Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

I’ve been noticing something about myself lately. I almost never buy a bourbon that is between $52 and $72 unless I am buying it to review on the site. It was brought to my attention last night when I realized that even though I adore Old Forester 1920, I think that I’ve only actually purchased it two or three times since it was released in 2016. It’s price lives in a price blind spot I have that spans the previously mentioned $52 to $72 range.

So what causes this blind spot? Well, mostly money. As you might guess, in order to keep content going on the site, I end up buying a lot of bourbon. So much so that when I am looking for something that I don’t need to review, I often get lazy and get a handle of Wild Turkey or Maker’s Mark. In my market those are in the $40 to $50 range. But occasionally I want something different. But those familiar prices stick in my head as I scan the shelves. Even if the “something different” is $50 for a 750 mL bottle, my brain sees it as “not too expensive.”

However, when I am looking for something a bit special, I start looking at items that I’ve seen before, but passed over because of price. Maybe it is a store pick or a bottle that has a bit more age on it. In either case the price will probably be some where north of $75. Which as you may have noticed leaves about a $25 window that I almost never buy anything from. And I need to change that. Might be time to start looking specifically at that price range. Which has things like tonight’s bourbon, Calumet Small Batch.

We’ve discussed some of the very expensive 14, 15, and 16 year old expressions that Calumet has released, but until now I’ve not looked at any of the lower priced bottles that have come out since they changed their bottle design to the “wine bottle” shape. So let’s see what the company has to say about their Small Batch bourbon.

Each small batch (50 barrels) is crafted from a blend of premium Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Bourbon Details: Distilled/Aging Location: Kentucky. Batch Size: 50 Barrels. Potency: 86 Proof (43% Alc/Vol). Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley. Bottled By: Three Springs Bottling Company, Bowling Green, KY.

Ok so now that we discussed price and provenance, let’s get to the important part: how does it taste?

Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: 43% ABV. Blend of 15-year-old and 8-year-old bourbons. Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley.

Nose: Wintergreen, Flintstones vitamins, cotton candy, caramel, and oak.

Mouth: Vanilla, caramel, nutmeg, and black tea.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of oak, cherry, and baking spice.

Thoughts: I really like this one. It has enough oak influence to keep it feeling fancy, but not so much that it is over powering. I enjoy the sweetness in the mouth and the heat of the baking spice. Even at 86 proof, it doesn’t taste overly diluted and has a nice spiciness to it. As I discussed above, $60 is a lot of money. And it is a little more than I’d like to pay for this one. It feels like it would fit better in the $40 to $50 range. Luckily I found it at Total Wine for $49.99. And for $50, I'd be happy to buy this one again.

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, A123

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

On tap tonight, we have Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. We looked at the whiskey’s stable-mate on Tuesday going in-depth on what Larceny Barrel Proof is and what the labeling means. Tonight, I think we are going to jump right into taking a look at the whiskey. By the way, according to the press release, this is the start of the 11th year of Heaven Hill’s line of products. So Happy Anniversary to them! Can you believe it has been that long? Man. I’m getting old.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, A123

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is: $69.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Details: 12 years old, 62.8% ABV. Non-chill filtered. Mash Bill: 78% corn, 10% Rye, and 12% Malted Barley

Nose: Cinnamon, chocolate, leather, red fruits, nutmeg, and oak.

Mouth: First Sip is hot and oaky. Notes of caramel toffee, nutmeg, cinnamon, and leather

Finish: Long and warm. Notes of leather, oak, nutmeg, and red fruits.

Comparison to C922: A123 has a much more vibrant nose. By comparison, C922 guards its secrets much more closely. A123 is hotter and focuses on leather and baking spice notes when compared to the dark chocolate and nougat that C922 is showing. Both finishes are long and warm and basically follow their mouths. Both are excellent and I'm having a hard time choosing between them. Can’t I just have both?

Thoughts: Another home run in a long line of them. If a bourbon could be put into a hall of fame, the entire Elijah Craig Barrel Proof line-up would go in on the first ballot.

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Larceny Barrel Proof, A123

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Welcome to January folks. Sure, I know that it’s almost half over, but as far as I’m concerned January starts when Heaven Hill drops the first of their three-times yearly batches of Larceny Barrel Proof and Elijah Craig Barrel proof. I always look forward to these releases. Any why might that be, you ask? Because they’re always delicious. And it is nice to look at things that you know are going to be tasty. Since it is the first drop of the year, let’s go over a little basic info as to what this is.

Born as an offshoot of Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald line of wheated bourbons, Larceny bourbon uses wheat instead of rye as the “flavoring” grain. In this case, Heaven Hill tells us that the recipe is 68% corn (remember to be bourbon it needs over 51% corn in the mash bill), 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. This release being barrel-proof means there is no water added to the batch. They dump, blend, and bottle at whatever strength it comes out of the barrel. Now, of course, that sometimes leads to a very hot product. The first batch of this was so hot that I was worried as to what they were trying to accomplish. In the intervening years, it has calmed itself a bit.

Speaking of different batches if you run across this in the store, how do you know which batch you have? Heaven Hill has nicely given us the key to knowing what is in our hands as we hold that bottle of the precious liquid. The batch code is made up of three parts. The first part is a letter, A, B, or C. This corresponds to if it is the first, second, or third batch of the year. The second part is a number, to this point it has always been 1, 5, or 9. This is the month of the year the release came out. The final part of the code is made up of the final two digits which indicate the year. So in this case A123 means it is the first batch of the year and it was released in January of 2023. Simple.

But unless this is your first time learning about the Barrel-Proof releases from Heaven Hill (in which case: welcome! the bar is in the corner. pour yourself something nice), you actually just want to know how this one tastes. So let’s dig in.

Larceny Barrel Proof, A123

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $59.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: Heaven Hill’s wheated mash bill (68% corn, 20% Wheat, and 12% malted barley). 6-8 years old. 62.9% ABV.

Nose: This is a caramel bomb on notes of oak, vanilla, and a hint of wintergreen.

Mouth: Very warm but not uncomfortably so. Notes follow the nose with caramel, oak, and wintergreen.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. Strong cinnamon candy notes.

Thoughts: Normally if I see this on the shelf I pick it up because it is delicious. However, I don’t usually get too bent out of shape if I don’t run across it because in this market Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is usually easier to find. This time however, I really hope that my local store gets their hands on a bottle because if I see this one, it is coming home with me. This might be my favorite release of Larceny Barrel Proof yet.

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If you've had... Elijah Craig Edition

I was looking for something to pull out of the ol’ whiskey closet during the last snowstorm when I got my eyes on something that I wasn’t expecting. I noticed the distinctive plastic lid of the old-style Elijah Craig bottle. Now, I had no idea that I’d stashed one of these away and even less idea that I hadn’t already finished it. But here we are. When the roads are slick and travel is not advised, sometimes you gotta make do with what you have on hand.

And it turns out that I had something pretty interesting on hand. It was a bottle of Elijah Craig Small batch from 2015. According to the piece of tape I put on the bottle before I stashed it away, I bought it in very early January 2016 at Total Wine for a cost of $21.99. This would have been the last version of Elijah Craig before Heaven Hill removed its 12-year-old age statement. So obviously I cracked that bad boy open. Annnnd…was reminded that it was very dry and tannic. Probably one reason I left it up there and forgot about it. But I did have an idea. I thought that it might be fun to put it up against two recent Elijah Craig expressions and see how it stacks up. Did Heaven Hill make the right choice when they changed and expanded the product? To find out I set each of these up in my patented If You’ve Had… style where we compare one product to a similar product in order to find the differences.

What’s that? You haven’t been around long enough to know what the If You’ve Had… series is? Well here is a quick cheat sheet to bring you up to speed. The setup is like this: "If you've had Whiskey A then Whiskey B is..." hotter, spicier, sweeter, more floral, etc.” Each section below is written comparing all of the whiskeys in the line-up to one of their peers. So if you've had Whiskey A, but not Whiskey B, C, or D, then the Whiskey A section will be the most useful to you. You may notice that there are different tasting notes here as compared to the usual reviews. That is because I am literally going from one bourbon to the other and recording my impressions of the difference. This article purely describes the differences between the various bourbons. I try to write this so that there are no value judgments. This way you get to decide based on what you know of Whiskey A if Whiskey B sounds like something you'd want to try.

So without further ado, I present the ninth installment of the If You’ve Had… series. Plus, afterward, I’ll let you know my thoughts on the current state of Elijah Craig when compared to the 2015 version.

If you've had Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023) then...

Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) is: about the same color, visually. 2015’s nose shows much more sharp oak compared to 2023's cinnamon/nutmeg/baking spices. The mouth of 2015 is hot and very strongly oaky to the exclusion of almost everything else. Whereas the 2023 is full of baking spices. The finish of 2015 is also tannic and bitter compared to 2023’s fruit and spice.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C922) is: visually much darker in color. The nosing experience is very similar between the two with the Barrel Proof version showing more alcohol burn in the nostrils. The mouth of the Barrel Proof is much hotter, but also sweeter and the notes, while similar to 2023, pop more. The finish of the Barrel Proof shows more oak and lasts longer.

If you've had Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) then...

Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023) is: visually very similar in color. The nose shows more cinnamon and baking spice that is hidden behind 2015’s oak. The mouth of 2023 is more gentle and shows more sweetness and baking spice. The finish shows less oak than the 2015 version.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C922) is: visually darker in color. The nose of the Barrel Proof shows a similar level of oak but also shows more sweetness and chocolate. In the mouth, Barrel Proof is hotter but also sweeter and shows more baking spice. The finish is hotter and shows more sweetness and spice to complement its oak.

If you've had Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C922) then...

Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023) is: visually lighter in color. The nose is very similar showing much less alcohol in the nostrils. In the mouth, 2023 is more gentle and shows more fruit and less sweetness. The finish of 2023 is shorter and shows more fermented fruit notes.

Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) is: visually much lighter in color. 2015’s nose is similar but shows less sweetness. 2015’s mouth is more gentle but shows its oak more as the Barrel Proof also shows off chocolate and sweet notes to go along with its oak. The finish of 2015 is drier and shows off the oak more.

So... Thoughts:

Is it worth trying to hunt for the unicorn that is the old 12-year-old Elijah Craig? In my opinion? Fuck. No! At least not a bottle of the 2015 release, like I have here. My bottle was from the last release before it lost its age statement and I can only describe it as over-oaked. I'm not a fan, personally though my wife enjoys it. Obviously, I like oak. I just want it to be a supporting flavor not the only flavor like it is in the 2015 version. The Barrel Proof still has a lot of oak but it also has a lot of chocolate, sweetness, and spice that accompanies the oak. I also prefer the standard Elijah Craig Small Batch that is on shelves currently. I don’t need everything to have a lot of oak so I enjoy that they allow Small Batch to showcase the cinnamon, baking spice, and fruit. Both the Barrel Proof and Small Batch are satisfying complements to one another. Whereas the old 12-year-old Elijah Craig from 2015 is kinda just a one-note oak bomb. Some people, like a gentleman I was chatting with in the liquor store, love the "overpowering oak" (his words) that these old bottles have. I don't. So after seven years I can look back and feel that, as far as I’m concerned, Heaven Hill made the right choice by removing the age statement and allowing the flavor to drive the brand, not the age.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that all of the old 12-year-old bottles were as dry and tannic as this release was. I was upset when they removed the age statement. But I’ve been part of a round-table that compared various editions of the 12-year-old Elijah Craig and this one was my least favorite of the group. Some of the even earlier ones were delicious. So I’m mostly just shitting on this particular release, not the entire history. But if the age statement was holding them back from making an even better product, or products in this case, then I think it was probably the right call.

My Ranking:

1. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (12 year old)

2. Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023)

3. Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) - Distant 3rd.

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Wyoming Whiskey Ten Year Anniversary Edition

I’d like to thank Verde Brand Communications for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Ok, so on Tuesday, I was whining about the quantity of snow that we’d received in recent weeks. I will not make that mistake again because I was repaid for that by receiving another foot or so after I hit publish. I’m not sure which karmic deity or spirit thought that was funny, but I found it less so as I was running the snowblowers and shovels. Because of that, let’s jump right into the bourbon, shall we? I don’t want to chance getting cosmically punished for something else I say.

Way back in 2015, I set up a visit with Distiller Samuel Mead to tour Wyoming Whiskey. (You can see photos and read about that visit here. ) I was on a trip to Yellowstone with my wife, my Mom, and my Stepdad and I thought that it would be fun to bring them along on the tour. Especially for my Stepdad who is also a whiskey fan. Mead was a gracious host and I have had a soft spot for Wyoming Whiskey ever since.

