Tag: tasting notes

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Wheated Bourbon Battle: Pappy Van Winkle 15 vs. 2011 William Larue Weller

This year’s edition of the Buffalo Trace “Antique Collection” and the latest release of Pappy Van Winkle both recently hit store shelves (and both slightly more recently disappeared from store shelves). The Antique Collection includes the Eagle Rare 17, the Sazerac 18 Rye, the George T. Stagg, the Thomas H. Handy Rye, and the William Larue Weller Bourbon; and this year’s release was met with some tremendous reviews from bourbon enthusiasts. I was lucky enough to get my hands on exactly one bottle of this year’s William Larue Weller, a wheated bourbon just like Pappy Van Winkle 15 (also made at the Buffalo Trace distillery). The Weller fact sheet reads that it’s made from Kentucky corn, North Dakota wheat, and North Dakota malted barley. I’d love to know the exact mash bill distinction (if there is one) between the Weller and the Pappy just for comparison sake, because these two great wheated bourbons make for an interesting contrast. The Weller was put in the barrel in 1998, and while it bears no age statement on the bottle, Buffalo Trace confirms that it was 12 years and 11 months old at bottling. If you’re the kind of bourbon fan who geeks out on the details, you’re in luck: new white oak, #4 char, charred for 55 seconds, barrels from Independent Stave in Lebanon, KY, 114 proof at barrel entry, 130 proof off still, kept on the 4th and 5th floors of Warehouses N/O/P, 57.2% of the original whiskey lost to evaporation(!), only 45 barrels made, etc. Three cheers for (very close to) full disclosure from the folks at Buffalo Trace.

You won’t find that kind of detail on the elusive Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 year old, which is one of my all time favorite bourbons. I actually give it a slight edge over its older brother, the 20 year old Pappy Van Winkle. It’s supremely balanced and layered, a true joy to sip over the course of a long evening. The Weller? Despite the similar mash bill and similar (well, not too far off) age, it’s quite different if you ask me. There’s the fact that the Weller is bottled at barrel strength, a whopping 133.5 proof, so an apples to apples comparison is not quite so direct with the Pappy (which clocks in at 107 proof). Suffice it to say, I am very happy I got my hands on the Weller, but also very happily confirm that there is something very special about Pappy. (And an important note to many of the bourbon geeks out there – I’m still on last year’s release of the Pappy 15, so this is not the current release which many assume to be a full switchover to the stock distilled at Buffalo Trace rather than the final Stitzel-Weller stock)

Here are my notes:

William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 2011 Release
133.5 Proof
Approx. $70 Retail

Lovely rich, deep amber color. The nose is BIG. Like a brown sugar praline pecan pie with some dark cherries thrown in. Are you hungry for dessert? There’s some ginger spice in there too, a touch of cinnamon. Truly impressive, not for the faint of heart, or the dessert-averse.

Tasted neat at barrel proof, this has some sharp heat from the alcohol, a good burst of that rich sweetness, and a surprisingly delicate presence of corn. While I love the nose at full strength, and recommend just breathing this baby in for a while, I prefer adding a nice bit of filtered water to open things up and get it down to a more manageable proof for sipping. I found that the water tones down the sweet intensity on the nose and brings out a bit more nuance, an almost herbal green woodiness beneath the dark caramel sugar. The entry smooths out as well, bringing in some bread-y notes, both corn and wheat bread are there, intermingling. There’s a bit of ginger and baking spice, too. The caramel and brown sugar remain through into a long finish that picks up some steam (and heat). A very satisfying sip, but I think the full strength nose is what really sets this one apart.

Overall, this earns highest honors – a full fledged WOW – for the nose, but a slight tick down (merely Excellent) for the full experience.

Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 15 Years Old
107 Proof
Approx. $70 Retail

Like I said, this is one of my all time favorites, and it’s intriguing that the Pappy and Weller are so different.  Compared to the Weller, the Pappy 15 is a touch lighter in the glass, still a nice rich copper / amber. The nose is more subtle, more nuanced, less overtly sweet. Sure, there’s caramel and brown sugar in there, but the baking spices are much more prominent. New notes pop in and out, dark fruits, touches of vanilla and toasty wood, but the overwhelming impression is one of tremendous balance and depth.

On the tongue, Pappy is richer, fuller, a bit more like an embracing coat of honey (though far from cloying or syrupy). That sense of balance continues, sweet molasses gingerbread into more spices, a warm leather boot kicking time. I don’t get the corn here at all, which is so evident on the Weller. The warmth is deep and lingering, and it just leaves you shaking your head with a smile for minutes after each sip.

Pappy 15 is truly a WOW if there ever was one.

