Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond

The bottle of Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond I bought after tasting the sample my friend gave me. 

There are seldom times when I am so pleasantly surprised by a whiskey as I was by the one I’m reviewing tonight. No matter how many times I read that people (even people I trusted) were recommending Mellow Corn, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy it. In fact, this would probably have never been reviewed if I hadn’t received a big sample from a friend of mine. 

I thought he was giving it to me because he was trying to get rid of it and I accepted it because…free whiskey. Over and over I’d have a thought about things I could do with it. But each time I was almost ready to crack the sample the little thought of “you know you’re going to have to put that in your mouth, right?” would start up and I’d put it back on the shelf. 

Finally, I’d had enough of that little voice. I decided to just plow ahead and review it. I figured in the worst case, I always need something to warn people away from. And who knows, in the best case, I might actually like it as much as others seem to.

I’ve had a lot of corn whiskey. Most of it had no age on it. Most of them I hated. And even those I liked, I don’t find myself going back to that often. So the fact that this was aged for four years and was Bottled in Bond was a factor in it’s favor. According to Chuck Cowdery it was four years in used barrels, but still four years is nothing to sneeze at. 

When I sat down to review this, the first thing I did was nose it. And…the nose was really nice! Hmmm…

Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: MGM Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN. $12.99 for a 1L bottle

Details: 50% ABV. Distilled at DSP-KY-354. Bottled at DSP-KY-31. 

Nose: Sweet and fruity with notes of caramel, vanilla and green apple. 

Mouth: Hot and sweet. Vanilla, mint, and almond notes are readily apparent.

Finish: Warm and sweet with decent length.

A smile because I like this.

Thoughts: This is not a complicated whiskey. But if you are looking for something warm and sweet to sip on while playing cards or chatting with friends, this is one to check out. I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. 

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Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2016: Championship Rounds

Here we are: the Championship rounds! We’ve made it through the opening rounds and tonight we find out which of our Bottom Shelf Challengers will graduate to the Fancy Shelf. 

Once again, I am struck by just how good the competition has been. Most years we’ve had a clunker or two that made it in. This year, I liked every bottle that made it into the competition. I blame this on the fact that we were just able to find better bourbons in the price range this year. 

In fact, I’d say that the story of the year was certainly the “Total Wine effect.” Total Wine sells their national brands at as close to cost as they can get away with while marking up their store brands with a higher margin. This has had the effect of driving up the selection and driving down the price at many of their local competitors. Prices have been driven down to the point where many of the bourbons I included this year, wouldn’t have qualified last year. 

Normally I have to scramble to find eight items to include. This year, I didn’t have that problem. The increase in local competition has made it such that I actually had plenty of choices and was able to be a little choosier about what I included (leading to that lack of clunkers mentioned above). By way of example, three of the four of the finalists either used to be sold at a higher price or weren’t in the market at all before Total Wine came in. 

Yep. The Total Wine Effect is in full swing. And right now spirits consumers are winning in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market. To this point, unlike the many dire predictions from before Total Wine showed up, there have been few liquor store closings that I have noticed. If anything I find more reasons to spend money at more liquor stores than I did before. I now shop at seven-eight regularly instead of the three-four I visited in years past.

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

Round 2: Down to Four

Division 1: #4 seed Buckhorn vs #2 seed Evan Williams 1783

Thoughts: Bourbon A has a slightly richer nose and gets the nod there. A is sweeter on the mouth while B is more grain forward by comparison. Toss in a relatively and enjoyable finish on both and seems that A is fitting our palates better.  

Winner: So which is which? Very much to our surprise, Bourbon B was Evan Williams 1783 while Total Wine house brand Buckhorn was Bourbon A. Buckhorn moves on. 

Division 2: #1 seed JW Dant Bottled in Bond vs #2 seed Very Old Barton (86 proof)

Thoughts: Both of these have nice sweet noses. If forced to choose a favorite, I’d say A for being slightly sweeter. In the mouth A is slightly more grain forward while B has slightly more depth to it. These are both tasty and are well matched to on another. In the end Bourbon B gets the nod by a hair.  

Winner: So which is which? Once again to our surprise Bourbon A was previous winner JW Dant Bottled in Bond and Bourbon B was lower proof VOB 86 proof. Very Old Barton 86 proof moves on. 

