A Competition of Canadian Clubs, Regular Release vs Sherry Cask

December 1, 2013 was an interesting day for me. I was driving from Indiananpolis to Minnesota. 

This is not the interesting part.

I had been scheduled to take part in an online Twitter tasting going by the name #DavinTT2 but obviously couldn’t take part due to that aforementioned driving. The group had two whiskies to sample and I had tasted mine the previous evening in order to have notes ready to tweet out during the event. I had really liked both of them and was excited to find out what they were, what other thought of them and most importantly if I could get them in the US.

Due to extremely intermittent internet connectivity (thank you AT&T for seemingly not building a tower along a large stretch of Interstate 94 between Madison and Eau Claire, Wisconsin) I found out what the second whisky was first. And that it was a Canada only release. Drat.

The first one, I didn’t like as much as the second, but I still liked it enough to search out if available in the US for a decent price. Imagine my delighted surprise when I found out that it was Canadian Club Sherry Cask. I’d seen that practically everywhere. 

I’d seen it everywhere but had dismissed it in large part due to the fact that it was Canadian Club. I had a vague recollection of not caring for Canadian Club back when I was young and very much not into whiskey.

It’s amazing how old prejudices stick with you even when you’ve forgotten why you have them. Isn’t it? But that’s the value of blind tasting. I knew these whiskies were from Canada but that was it. It got me to taste something I had literally passed over dozens of times. And I liked it. Now I just needed to find it so I could taste more than an ounce and see if I really liked it.

I ran to the store once I got home and…they were out. Odd. I looked at the other stores I frequent. They were out or didn’t carry it. What the hell? I looked every time I stopped at a liquor store. Nothing. It got so bad that I finally ended up grabbing a bottle at Binny’s on my next vacation. Of course, when I got home, it was everywhere. And cheaper. 

Knowing that this was a tasty drink got me to wondering what the regular release tasted like. Was it something that I might want to keep on hand? I mean, it’s cheap enough. I bought a bottle to sip on during the Mad Men season premier this year. It was tasty enough. So now I had two Canadian Club whiskies. One that went for almost $30 and one that went for about $15. Was one twice as good as the other?

Canadian Club

Purchase info: $14.99 for 750mL at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 40% ABV

Nose: Delicate nose with notes of ripe cherries, wet stone and dusty old wood

Mouth: silky texture with a malt-like sweetness. It has strong floral notes. There is a bit of mineral flavor along the sides of the tongue.

Finish: Sweet and gentle, but with just enough heat to subtly remind you you are drinking whisky.

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Thoughts: There is absolutely nothing wrong with this whisky. And, if you love delicate flavors, I can see this being a nice inexpensive bottle to keep on hand. I prefer my whisky to be a bit more in-your-face and not so eager to please so, although I wouldn’t turn down a glass if offered, I doubt I’ll be buying this one again.

Canadian Club Small Batch: Sherry Cask

Purchase info: $29.99 for a 750mL at Binny’s, