish:  Moderately long, damp with oak and fading vanilla.
Comments:  For a 50% ABV whiskey, the nose on this is a tad sharp right from the bottle; some time in the glass helps and is definitely recommended (and worth the wait!) The rye mash bill shines through. Coming after another aged Canadian whiskey, it was an interesting comparison – although without mash bill details on the other it isn’t really an ‘apples to apples’ comparison. This one is a bit sharp, as you might expect with a 90% rye whiskey. Nothing off putting, but priced more for collection than for drinking.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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