Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

I’d like to thank Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Poor air quality is becoming a fixture of life this summer, isn’t it? Alexa gave me another air quality alert today. Luckily for me, we have it pretty good compared to the folks just a little to the east and south of us. Being as we are only in the “moderate air quality” range here in the southern Twin Cities Metro, I can actually go outside without breathing becoming hard to do. But according to the maps, many of you will smell smoke when you step outside.

Which sucks. Because though you might want smoke on your food or your whiskey, you probably do not want it in your lungs. So stay safe, folks.

But speaking of smoke and whiskey, let’s take a look at Bib & Tucker Double Char. This Tennessee bourbon was aged for six years in standard 53-gallon charred White Oak barrels before being finished in a second heavily charred barrel for an additional 5-plus months. Now, as this is Tennessee bourbon, it does go through the Lincoln County process of being filtered through sugar maple charcoal prior to aging.

And according to the company:

For Double Char, to pay homage to the Lincoln County process, the second barrel is smoked with sugar maple before being filled with our 6 year aged bourbon. The perfect amount of time in the barrels, the char, and the sugar maple barrel smoking process delivers a bourbon with an inviting savory white smoke flavor not found in any other whiskey on the market.

I tasted this prior to reading the press release, and I personally didn’t detect any smoke, which is a good thing, as I tend to dislike smoky notes in my whiskey. But there was a subtle note that I could be convinced was smoke now that I’ve read it. It’s one of those interesting notes that is subtle enough that it only comes into focus once someone else points it out.

So let’s see how it tastes.

Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was provided free of charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $54.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.66

Details: 6 years old. 44% ABV. Batch 01. Bottle 29090. Distilled in Tennessee.

Nose: Mint, vanilla, cinnamon, fresh lumber, (seasoned) oak, and a touch of cherry.

Mouth: Sweet caramel and vanilla, vibrant cinnamon, and sharp oak.

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Notes of cherry, cinnamon, minerals, and vanilla.

Thoughts: I'm a bit shocked at how complex the flavor is, considering it's low proof. I'm a fan. If you like the usual suspects when it comes to supplying sourced bourbon from Tennessee, you'll probably like this too. Has a bit of a Dickel vibe to it.

Now you might ask how it compares to the standard Bib & Tucker 6-year-old. And since they were nice enough to send me a sample of that for comparison’s sake, let’s take a look. The noses are similar, but Double Char is sweeter on the nose. The mouths have similar notes, but Double Char is sweeter and spicier. Standard 6 has a longer finish, but Double Char compensates for that by having more complexity on the finish. Overall, if you like one, you'll probably like the other.

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Blood Oath Pact 9

I’d like to thank ByrnePR and Lux Row for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

In previous years, I’ve shared my love of many of Lux Row Master Distiller John Rempe’s creations, including many of the Blood Oath series. They are always one-time recipes. Most of them have included some sort of finished bourbon in the blend. This time they are using Oloroso Sherry casks, which I usually don’t care for. Sherry will often overpower the bourbon. The thing that I think may save this is that, from my reading, only one of the bourbons used in the blend is finished in the sherry cask.

Anyway, let’s hear what Lux Row has to say about all of this.

Blood Oath Pact 9 combines some of the finest extra-aged bourbons Rempe could find, including a 16-year ryed bourbon and a 12-year ryed bourbon, as well as a 7-year ryed bourbon finished in Oloroso Sherry casks from the Sherry Triangle region in southwest Spain. These casks impart unique woody and ripe-fruit aromas and flavors to make Blood Oath Pact 9 a memorable pour. “Blood Oath Pact 9 contains three great bourbons, and the Oloroso Sherry cask finish has resulted in a deep, dark amber liquid with long legs,” said Rempe. “The Oloroso Sherry casks also bring out tasting notes of sweet sherry with hints of ripe fruit on the nose, as well as flavor notes highlighted by ripe fruits including figs, plums and raisins, with notes of molasses, chocolate and tobacco. This bourbon also provides a long-lasting finish characterized by fruit notes and complemented by hints of spicy oak. I’m proud to share Blood Oath Pact 9 with bourbon lovers.”

So let’s see how this one tastes, shall we?

Blood Oath Pact 9 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $129.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $8.67

Details: 49.3% ABV. Blend of three bourbons: a 16-year, a 12-year, and a 7- year that was finished in Oloroso Sherry casks.

Nose: Brown sugar, red fruit, spearmint, chocolate, vanilla, and honey.

Mouth: Dry and spicy with notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon, red fruits, and toffee.

Finish: Medium length and warm with notes of Cinnamon gum, dark chocolate, and red fruits.

Thoughts: This is very good. From the nose, I expected it to be sweet, so the dryness in the mouth was pleasantly surprising. I'm really a fan of the chocolate and cinnamon gum combo on the finish as well. I like it. Even though the price went up $10 this year, my very frugal accountant of a wife declared that she'd gladly pay the suggested retail if we found it. So interpret that how you will.