It was with that thought in mind that I happily accepted a sample of their new 10th Anniversary Edition bourbon. So, what makes the 10th Anniversary Edition special? For starters, it is 10 years old. This is pretty obviously about as old as you can get out of a 10-year-old distillery that doesn’t source its products. So beyond being crafted from 20 of their oldest barrels, it was also a collaboration between founding Master Distiller—and Bourbon Hall of Fame member—Steve Nally and current Master Blender Nancy Fraley. Here’s what the distillery has to say about this special release:

“We are proud to honor our roots in this state with an exceptional 10-year-old whiskey created by the fusion of Wyoming water, Wyoming grains and Wyoming weather. We will always distill our whiskey the right way, not the easy way,” said Brad Mead, Co-Founder of Wyoming Whiskey.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Wyoming Whiskey Ten Year Anniversary Edition

Purchase Info: This sample was graciously provided by the producer and their team for review purposes. The suggested retail rpice is $199.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $13.33

Notes: 10 years old. 51.7% ABV. 68% Corn, 20% Rye, 12% Malted Barley 

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, cherry, and oak.

Mouth: Sweet. Notes of cinnamon, caramel, allspice, almond, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm. Lots of cinnamon and allspice and a hint of mint

Thoughts: This is a very tasty bourbon. It is out of my price range, but I'd happily accept a glass or two if you were pouring it. It has nice baking spice notes and a sweetness that is present but not cloying. Wonderfully drinkable neat, but takes an ice cube well. I really like it. It is worthy of a milestone release.

Congratulations to Wyoming Whiskey on 10 years!

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Hirsch Selected Whiskeys: The Horizon

Over the last two weeks, about two to three feet of snow have fallen at my house. As I don’t have anywhere to go, I wasn’t nearly as upset about that as I would have been in past years. In fact, since my mail delivery has been sporadic, at best, since May I really only need to leave my home to clean up the snow. Unless the Postal Service actually delivers that day, that is. (Want to get me worked up…ask me about the absolute joke of a Post Office that Prior Lake, MN has…anyway).

Well, last week on one of my short forays out into the world beyond my four walls, I stopped at a liquor store.

I know…I was shocked too.

Now I was just looking for a little bit of something to warm me up. I’d stocked up on enough “content” for the next month, I just needed something to have a little taste of now and then. I was thinking maybe some Wild Turkey 101 or some Maker’s Mark. Things that I love to drink, but can’t write about too often. Of course, on this particular day, my local corner liquor store had a brand rep in doing tastings. I took a look at what they were pouring and realized that I hadn’t had it before so I took the sample.

When asked how I liked it, I had to be honest and let him know that I couldn’t really answer him since I had only brushed my teeth a few minutes before leaving the house. But since he mentioned that the whiskey came from MGP in Indiana, I was pretty sure that I would have really liked it had my mouth not been full of toothpaste residue.

In any case, I brought the bottle home, and somehow, it has made it to the front of the editorial calendar for the year. Pure luck, that. We planned on doing lots of tastings over the holiday break and didn’t get around to it. And apparently, we started at the end.

My apologies to those brands who were nice enough to send me samples that have been jumped. That’s just how things work out sometimes.

The Horizon by Hirsch

Purchase Info: $32.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.20

Details: 46% ABV. 94% 4-year-old MGP 21% Rye Mash Bourbon and 6% 8-year-old MGP 36% Rye Mash Bourbon.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, mint, and cinnamon candy.

Mouth: This is pretty dry and spicy. Notes of cinnamon, cedar, almond, and mint.

Finish: Medium warmth and on the longer side of medium in length. Notes of mint, cinnamon, and honey.

Thoughts: This is not too bad at all. It's almost a little too dry for me in the mouth but redeems itself on the finish. And since I spend much more contemplating the finish between sips than I do holding it in my mouth when I consume whiskey, I'm ok with that. All in all, I'm very happy with the purchase. Thanks for the recommendation Mr. Brand Rep!

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof: Private Barrel Selection by Lakeville Liquors

A couple of weeks ago, I had a friend text me an image of an Elijah Craig Private Barrel selection. Now in and of itself, this wouldn’t have registered with me. I see Elijah Craig private selections locally from time to time. When I see them, I tend to grab them, if only to help convince stores to keep doing it.

This time, however, things were a little different. See, this wasn't the burgundy label that I usually see. Instead, the photo showed the black label that usually accompanies the Barrel Proof version of Elijah Craig. And, that was something I hadn’t seen before. Which, honestly, isn’t that unusual these days. I haven’t had my finger on the pulse of Bourbon news for a while now. I’m not a journalist. I’m an enthusiast. And unless someone sends me a press release, I’m as likely as not to miss the bourbon news of the day. (Hell, if you find some interesting news, send it my way, the odds are good that I haven’t seen it. There is an email link in the footer of each page.)