Fancy Shelf Championship

Buckhorn vs Very Old Barton 86 proof

This is the first time we haven’t had at least one Heaven Hill product in the Championship round. Instead we have a couple Sazerac products competing. Buckhorn is the Total Wine Exclusive made by Sazerac under the Clear Spring Distillery name and Very Old Barton is made at Sazerac’s Barton 1792 distillery. In a break from every other year, both of these beat out higher proof competition to make it to this point. Which is a testament to the quality of the bourbon that Sazerac/Barton/Buffalo Trace is putting out even at lower proofs.

Thoughts: The nose on Bourbon A is fruitier and a little sweeter while Bourbon B brings a little more cinnamon red hots to the party. The mouth follows the nose with A being fruitier and B being spicier with a little more oak presence. This is close but in the end I gotta give it to Bourbon B, but just barely.

Winner: So which was which? Bourbon A was Buckhorn and our winner Bourbon B was Very Old Barton 86 proof. 

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Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2016, Round 1: Evan Williams 1783 vs. Wild Turkey

Round 1c of the 2016 Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features Number 2 seed Evan Williams 1783 versus Number 3 seed Wild Turkey. 

Evan Williams 1783 is a product of Heaven Hill Brands. Heaven Hill tells us that it is a small batch version of Evan Williams made from only 80 barrels in a batch and that it is “extra aged.” Of course there is no hint as to what that actually means, but we can assume they are claiming a woodier profile with a few more of the complexities of flavor that get smoothed out by blending a larger batch of barrels together into Evan Williams Black. It is bottled at 86 proof. 

Wild Turkey until recently was known as Wild Turkey 81 proof. It might be a fairly smart rebrand since it before the rebrand they were essentially saying “Wild Turkey Weaker Edition.” Not a sentiment that most companies would like for their products. Of course it also positions Wild Turkey 101 as the line extension…meaning it may not be the main priority moving forward? Speculation on my part, of course. I’d never had Wild Turkey 81 and I tend to be a Wild Turkey fanboy so I’m thankful for the “Total Wine Effect” for bringing this into the price range.

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

Evan Williams 1873 

Purchase Info: $19.99 for a 1 L bottle at MGM Wine and Spirits, Burnsville, MN

Details: 43% ABV, No age statement

Produced by: Heaven Hill Brands

Nose: Alcohol hits you initially. After it dissipates I get grain, mint, vanilla, oak and a hint of ripe fruit.

Mouth: Hot, spicy and sweet on entry. Sweet grains, caramel and cloves.

Finish: Gentle burn that last a nice while. Lingering fruit, cloves and sweetness.

Thoughts: “Good solid bourbon that hits all the “bourbon” notes I want it to.”

Wild Turkey

Purchase Info: $12.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN*

Details: 40.5% ABV, No Age Statement

Produced by: Wild Turkey

Nose: Dusty oak like the inside of a rick house. Cotton candy sweetness. A hint of fruit.

Mouth: Gentle and drying. Sweet apple, citrus, white sugar and a hint of mint.

Finish: Short, gentle finish. Lingering citrus, apple and baking spices.

Thoughts: “While there is nothing wrong with this, it’s just a bit too gentle for what I’m looking for in a bourbon.”

Who wins?

Like all of them so far, this is a close one. The Evan Williams 1783 gives you a better overall experience. The flavors of the Wild Turkey would be better if there was a little more heat. Honestly I’m shocked. I wouldn’t have expected anything with the Wild Turkey name on it to be so gentle. That said, I’m kinda glad I now know I can pick up a bottle of the Evan Williams 1783 for less than $20. Thanks again Total Wine Effect!

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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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If You've Had... Heaven Hill Bonded Bourbons edition

Tonight I finally get around to presenting the If You’ve Had… that inspired the whole idea, Heaven Hill’s line of bonded bourbons. Heaven Hill has a lot of bourbons in their bonded stable. I believe I got all of the readily available ones (even if only in Kentucky). But in any case, there are enough that these were compared to one another over the course of a few days. 

As a refresher, the setup is like this: "If you've had Whiskey A then Whiskey B is..." hotter, spicier, sweeter, more floral, etc. Each section is written as compared to one of the whiskeys. So if you've had that one, but not the others then that section will be of the most use to you. Remember there are no value judgments here. You get to decide based on what you know of Whiskey A if Whiskey B sounds like something you'd want to try.