Also… be sure to check out our Rye Battle, featuring Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye and High West Rendezvous Rye

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* Thirsty South Rating Scale:

Wow – among the very best: knock-your-socks-off, profound, complex liquid gold!
Excellent – exceptional in quality and character, worth seeking out, highly recommended
Good Stuff – solid expression of its type/varietal, enjoyable and recommended
Fair – fairly standard or exhibiting obvious though minor flaws
Avoid – move away folks, nothing to see here, a trainwreck

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Southern Comfort Pepper Tasting Notes: Maybe I’m Crazy

I’m a little bit ashamed to admit it, a little bit proud – I never had a SoCo phase in my youthful drinking days. This may seem remarkable for a boy who grew up in Memphis and now lives in Georgia, but I went from Bartles & Jaymes (did I just type that?) to Absolut to Jagermeister, then somehow, thankfully, latched onto good bourbon. So I tend to approach Southern Comfort with a blank slate (though a negative blank slate, as you’ll see a few paragraphs down). No seared-in-my-brain memories of frat parties gone bad. No happy memories of hanging out in the parking lot before a big game, though, either.

Now, Tabasco, that I am a fan of. They make a great product, or two. They sometimes make a good Super Bowl commercial. They have a wonderful history in Louisiana. But, while I’m known to douse quite a few things with Tabasco, whiskey is not one of them.

When I received a sample of Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper – I was extremely skeptical. Southern Comfort? I wouldn’t touch the stuff normally. Isn’t it basically whiskey flavored alcohol? Honestly, I’m still not sure exactly what Southern Comfort is. And Southern Comfort seems to like it that way. On the label they call this one “an original concoction” and that seems fitting. Actually, down further on the label, it reads, “liqueur and whiskey with natural flavors and caramel color.” Deliciously evasive. So, my best hope for this bottle was that it could be horrible in historic ways. Or the Tabasco could actually make the SoCo palatable. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

So, on to the tasting notes:

Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper
“An Original Concoction”
70 Proof
Approx. $15 Retail
Tasting Date: October 31, 2011

SoCo Pepper is a nice copper/amber in the glass. Swirl it around, then take a deep sniff. A heady dose of chili peppers hits your first, then a more vegetal green pepper note, then red hots, then … here’s where the “maybe I’m crazy” comes on strong… sweet grape soda. What!? It’s true. Try it. And once I smell that grape soda, that’s all I can get. Sugary grape soda, with some red hots sprinkled in. Not promising, is it?

When you take a sip, SoCo Pepper first hits as smooth and sweet, a bit of that sickly grape soda, then some Tabasco-ish heat comes on and carries through over layers of caramel popcorn and more grape soda into a long, mouth-tingling finish with flashes of cinnamon and more red hots. It’s remarkably smooth alcohol-wise. Well, maybe not so remarkably since it’s just 70 proof. The burn it does have comes across as more of a spice burn than a heat (alcohol) burn. And, you know what? I kinda like it. It’s weird as heck. It feels like I should be in the back parking lot of a pawn shop swigging it from a brown paper bag. But I kinda like it.

Fair, on the way to Good Stuff* (if you happen to be in the back parking lot of a pawn shop). This is crazy stuff, a ridiculous gimmick, a melding of Southern flavors high and low. And that’s why I like it.

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* Thirsty South Rating Scale:

Wow – among the very best: knock-your-socks-off, profound, complex liquid gold!
Excellent – exceptional in quality and character, worth seeking out, highly recommended
Good Stuff – solid expression of its type/varietal, enjoyable and recommended
Fair – fairly standard or exhibiting obvious though minor flaws
Avoid – move away folks, nothing to see here, a trainwreck

Full Disclosure: this bottle was provided as a tasting sample

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Maker’s 46 Tasting Notes: I Like ‘Em Fat

I like ’em fat, I like ’em proud.
Ya gotta have a mother for me,
Now move your big a$$ round this way
So I can work on that zipper, baby.

– Prince (inspired by James Brown)

I don’t throw around raunchy Prince lyrics lightly, but Maker’s 46 was shoutin’ out for something loud. Before we get heavy though, some background is in order…

Maker’s 46 debuted a bit over a year ago, and highlights a trend towards untraditional forms of aging and impacting the flavor of bourbon (see Woodford Reserve’s Maple Wood Finish as another prominent example). These spirits are not for purists or traditionalists, they intentionally tweak the straight bourbon approach to deliver something new. Maker’s Mark former president Bill Samuels called Maker’s 46 “a breakthrough in the contemporary craft of bourbon” with “innovative techniques never before employed.” So, yeah, not for folks who dig on tradition. The innovation? Taking regular old Maker’s Mark and re-barrelling it with seared French oak staves inside the barrel for a few extra months, imparting some amped up flavor and playing Jedi mind tricks with the whiskey inside. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of regular old Maker’s Mark, finding it a bit flat and without enough spice to balance out the sweet, but I do think the injection of extra oak into the process alters and generally improves it in a noticeable way.

