Jefferson's Presidential Select 21 Year Bourbon

I really miss my old bottle of the 17.

This is a whole different beast from the 17 and 18.  Jefferson's whiskey is all sourced.  This one is sourced from a rye influenced mash bill instead of wheat.  Thanks Sku.  It's pretty good but $120 is too much.

On the Jefferson's scale, it's a Mr. Bentley.

For more Jefferson's scale memories see:

• http://twopartsrye.blogspot.com/2012/08/jeffersons-bourbon-tiered-flight.html
• http://twopartsrye.blogspot.com/2012/10/jeffersons-straight-rye-whiskey.html

13th Colony Southern Corn Whiskey

I'll start off by saying that this is really tasty.  The first thing that I wondered when I saw this is why it was called Corn Whiskey instead of Bourbon.  Bourbon Enthusiast speculated a couple of years ago that they aged the whiskey in used bourbon barrels.  I expect that they are correct.  It looks like white wine in the glass, but it has some welcomed roughness of flavor.  It is bottled at 95 proof, and I usually recommend cutting at that strength.  This one is perfect neat.  I've tried it in a julep and a Manhattan and feel that gets lost when mixed.  Love it as a sipper.

Lots and lots of corn with some rough oak edges and heat in the finish.  Recommended at $30.

The Ginger Julep '68 Fastback

Ahhh, the summer of '68.  Boobs were sagging.  Gas was leaded.  And, I was still a few years from being born so I don't know what I'm talking about.

I featured this recipe right before the Kentucky Derby in exchange for a bottle of Bulleit for review.  I've reviewed Bulleit Bourbon way back in yee-olden days of 2009, and in summary.  Is it good?  Yes?   Is it my favorite?  No.

It's hot today and this cocktail works nice.  I've swapped out the muddling for 1/2 oz of ginger syrup and swapped the soda water and twist for some french lemonade.

If you can not see this recipe in IE, get Chrome.

The Ginger Julep ’68 Fastback

Ingredients:

o   1 ½ oz. Ginger Infused Bulleit Bourbon

o   ½ oz. Organic Brown Sugar

o   ¼ oz.  Peeled Minced Fresh Ginger

o   1 ½ oz. Soda Water

o   1 Lemon or Lime Twist

Directions: Muddle the ginger and brown sugar together until all of the sugar is moistened and nearly dissolved. Add a dash of soda to finish dissolving the sugar, stir in your Bourbon. Finish with ice, soda to taste and a lemon or lime twist.

Why we love it: The Ginger Julep ’68 Fastback brings a warm, gentle heat to the julep cocktail family with an invigorating ginger kick and splash of lime zest.

Basil Hayden's

Basil Hayden's is one of the Better Beam's: Baker, Basil, Booker and Knob Creek.

This is the easiest drinking of the Better Beams.  It has a nice corn, rye, mint and leather flavor.  It drinks quite nicely straight and works well in a Manhattan.  I only had one shot in the bottle at the time of writing this review and it is already gone.  Shit.  I'll have to break out the old grading scale to fill up some space.

Grade: B+
Cost: $40
Cost Adjusted Grade: B

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel Bourbon

I have to admit that the medallion declaring that this whiskey was hand chosen for the state of Ohio makes me a little nervous.  I pray that the master distiller is not a member of fight club.

This bad boy is 101 proof, so a splash of water is necessary.  I actually broke tradition and added whiskey to a splash of water instead of a splash of water to the whiskey.  I'm just that kind of rebel.

I taste a lot of brown sugar with some cinnamon, orange and a strong oak finish, with just a hint of burning couch.  Pretty good at $41.

Woodford Reserve 1838 Sweet Mash

In my review of Woodford's Rare Rye, I mentioned that I had noticed a trend in the flavor of the master's distiller's collection.  There is an unpleasant leather flavor to these whiskeys that I just don't like.

The Sweet Mash is an interesting concept.  If you look at your typical bottle of bourbon, it will say sour mash, that is because the yeast used to make that whiskey has some history.  They use yeast from the previous batch to make the next batch, creating an awesome bourbon family-tree-time-machine that has a somewhat acidic ph, hence sour mash.  This whiskey was made with a brand new culture, and is therefore a sweet mash.

All I know is that I bought this bourbon last year, check that, two years ago, in Clarksville just before the Steelers laid the wood on the Titans.  It cost $120 and tastes like leather with a touch of honey and basically sucks.

Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel

If you actually care about the history, link.  This whiskey is bottled in bond, which means that it has met certain government standards about how it was made and aged and it is bottled at 100 proof.  Most people don't know that there are also very specific standards in the actual work force.  Below is an image of your typical "bottled in bond" plant worker.