Up tonight are the ones I had on hand, or could buy locally, including: Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, JTS Brown Bottled in Bond, JW Dant Bottled in Bond, Heaven Hill (6 year old) Bottled in Bond, Old Fitzgerald (wheated) Bottled in Bond and Henry McKenna (10 year old, single barrel) Bottled in Bond. Your mileage may vary on that last one being a single barrel product.

If you’ve had Evan Williams Bottled in Bond then…

JTS Brown is: more grain forward on the nose, mouth and finish. The finish is more bitter. 

JW Dant is: more caramel forward on the nose. It shows more caramel and floral notes in the mouth and the finish is more tannic.

Heaven Hill 6 year Bottled in Bond is: fruitier on the nose. It’s sweeter, warmer and more complex in the mouth. And has a longer and warmer finish.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is: more floral on the nose. It is softer and sweeter on entry, but hotter and rougher on the finish.

Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond is: hotter and shows more oak on the nose. It is sweeter, hotter, fruitier and shows more oak in the mouth and has more oak on the finish.

If you’ve had JTS Brown Bottled in Bond then…

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is: oakier on the nose. It’s breadier and sweeter, showing more vanilla and caramel in the mouth and shows more oak on the finish.

JW Dant is: very caramel forward by comparison. It is sweeter, more caramel/toffee forward and hotter in the mouth. 

Heaven Hill 6 year Bottled in Bond is: softer and sweeter, showing more caramel and oak. The finish is warmer and longer

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is: softer and more flavorful on entry, transitioning to a hotter and sweeter experience as it moves back. It has a much longer and warmer finish.

Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond is: Spicier and fruitier on the nose. Sweeter and spicier in the mouth with a warmer finish.

If you’ve had Heaven Hill 6 Year Bottled in Bond then…

JTS Brown is: much more grain forward on the nose. More vegetal and grain forward, showing more ethanol on both the mouth and finish. 

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is: very similar on the nose. It shows more mint and baking spice in the mouth and has a shorter finish.

JW Dant is: sweeter on the nose. It shows more butterscotch pudding and baking spice in the mouth and has a more tannic finish.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is: sweeter in the nose. It shows more mint and is more grain forward on the mouth. The finish is much hotter.

Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond is: sweeter and a little more complex on the nose, showing more oak. It’s hotter with more oak flavors in the mouth and is hotter and longer on the finish.

If you’ve had JW Dant Bottled in Bond then…

JTS Brown is: more vegetal and rougher on both the mouth and finish. 

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is: less sweet on the nose. It’s maltier and shows more baking spices in the mouth. It’s less tannic on the finish.

Heaven Hill 6 year Bottled in Bond is: sweeter and fruitier with more caramel and oak in the mouth with a less tannic finish.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is: softer and sweeter on the nose. It is softer and less flavorful in the mouth and more vegetal on the finish.

Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond is: spicier and less sweet on the nose. Sweeter in the mouth and shows more oak. It’s hotter and oakier on the finish.

If you’ve had Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond then…

JTS Brown is: mintier, showing less caramel on the nose. It’s hotter and rougher on entry and shows more grain and baking spice in the mouth. The finish is more bitter. 

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is: less floral on the nose and shows more brown sugar and baking spice in the mouth. The mouth is hotter on entry but softer on the finish.

JW Dant is: much more butterscotch forward on the nose. It is sweeter and shows more butterscotch and baking spices in the mouth. The finish is longer with a lingering baking spice.

Heaven Hill 6 year Bottled in Bond is: softer on the nose. It is sweeter on the mouth showing more baking spice. The finish is less hot and harsh.

Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond is: fruitier with more oak on the nose. The mouth is sweeter, fruitier and shows more oak and baking spice. The finish is richer showing more oak and baking spice.

If you’ve had Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond then…

JTS Brown is: more grain forward on the nose, shows more grain and ethanol on the mouth and has a finish that shows more bitter grain flavors. 

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is: similar on the nose but shows less oak. The mouth isn’t as sweet and shows more grain and baking spices. The finish is shorter.

JW Dant is: sweeter on the nose showing butterscotch and a touch of campfire smoke. It is less sweet on the mouth, even though Dant’s primary point of difference on flavor is more butterscotch. Dant has a softer, but more tannic finish.

Heaven Hill 6 year Bottled in Bond is: less sweet on the nose. It shows more sweet grains and less oak on the mouth and has a softer and less oak forward finish.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is: less spicy and more sugar sweet on the nose. It is softer and more grain forward on the mouth. It is hotter and more grain forward on the finish.

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