Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2016, Round 1: JW Dant Bottled in Bond vs. Blue State

Round 1b of the 2016 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 1 seed, and winner from two year ago, JW Dant Bottled in Bond versus Number 4 seed Blue State. 

JW Dant Bottled in Bond is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. It was initially chosen as a part of our initial competition where it eked out a split decision victory over Sazerac’s Old Charter (8 year old). Last year it was back to defend it’s crown and lost in the second round to corporate cousin Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. Unless it wins, this year is the last time it will compete since I’m cutting off previous year winners at two years so we aren’t overrun by them in the future.

Blue State was released by Heaven Hill in 2012 (along with identical product Red State) as a gimmick to play off that year’s Presidential elections. Even though it is once again a Presidential year, I’m guessing it is no longer an active brand since they’ve pulled down the website listed on the back of the bottle and didn’t even bother to redirect it anywhere. I found it along with it’s alternate hidden on the bottom shelf of a local retailer and decided to pick it up since I’d never bothered to originally.

These were tasted blind in the following order. My thoughts on each are from before the reveal.

Blue State

Purchase Info: $14.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 40% ABV, No age statement

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Strong oak presence, cola, black tea and fleeting hints of brown sugar.

Mouth: Cinnamon candies, mint sugar sweetness and some oak.

Finish: Cola, black tea and baking spices anchor a warm finish of decent length.

Thoughts: “I like this a lot. I’m excited to find out which it is.”

JW Dant

Purchase Info: $14.99 for a 1 L bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN*

Details: 50% ABV, No Age Statement

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Butterscotch, cinnamon candies and oak. 

Mouth: Spicy. Butterscotch, vanilla and baking spices.

Finish: Oaky tannins transition to sweet, baking spices that hang around a while.

Thoughts: “This is a sweet one, but has enough oak to balance the sweetness and keep it from overpowering.”

Who wins?

This is a close one. Closer than any 1-4 matchup we’ve had to this point. I like the complex nose of Blue State better. I like the sweet and spicy nature of the mouth of the Dant. So it comes down to the finish and whether I like the yummy flavors of Blue State or the spicy heat of Dant better. Man this is a tough one. After stepping away for a little while and coming back to them we had to give the nod to the JW Dant. The heat was too good to pass by. That said, even though it was a "gimmick" bourbon, I ran back to Ace the next day and picked up two more bottles as this will make a great inexpensive “every-day” bourbon while supplies last.


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Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2016, Round 1: Fighting Cock vs. Buckhorn

Round 1a of the 2016 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 1 seed, and last year’s winner Fighting Cock versus Number 4 seed Buckhorn. 

Fighting Cock is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. It was initially chosen as a part of last year’s competition where it eked out a narrow victory over Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. Of course when it competed last year, it had an age statement of 6 years old. This year, when it comes back to defend it’s crown against new competition, it is sporting no age statement. Can it become a two time winner even with that handicap?

Buckhorn is a Total Wine exclusive.* It is sold to them by the Clear Spring Distilling company, an assumed name that Sazerac uses to make house brands. It is 80 proof and carries no age statement so it is at least 4 years of age. I was leery about including it in the competition since you’ll need to be near a Total Wine to get one, but I’m going assume that if you substitute another NAS house brand made by Sazerac under the Clear Spring name, you might get fairly similar results.

These were tasted blind in the following order. My thoughts on each are from before the reveal.

Fighting Cock

Purchase Info: $14.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 51.5% ABV, No age statement

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Bubble gum, mint, cooked cereal

Mouth: Hot and grainy. Hints of caramel and a touch of oak underneath.

Finish: Hot and grainy with a lingering dried corn bitterness

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: “If this is the fighting Cock, it took a huge dip when it went NAS last year.”

Buckhorn

Purchase Info: $12.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN*

Details: 40% ABV, No Age Statement

Produced by: Clear Spring Distilling Company (Sazerac)

Nose: Herbal. Brown sugar, mint and oak.

Mouth: it basically follows the nose. Herbal, brown sugar, mint and delicate oak notes.

Finish: Middling finish with a bit of heat but not much length. Lingering herbal notes.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: “Nothing offensive on this one, I’d take a glass if offered.”

Who wins?

The finish on Fighting Cock is better heat wise but falls way short on flavor. I’m not a fan of really grain forward finishes. In the mouth it’s the same. Fighting Cock is hot but Buckhorn is more flavorful in the ways I like my whiskey. If Buckhorn had some of Fighting Cock’s heat, this contest would be a no brainer. As it is, I’m leaning Buckhorn but could understand why others with different tastes would go the other way. But I’m the judge so it looks like we’ve just had the first upset in the history of the Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets because 4 seed Buckhorn just knocked off last year’s champ. 

Well a non-age stated version of last year's champ. Apparently after removing the age from the product, Heaven Hill was hoping that the high proof would cover the degradation of the aged flavors. They were wrong. Last year I advised not to add water to it as it minimized the oak and the heat and left you with just grain flavors. Now you can get that without adding water. It's too bad. This used to be a hidden gem as little as a year ago. 

*Not so exclusive. By a quirk of Minnesota law, liquor stores are prohibited from carrying exclusive products. This means many local stores buy the exclusives and then undercut Total Wine’s price. Which is nice since these products tend to have the highest markup at Total Wine. Everyone wins…well except the massive megaretailer. As an example, I bought this one at Ace Spirits.


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Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2016: The Brackets

Its that time of year again. The time of year when in the spirit of the season, America pretends to enjoy college basketball. The time when intraoffice gambling on the backs of unpaid athletes is not only condoned, but practically expected. The time when paper or online brackets are filled, mostly with guesses because what normal person really knows what the hell a Gonzaga is anyway. 

I’m not immune to the lure. But instead of trying to figure out whether a Holy Cross can beat a Southern University, I’d rather spend my time figuring out if I like Evan Williams 1783 or Wild Turkey 81 proof better. Because honestly I really don’t like basketball. Plus I work out of my home so I have no coworkers with whom to pretend that I care whether an FGCU wins or not.

Because I am a frugal person, this annual competition started out as a way to find new inexpensive bourbons with which to drown my sorrows as I waited for winter to end. But with both winters and inexpensive bourbons that I haven’t tried are becoming increasingly rare, I actually was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to find enough bourbons to qualify this year. 

But there is good news frugal fans of bourbon! Minnesota is smack dab in the middle of the Total Wine effect. Items that didn’t qualify in years past are now priced within reach due to the increased price competition and items that were intended to be store exclusives are now being stocked on store shelves across the Metro. Prices are dropping and selection is rising. And this makes this year’s brackets a little more interesting than normal.

As it has been a year since we did this last, let’s go over the guidelines for selection: 

  1. I'm defining Bottom-Shelf as under $20 per liter or $15 per 750 mL bottle.

  2. It must be Straight Bourbon

  3. It must be available in Minnesota

  4. I am hoping to try new things so when possible, I looked for things I hadn’t reviewed before.

After the bottles were purchased here are the guidelines I used to seed them. 

  1. Previous Winners. JW Dant Bottled in Bond won two years ago and Fighting Cock won last year year so they get an automatic #1 seed.

  2. Stated (or assumed age). Straight bourbon has to be at least two years old. But unless it is under four years old you don’t have to put an age on it. So if someone does it’s either a good thing or a bad thing. I like to reward good things and punish bad things.

  3. Proof. Higher proof often equals better flavor. Not always, but it can be a good rule of thumb.

  4. Minimize corporate cousins. I figured I could introduce a little more difference into each initial pairing if they didn’t come off the same still, or at the very least wasn’t sold by the same company. Since four of these are from Heaven Hill and two are originally from Sazerac, it's a guideline, not a hard rule, and is overridden by the above guidelines.

So who are the contestants? Well, as mentioned above, Fighting Cock and JW Dant are our return winners so they get the number one seeds in each division. There were no age stated bottles this year so that one has been set aside, though I did knock Very Old Barton down a notch for their misleading “6.” So the next two highest proof bottles are Evan Williams 1783 and Very Old Barton 6 are both 86 proof and they become the number 2 seeds. After that the newly renamed Wild Turkey bourbon is 81 proof so it becomes our first 3 seed. The last three were dropped in what I thought might be an order to provide the most interesting match ups with Jim Beam White becoming the last 3 three seed going against Barton while Buckhorn (a Total Wine “exclusive” from Buffalo Trace) and Heaven Hill’s Blue State picking up the slack as 4 seeds.

Due to the Total Wine effect, this was an interesting year. Stay tuned.


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Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2015: The Championship Rounds

They’re here, the Championship rounds. We’ve made it through the opening rounds and tonight we find out who graduates to the Fancy Shelf. 

Once again, I am struck by just how good the competition has been. There were plenty of matchups where I actually liked both of the bourbons involved. Obviously one more than the other, but still. There was only one I would absolutely rule out ever buying again and that is the Old Crow. I doubt that I’ll get the OGD 80 again just because its higher proof brothers are still inexpensive and much better. Benchmark, I’d grab this for a cheap everyday whisky on occasion. It’s pleasant enough. And Henry McKenna was a pretty good card-playing bourbon.

Of course now that we are down to four, it is interesting to note that all four are from Heaven Hill and that three of the four are 100 proof or greater. I’d say this means that when it comes to putting out bourbons that both taste good and are good values, Heaven Hill knows what they are doing. It’s interesting to note that they also won last year’s competition.

So here we go. These were tasted blind again. And remember as with last year, these were not formal tasting notes, just impressions to let us decide which one we liked better.

Round 2: Down to Four

Division 1: Fighting Cock vs Evan Williams (Black)

Nose A: Fruity and sweet

Nose B: More vegetal, but otherwise similar

Mouth A: Sweet and spicy with a hint of fruit

Mouth B: Sweet with baking spices but with a vegetal undercurrent

Finish A: Warm and long. nice and spicy

Finish B: Hints of baking spices and oak

Thoughts: A is a much nicer bourbon. It has hints of fruit that really tie it together. B was showing a bit too vegetal in comparison. 

Winner: A wins this one hands down. It is Fighting Cock. It really is amazing to me that what I interpreted as oak in Evan Williams last round is showing as vegetal today. That says more about me than the bourbon, but it is still interesting.

Division 2: JW Dant Bottled in Bond vs Evan Williams Bottled in Bond

Nose A: Caramel, hint of spice, slightly fruitier

Nose B: Caramel, hint of spice, slightly drier

Mouth A: Sweet, baking spices, oak

Mouth B: Drier than A, but otherwise very similar.

Finish A: Spicy, baking spices

Finish B: Slightly more oak, but otherwise similar

Thoughts: When you consider that these are both the same distillate, more than likely aged to about the same amount of time and bottled at the same strength, it isn’t too surprising to find out that they are very, very similar.  

Winner: Today, the winner is Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. Tomorrow it might be the Dant, it is that close. These will both be on my shelf again. When it comes to buying, I will probably just go with which one the store I’m at carries and which is cheaper if it has both.

Fancy Shelf Championship

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond vs Fighting Cock

Nose A: Fruity and sweet with hints of oak

Nose B: Exactly the same. I can’t tell the difference.

Mouth A: Spicy, sweet and hot. 

Mouth B: Spicy, sweet, hot with a little tannic bitterness.

Finish A: Spicy and sweet

Finish B: Spicy and sweet with some lingering oak.

Thoughts: Once again, there is no surprise that these are very similar. Same juice put into the barrel. One aged for an assumed 4+ years, the other for a stated 6 years. One 100 proof, one 103. Very, very similar. And which is better, that will depend on who you ask. Like a touch more wood? Go with B. Like a touch less? Go with A.  

Winner: That said, I enjoyed having just a touch more oak so the Fancy Shelf Champion is: B, Fighting Cock.


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Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2015: Round 1: Evan Williams Bottled in Bond vs Henry McKenna

Round 1d of the 2015 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 2 seed Evan Williams Bottled in Bond versus Number 3 seed Henry McKenna. 

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. This is the Bottled in bond version of the black label version that competed in Round 1b. That means it is 100 proof, over 4 years old and is the product of one distillery in one season. It’s a pretty good snapshot of what was happening at Heaven Hill 4+ years ago. This is one of a batch of Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond products that I’m quite fond of. The others being JW Dant, Old Heaven Hill and Henry McKenna Bottled in Bonds.

Speaking of Henry McKenna the number 3 seed of this contest is the non-bonded version of Henry McKenna. It is also a product of Heaven Hill Brands. I was told by an employee of Heaven Hill once that the juice going into the barrels is the same, but that the main difference between Evan Williams and Henry McKenna is where they are aged. The Henry McKenna being aged on a hillside where it gets a lot of sun where Evan Williams ages more evenly. I’m not sure the veracity of that statement, but it sounds plausible.

These were tasted blind in the following order.

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond

Purchase info: MGM Wine and Spirits, Burnsville, MN. $17.99, 1 Liter Bottle.

ABV: 50%

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Fruity and Sweet. Caramel, apple, vanilla, rose petals and just a hint of pea pod.

Mouth: Started with a hint of vegetal pea pod, but that faded quickly to reveal a hot and sweet dram with ginger and toffee.

Finish: Warm and spicy. Fades fairly quickly. Numbs the mouth.

Thoughts: I like this one. That faint vegetal hint aside, this is a good one.

Henry McKenna

Purchase info: Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN. $11.99, 750 mL Bottle.

ABV: 40%

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Floral, caramel and brown sugar. 

Mouth: Thin. Warm and dry. Ginger spiciness. Strong oak influence with hints of caramel.

Finish: Nice flavor, but very brief.

Thoughts: It has a nice flavor but is a bit thin and the finish is a bit too brief for me. It makes me think that this might be a great bourbon to cook with though. When you want the bourbon flavors, but not the ethanol ones.

Winner: Evan Williams has a nicer nose, finish and mouthfeel. Henry McKenna has a nicer flavor, but since Evan Williams flavor isn’t that far below I’m giving the nod to Evan Williams Bottled in Bond.


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Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2015, Round 1: JW Dant Bottled in Bond vs Old Crow

Round 1c of the 2015 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 1 seed, and last year’s winner JW Dant Bottled in bond versus Number 4 seed Old Crow. 

JW Dant Bottled in Bond is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. It was initially chosen as a part of last year’s competition where it eked out a split decision victory over Sazerac’s Old Charter (8 year old). This year it is back to defend it’s crown against new competition. Can it become a two time winner?

Old Crow is a product of BeamSuntory and, like it’s Beam stable-mate Old Grand-Dad, was once a label produced by National Distillers. Unlike Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow was converted over to the standard Beam recipe and has languished there ever since. It normally lives a full and uneventful life as many a bar’s well whiskey, being mixed into drinks that no one cares enough about to specify a brand or being shot by frat boys who are “tougher” than those who just want Fireball.

These were tasted blind in the following order.

JW Dant Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: Blue Max Liquors, Burnsville, MN. $15.99 for a 1 liter bottle

Stated Age: NAS (Assumed 4+ years)

ABV: 50%

Produced by: Heaven Hill

Nose: Fruity, cinnamon and cocoa powder to start. Followed by a strong caramel candy note.

Mouth: Sweet and hot with caramel, cocoa and sharp oak tannins..

Finish: Warm and sweet with nice length and lingering oak.

Thoughts: The nose on this one is fabulous. The rest was fine, but a bit of a let down after the show the nose put on for us.

Old Crow

Purchase Info: Blue Max Liquors, Burnsville, MN. $10.94 for a 1 liter bottle

Stated Age: Aged “for a full 3 years”

ABV: 40%

Produced by: Jim Beam

Nose: Initially: barn. After that passed, grain, mint and baking spices. 

Mouth: Silage, baking spices and a hint of mint. But mostly silage. 

Finish: Mild warmth, black pepper and more silage.

Thoughts: My first nose of the glass was: “Holy shit! That smells like a barn. Not an old barn, but one currently holding cattle.” Luckily it faded quickly. Water helps this one, but only because it dilutes the silage. You might want to stick to mixing this one…maybe on the rocks…nah, skip the intermediary and just dump it out. In the toilet. It really is too bad that Beam let this fall on such hard times. It might have been kinder to put it out of its misery.

Winner: JW Dant Bottled in Bond wins this one hands down. And not by default. It actually had things going for it as opposed to just being not-Old-Crow. The nose was fantastic. The rest was ok too. For Old Crow…yeah I have nothing nice to say. When it starts with barn and goes downhill? Yeah. just pass on this one. At just north of $10 per liter this is actually overpriced. When we revealed which was which neither of us were surprised to see which was Dant and which was Old Crow.


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Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2015, Round 1: Evan Williams vs. Old Grand-Dad (80 proof)

Round 1b of the 2015 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 2 seed Evan Williams versus Number 3 seed Old Grand-Dad (80 proof). 

Evan Williams is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. You’ve probably seen it. It’s available almost everywhere. It’s the third-best selling American Whiskey. It also tends to look more than a little like the first best-selling American Whiskey: Jack Daniels so you will be forgiven if you didn’t notice it hiding down on the lower shelves. But unlike Jack Daniels, this is one bottle worth paying attention to. Though uninteresting, it is tasty and can be had for south of $15 per liter here in Minnesota.

Old Grand-Dad is produced by BeamSuntory. Though it’s part of Jim Beam, it has a higher rye content in it’s mashbill than the standard Beam recipe because of it’s heritage as part of the former National Distillers group of labels. There are 4 labels produced using this juice. Old Grand-Dad 114 proof, Old Grand-Dad Bonded, Old Grand-Dad 80 proof and Basil Hayden. Basil Hayden is also 80 proof. I’ve had the other three. I’ve liked them all. I’ve never had OGD 80 proof and have been looking forward to this round so that I could try it.

These were tasted blind in the following order.

Old Grand-Dad (80 proof)

Purchase Info: Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN. $13.99 750 mL

Stated Age: NAS (Assumed 4+ years)

ABV: 40%

Produced by: Jim Beam

Nose: Dried Grain/silage, cinnamon gum, oak and a hint of leather.

Mouth: Sweeter than I expected from the nose, but very hot as well. The cinnamon gum is there from the nose as well as the silage.

Finish: Hot and sweet with lingering oak and more silage.

Thoughts: Hot as this is, don’t try adding water. Water destroys this one. To be honest, I’m shocked by how little I like this one considering how much I like its higher proof brothers.

Evan Williams

Purchase Info: MGM Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN $12.47 for a 1L

Stated Age: NAS (Assumed 4+ years)

ABV: 43%

Produced by: Heaven Hill

Nose: Caramel corn, dusty old wood, baking spices. 

Mouth: Sweet and soft. Baking spices, molasses and oak tannins. 

Finish: There is a little heat, but it fades quickly. Lingering oak. Beyond that there isn’t much here.

Thoughts: In the past, I’ve described this as a “card-playing bourbon.” Tasty, but not very interesting. I stand by that here. Also, adding water seems to have little effect on this one.

Winner: Of the two, the Old Grand-Dad was certainly more interesting. There isn’t much going on with Evan Williams. That said, OGD does have a very unappealing silage flavor that is hard to get past. For a “tasting” in a Glencairn, I’d rather have interesting Old Grand-Dad, but as I will be merely “drinking” these from this point on, I have to give the win to Evan Williams.


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Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2015, Round 1: Fighting Cock vs. Benchmark

Round 1a of the 2015 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 1 seed Fighting Cock versus Number 4 seed Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand. 

Fighting Cock is one of those bourbons that I passed over based solely on it’s frat boy name. I’ve read that it was supposed to be a competitor for Wild Turkey (the kickin’ chicken) with its a high proof and 6 year age. I have no doubt that’s the case, but I still can’t say the name without snickering. Which says more about me than the name, I guess. In any case this was a bourbon that was recommended to me numerous times last year when I called for entries, but it was always just outside the price range. Increased competition in this market has made it available in the contest’s price range, so here it is as a number one sed based on both stated age and proof.

Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. If I told you this was a Sazerac product, would it surprise you that it used to be Benchmark 8 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey? Well, it is. And it was. I’m sure some people out there haven’t noticed the 5 year drop in age. People like the store I bought it from that still calls it “Benchmark 8YR” on the sales receipt. This looks to be one of the first bottles to receive Sazerac’s now infamous “Number Treatment.” It seems to have lost it’s age statement and gained it’s 8 in 2004. Strangely, it did gain an age statement of sorts in 2013-2014 by becoming young enough to drop below the 4 year old minimum for being truly NAS. In any case It was recommended last year and met the criteria so here it is as the number 4 seed based on that new age statement.

Fighting Cock

Purchase Info: Total Wine & More, Burnsville, MN $14.99 for a 750 mL

Stated Age: 6 years

ABV: 51.5%

Produced by: Heaven Hill

Nose: Green Apple, cinnamon, caramel, anise, bubble gum and vanilla.

Mouth: Hot and fruity with apple, cinnamon candy and a good hit of oak.

Finish: Hot and long. Mint, oak and cinnamon candy.

Thoughts: This is a much more complex bourbon than I was expecting. It deserves it’s name. This thing wants to fight. It’s hot and spicy, but that is balanced by a nice fruitiness. Adding water destroys it though as it becomes all about the dried corn.

Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand

Purchase Info: MGM Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN $13.49 for a 1L

Stated Age: At least 36 months

ABV: 40%

Produced by: Buffalo Trace

Nose: Toffee, dried fruit, a vitamin tablet, corn and faint cinnamon. 

Mouth: Velvety. Hot. Mint, corn, oak and brown sugar.

Finish: Residual heat and mint. Nothing to write home about.

Thoughts: This was a surprise. Nice heat. A good complexity. It may only be three years old, but there is nothing to keep this from being a nice card playing bourbon. Adding water amps up the sweetness and turns it into a butterscotch bomb.

Winner: Fighting Cock. But this was a match-up primed for an upset. Benchmark was a real surprise. We were tasting blind and it was the first one we tasted. Based on its heat and a decent complexity, I honestly thought it had to be the Fighting Cock. It wasn’t, obviously. After tasting both whiskeys we agreed that, out of a Glencairn, the Fighting Cock was much better. But for the way my wife drinks whiskey (with a cube or two of ice) she actually thinks that the Benchmark is more her style. It's the better of the two after dilution. Personally I’ll stick with the Fighting Cock, but don’t be too surprised to see either of these in the stash in the future.


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