Much more effective than a hair net.  Fittingly, this is a rough tasting bourbon.  Very oaky and smokey.  And the high proof kind of kills your taste buds.  I had thoughts on the flavor at the beginning of the glass (not too shabby), but now it's all alcohol.  There is not really much point in recommending it or not recommending it because it's one of those limited runs that you either lucked into by now or it's too late.

Wathen's Single Barrel

I picked up this nice sipper during our family vacation at Rohoboth Beach Delaware.  There are two things that that don't have in Delaware.  Sales tax and shade.

Wathen's is made with eight generations of blah, blah, blah.  I find this one to be very spicy with a lot of oak.  You'd think that a bold bourbon like this would make a nice Manhattan, but it can't stand up to even a splash of Noilly Pratt.  Weird.

Still, it's a nice sipper.

Several Almost Empties: Sazerac 18, Elmer T Lee

OK.  This has been sitting in draft for over a week.  More almost empties to come.

Sazerac 18: This is the 2009 bottling, which is considered inferior to the 2010.  The 2010 must be something because this is quite nice.  It has a nice strong grain flavor, with a bit of vanilla sweetness, both in your initial sip and the finish.  A+.

Elmer T Lee: This bourbon comes highly recommended.  Frankly, I don't see what's the big deal.  It's smooth, which is damning with faint praise.  At least it's cheap.  C

Jim Beam Devil's Cut

Well, the rapture was scheduled for this evening, and here I sit, drinking.  Chances are, if you read this blog, you're still here too.  There may have been an exception made for World-Wide-Kev, which is a shame, because he pitches for my softball team and we have a game tomorrow.

I thought that I was going to make it out, but I sealed my fate when I purchased a bottle of Devil's Cut yesterday.  For those of you who are uninitiated in whiskey slang.  The whiskey that evaporates during the aging process is called the angel's share.  The Beam folks have found a way to pull out the whiskey that is absorbed into the barrel, and they blend it with normal Jim Beam.  It all sounds like a bunch of marketing jiggety-pokety-whosie-whatsie-hommina-hommina-bull-shit.™

It turns out that this is indeed a better Beam.  Not leaps and bound better, but it's pretty good.  It has a bit more oak, and a bit more spice.

So, did anyone get raptured?



 

Barrels? We don't need no stinking barrels. Part 1: Buffalo Trace White Dog

This will be part one of an exciting three part series on white whiskey.  Ironically, this is the only one of the three that calls itself whiskey.

White whiskey is what you get when you don't put your distillate in a barrel, AKA moonshine.  The Buffalo Trace white dog is 125 proof.  Drinking it neat gives a hell of a burn.  It's got some corn, grain and yeast flavor.  With, like I said, a hell of a burn at the end.  Let's add water.

Well, that brings out some sweetness.  And.... not much else.

So, does that dog hunt?  If by hunt, you mean get you drunk.  Then yes.  If you mean taste good.  Not really.  There's a reason that god made the oak tree; it was for coopering barrels for bourbon.  This was made for the person who just has to know what it tastes like right out of the still.  It is sold in 375 ml bottles at the same price as a 750 ml bottle of the bourbon.  Tricky bastards.

Ten High Bourbon

I find myself with more bottles than bar space these days.  Time to clear out the almost empties.

Ten high proves the old addage, there are no bad bourbons, just better bourbons.  Smooth bourbon flavor, with a touch of oak, but no complexity. 

At around $12/liter, it's not a bad bourbon.  I find it to be a bit too mellow to stand alone in a manhattan.  Go 50/50 with some rye.

Old Forester





This is a nice bourbon at $15 price range.  It' oaky and spicy, with a peppery finish that's enhanced by it's higher 86 proof.  I dont' love it straight, but it makes quite a nice Manhattan.  My post sip burp has a hint of vanilla.

Grade: C+

Manhattan Grade: B

Maker's 46

I stopped by the liquor store with the intentions of grabbing a bottle of Maker's Mark for the house bourbon challenge.  Lo-and-behold, we just got in Maker's Mark 46 and there wasn't much of it left in the store.  So, it got purchased instead.

Bit of history.  Maker's Mark has been a one product company for-since-1956 (If you ignore their the defunct Maker's Black, and Maker's Mint Julep).  This product uses the standard Maker's Mark as it's base, and ages it longer with wood staves to add more flavor.  It's called 46, because it uses No. 46 French Oak Staves.  God help us, our bourbon has been inspired by French bureaucracy.  It clocks in at 94 proof and has quite a burn.  Adding a splash of water reveals a nice cinnamon flavor.

Grade: B
Cost: $31.95

House Bourbon Challenge: Old Ezra 7 vs Buffalo Trace

Let's cut to the chase.  Old Ezra may be the best $10 whiskey that you will ever buy.  It's not good enough to displace Buffalo Trace as my go to house bourbon, but it's pretty darn good.

It clocks in at 101 proof, which is a bit too warm.  There's oak and cinnamon and nut flavor.  It's also  a little bit tannic.  Adding a splash of water helps with the heat and bitterness, and actually brings out some sweetness when drinking it "neat".

And that's the problem.  My house bourbon and rye are going to be used in a Manhattan.  With the higher proof, you end up adding more vermouth to counteract the heat, and the whole thing gets out of whack.  Can't have it.

Grade: C+
Cost: $10
Cost Adjusted Grade: B

Wry World Of Sports: Mint Julep Time

I love the Kentucky Derby.  It's not that I love horse racing, though I do like it.  How many sporting events have an "Official" cocktail?  The Derby has the mint julep.

Most people don't like the drink, and I can't blame them.  Typically you are given a glass of cheap bourbon and mint leaves.  Tastes like watered down cheap bourbon and grass.  Yummm.

Jim's Mint Julep is another beast.  Last night I made some mint syrup.  Which is as easy as boiling water.  It's what separates my cocktail from the riff-raff in the infield.

• Boil equal parts sugar and water with fresh mint until the sugar dissolves.  Let it cool and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. 
• Mix syrup and bourbon in whatever portion you like.  I prever 3 shots of bourbon to 1 shot of syrup.
• Add ice and stir.
• Garnish with mint.  Take a picture for your blog.  Throw away the garnish.

Race Prediction:  In a "weak" field like this, bet on the jockey.

1. Super Saver for the win.  (Calvin Borel)
2. Paddy O'Prado to place (Ken Desormeaux)
3. Devil May Care to show (John Velazquez) 

Update!  I called the winner and my place horse ended up showing.  That's why I never bet the trifecta.

Corner Creek Bourbon

Web stuff:  CornerCreekBourbon.com seems to be a dead link.  This may be a dead product.  Hell if I know.  Speaking of dead.  I've had this bottle for two years and it is about gone.

Tasting notes:  According to the cached version of it's website, it's a blend of wheat, corn, and rye.  It's got a good flavor, but the rye is not balanced, giving a harsh finish.  It does make a tasty Manhattan.

Cost: Approximately $30
Grade: B
Manhattan Grade: B+

Update:  It's back in the stores.  The web site is still kaput.

Free stuff at last!

Sadly, only the nifty rocks glasses were free.

Apparently it's illegal to send free liquor.

Stupid laws.

However, we can win some free hooch.  Go register at

http://www.buffalotracesaloon.com/

The blog with the most click-thru's and memberships gets a free party.

You'll be invited.

Am I selling out?

Not really.

Go here, here, here, and here

to see that Buffalo Trace has long been the

House Bourbon of Two Parts Rye.

Tales from the top shelf: Prichards' Double Barreled Bourbon

This is a gift from Cousin David that he dropped off a month or so ago.  He visited again last weekend and let me know that its OK to say that I don't like it on the blog.  The thing is, I do like it.  Typically, I would say:

Cost: $57.99 in Tennessee, not available in Ohio
Grade: B+
Cost Adjusted Grade: B

I'd say that if I hadn't done my research first.  This is what you see when you go to their web site.

Kind of hard to take it seriously.

The irony of this image is that 99% of Tennesseeans don't believe in global warming.

Two Parts Rye: House Bourbon Challenge McAfee's Benchmark

This isn't really part of the challenge.  This bourbon was bought for a purpose.  Instead of the artificial, glow in the dark, sugar bomb, not really a cherry, marischino cherries that you buy in the grocery store, I prefer to rehydrate dried cherries in bourbon and use those in my Manhattan. 

It's the holidays, so I was looking for something inexpensive, but palatable.  I've never had Benchmark before.  It's label says that it is made by Buffalo Trace.  It can't be too bad.  Can it?

It has a more rye in it than the Trace, which gives it a bit more bite.  It also tastes thinner.  In other words, there's not much else going on flavor wise.  It's not great, but I was not searching for great.  I was searching for adequate.

It makes a piss-poor Manhattan.
 
Cost: $8.95
Grade: C
Cost Adjusted Grade: B
Manhattan Grade: D