So, on to the tasting notes and a little Prince:

Maker’s 46
“Bourbon Whisky Barrel-Finished with Oak Staves”
94 Proof
Approx. $35-$40 Retail
Tasting Date: October 25, 2011

Maker’s 46 pours a bright honey amber in the glass, possibly a touch darker than regular Maker’s Mark, but still not dark. The aroma is full of warm toasty oak, butterscotch and caramel, with a crusty, bread-like wheat undertone. Nothing crazy, it’s a bigger, stronger brother of regular Maker’s Mark. It’s on the tongue that 46 gets FAT and the nasty Prince groove comes into play. It’s luscious, round and chewy. Maybe Sir Mix-a-Lot would be more appropriate. Vanilla, caramel, and more slightly buttery toast coats the tongue. There’s a nice, welcome cinnamon spice that kicks in on the back that starts to balance things out, to give it some sass. The chewiness continues on through the finish, with an almost cabernet-like woody tannin pucker coming in at points and lingering on the tongue. So, while many may dig on this sexy MF, I must admit that it’s not quite up my alley. Too much chunky chew, not enough depth or elegance. I guess I don’t like ’em fat, after all.

(Not quite) Good Stuff* – better than it’s little brother, but far from a good value at $35 plus. If you like ’em fat, though, this may be for you.

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* Thirsty South Rating Scale:

Wow – among the very best: knock-your-socks-off, profound, complex liquid gold!
Excellent – exceptional in quality and character, worth seeking out, highly recommended
Good Stuff – solid expression of its type/varietal, enjoyable and recommended
Fair – fairly standard or exhibiting obvious though minor flaws
Avoid – move away folks, nothing to see here, a trainwreck

Full Disclosure: this bottle was provided as a tasting sample

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Java and Spice with Sea Island Rum

Our recent visit to Firefly Distillery in Wadmalaw, South Carolina, was a great experience, and also provided a chance to taste the Sea Island rum that Jim Irvin is crafting there. They have three varieties – the Carolina Gold, the Spice, and the Java, which is a coffee and spice infused bomb of a rum.

The donkey-driven sugarcane press from Guatemala
Rum aging in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels

All of these rums start with Southern sugarcane, sourced from John’s Island near the distillery as well as Louisiana and Florida. There’s a cranky old sugarcane press out in the yard that they found in Guatemela, which, with the help of a donkey, presses out the sugarcane. Distilled in small batches, the rum then sees some time in used bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace, up to three years or so. The high quality sugarcane and the bourbon barrel aging come together to create a distinctive product, and Irvin’s experiments with infusing all-natural flavors and spices into these rums takes it up a notch or two in the “wow” category. They currently have distribution around South Carolina,  and at the distillery itself of course, but are expanding now to Georgia and hopefully beyond. Here’s a taste of what you can expect if you can get your hands on some of the Sea Island Rum.

Sea Island Spice Rum
70 Proof
Approx. $22 Retail
Tasting Date: August 5, 2011 (and prior)

A clear pale straw gold in the glass, with a nice viscosity that clings to the glass. Notes of butterscotch and vanilla jump out on the nose, a hint of nutmeg and baking spice lingering behind, like a warm, buttery cinnamon roll. On the palate, the spice and sweetness of the sugarcane are incredibly well balanced, this is not an overly assertive spiced rum, more like a spiced banana bread with an almost creamy (well, cream ale) presence. Warm lingering finish, a touch of heat that manages to hold the sweet and sharp notes in harmony. The folks at Firefly recommend trying it with an assertive ginger beer or ginger ale like South Carolina’s Blenheim for a spin on the Dark and Stormy, but it works great straight as well.

Excellent* – a great marriage of rum quality and balanced spice, a true treat if you’ve only tried Captain Morgan’s.

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Sea Island Java Rhum
70 Proof
Approx. $22 Retail
Tasting Date: August 5, 2011 (and prior)

Dark walnut brown in the glass, nearly impenetrable.  Huge coffee and deep dark chocolate brownie nose (yet again, that bourbon barrel-aged sugarcane rum makes baked good comparisons come naturally), tart dark cherry notes underneath that massive coffee and chocolate, burnt brown sugar as well. Incredibly full when it hits your tongue, warm and deep, obviously coffee driven, but the dark chocolate brownie presence rushes to the front, then subsides under a chewy bite of a finish, which alternates back and forth between coffee, chocolate, dark but bright cherry notes, and the miraculously long lingering pleasantly sweet burn of the rum.

Excellent* – dessert in a glass, an amazing dessert at that, and will blow away comparisons to Kahlua (try it in any cocktail recipe that calls for Kahlua and see what you think).

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* Thirsty South Rating Scale:
Wow – among the very best: knock-your-socks-off, profound, complex liquid gold!
Excellent – exceptional in quality and character, worth seeking out, highly recommended
Good Stuff – solid expression of its type/varietal, enjoyable and recommended
Fair – fairly standard or exhibiting obvious though minor flaws
Avoid – move away folks, nothing to see here, a trainwreck