So anyway, I did some digging and realized that the Federal Government approved this label in March of 2021. That was plenty of time to revamp and spin up a Private Barrel program to include the new Barrel Proof option. And long enough ago that if I ever knew about it, I’d completely forgotten. Of course, I ran right out to the store my friend had texted me from, and…they were out of stock.

“Well, shit.”

And then I forgot about it for about a week when I happened to wander into the liquor store just down the road from my preferred movie theater after a showing of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It turns out they had a private barrel too. And since this little municipally run store only has three locations, they still had plenty of their pick. It was very exciting.

Ok, now that all of that is out of the way, Let’s see how it tastes.

Elijah Craig Single Barrel, Lakeville Liquors Private Barrel

Purchase Info: $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Lakeville Liquors, Lakeville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.33

Details: 8 years old. 63% ABV. Barrel#: 6675505. Non-chill filtered.

Nose: Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, caramel, and oak.

Mouth: Very hot in the mouth. Notes of caramel, oak, mint, ginger, and cinnamon.

Finish: Long, warm and nutty with notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak.

Thoughts: This is very good. I hope other local stores will also participate in this program because I am greedy and want more of this. It was about the same price as the lower end of the local price range for Elijah Craig Barrel Proof's three times yearly releases. But if I can't find that at the lower end of the price range, I'd buy this for $80 before spending $100 on the numbered batches of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, even though this bottle is a little younger than the 12-year-old age statement on recent numbered releases. It’s good. If you find one and it is in your price range grab it!

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Parker's Heritage Collection 2022, Double Barreled Blend

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Parker's Heritage Collection is Heaven Hill’s annual “Ultra-Premium” bourbon release that is named for Parker Beam, Heaven Hill’s late Master Distiller Emeritus. For many years now, a portion of each bottle’s price is donated to support ALS research and patient care in honor of Mr. Beam. To this point, sales of Parker’s Heritage Collection have raised over $1 million. Which is pretty cool.

So on to the bourbon. Heaven Hill was very detailed on how this bourbon was created so instead of rehashing everything, I’ll just let them speak for themselves in this one.

This edition consists of 67% 13-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey that has been double barreled for four weeks and then blended post aging with 33% 15-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The 13-year-old Bourbon, from barrels produced in December 2008, was aged on the 5th-7th floors of Rickhouse Q and then re-barreled into new American white oak barrels with a level three char for four weeks. Then, it was later blended with 15-year-old Bourbon from barrels produced in January 2007 aged on the 2nd and 5th floors of Rickhouse II. The unique, bold flavor profile is balanced by the double barreled 13-year-old Bourbon, bringing out even more oak and spice notes from the barrel, with the 15-year-old Bourbon rounding out the older aged mouthfeel. At bottling, the liquid was uncut and non-chill filtered to preserve the complex flavors. This edition leads with an oak forward nose and hints of butterscotch and caramel, and once tasted is followed by a balance of spice notes, sweetness and slight oak tannins. The finish is long and warm with elements of dark chocolate, baking spices and white pepper. The mashbill for this edition is comprised of Heaven Hill Distillery's traditional Bourbon mashbill 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley and ultimately bottled at barrel proof 132.2 or 66.1% alcohol by volume.

Ok. Now for the elephant in the room. $174.99 for a 750 mL bottle. That is a lot of coin. Even if the whiskey is created using multiple barrels and using whiskey with double-digit ages. I’m going to let you know now, that I would never buy this. I just can’t afford it. Well, I probably could, depending on if and when freelance checks come in, but there are a lot of things that I’d much rather spend that money on. That said, let’s breakdown how it tastes. Spoiler alert: it is delicious.

Parker's Heritage Collection 2022, Double Barreled Blend

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $174.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $11.67

Details: Blend of 67% 13-year-old bourbon and 33% 15-year-old bourbon. 66.1% ABV.

Nose: Oak, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and mint.

Mouth: Sweet with notes of caramel, vanilla, red fruit, oak, and leather.

Finish: Medium length and warmth with notes of cinnamon, red fruit, barrel warehouse, leather, and chocolate.

Thoughts: Wow! That's all I can say about this. This might be the best Heaven Hill product I've ever tasted. I love it. It is dangerously drinkable neat. It's rich, thick, sweet, spicy, and downright delicious. They knocked it out of the park. If anything is worth $175 (and I’m not sure that anything actually is, but if anything is), it’s this. And, from me, that is saying a lot. Just wow!

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