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, B523

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

There was a time when Elijah Craig had a twelve-year age statement. Eventually, Heaven Hill decided to retire that age statement to give themselves more flexibility to blend it to taste rather than age. At the time, I was upset, but looking back on the decision from the future, I think Heaven Hill made the right choice in reserving that twelve-year age statement for the barrel-proof version of Elijah Craig. We discussed this in detail back in January.

Well, that age statement is currently no more. As of B523, they have removed the standard 12-year-old age statement in favor of a “per batch” age statement. If you frequently perform searches of the TTB’s COLA database, you may have seen this coming as I did. I’ve got at least one extra bottle of C922 stashed away for the future, just in case things take a turn for the worse with this change. For the time being, however, this seems to be another change in the name of flexibility instead of the “we are running out of stocks! Quick, make it younger!” changes of the early- to mid-2010s. In fact, they have already announced that next quarter’s release will be in the thirteen-year-old range. Here’s what Heaven Hill has to say about the change:

Starting with the enclosed B523 expression, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof will now be barreled in small batches with varying age statements. Each batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof will have its own unique taste profile and proof, as in years past, and now a unique age statement that will retain the extra-aged characteristic the brand is known for. All other qualities of the series remain the same - non-chill-filtered and uncut to preserve all the natural esters and taste components from the barrels to the bottle. The variance in proof, and now age, from batch to batch is an exercise for true whiskey aficionados to experience the consistency in quality across the series while allowing for the unique intricacies of each batch to pull forward.

Each face label will detail the lowest age of the barrel within the batch, as legally required. The transition of the age from the side to the face label will also show more transparent details down to the month, regardless of how large or small the quantity of the lowest aged barrels in that edition. Batches will be determined to taste and quality by the master tasting team – Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll, Master Taster Tawnie Gootee and Vice President of New Product Development and Quality Assurance Chris Briney. This change allows for a true small batch selection process to happen, selecting the best extra-aged stocks that make for phenomenal taste experiences.

Ok. Now onto the most important part: how does it taste?

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, B523

Purchase Info: This sample was provided at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $69.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Details: Age: 11 years, 5 months. 62.1% ABV.

Nose: Oak, caramel, cinnamon.

Mouth: Very hot in the mouth. Oak, apple, caramel, cinnamon red-hot candies, and ginger.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of apple, ginger, caramel, and oak on the finish.

Comparison to A123: The noses are similar, though A123 is sweeter. The mouth on B523 is much hotter, spicier, and more oak-forward.

Thoughts: This release screams for water, the addition of which not only tames the heat but allows it to sit in your mouth long enough to get flavors other than "HOT!" out of it. Let's just say that after this, my palate is blown out. If I was going to choose between this release and the last, A123 wins hands down. A123 was a very good batch, so it was a good send-off for the 12-year age statement. That said, if you are ok adding ice or water to it, B523 is still pretty tasty. I found it impossible to drink neat (and to be honest, you probably shouldn’t be drinking 120+ proof whiskey neat anyway).

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Larceny Barrel Proof, B523

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

My extended family has had a lot of bad news over the past few weeks. We’ve had multiple funerals, one for my brother-in-law and one for my wife’s cousin, which made the news. The second was a little harder because the death happened during the first funeral. On top of that, we’ve also had rebellious teenagers doing very stupid things. And due to the emotional fallout from all of that, we’ve had elderly relatives that are having a hard time of things. It’s been a rough couple of weeks.

Now, I’m not directly involved in any of these bad things. But so many people that I love have been affected that, emotionally, it’s making it hard to be creative. So if I cut this one a little short tonight, cut me a little slack. Luckily for us, this is a product that we have covered quite a bit in the past.

As you may have guessed from its clever name, Larceny Barrel Proof is a barrel-proof version of Larceny bourbon. It is always delicious and usually quite hot. This one clocks in at 124.4° proof. The bourbons used in this batch are between six and eight years old. The suggested retail price is $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Larceny Barrel Proof, B523

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

Price per Drink (50 ml): $4.00

Details: 62.2% ABV

Nose: Cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, and brown sugar.

Mouth: Cinnamon, honey, mint, nutmeg, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of cinnamon, mint, oak, and honey.

Thoughts: As usual, this is delicious. It's strange, though. It's very drinkable at full proof, yet also very hot if you do more than “sip and swallow.” Still, I'd use a splash of water or a piece of ice with this one. It takes it well, and the water tames some of the heat, accentuating the sweetness.

Comparison to A123: B523 is much sweeter on the nose. A123 is sweeter and not as hot in the mouth. A123 still has some heat, don't get me wrong. But the heat is more a "capsaicin-style" heat than a "cinnamon red hot style" heat. Both are delicious, but if forced to choose, I think I'd go with B523.

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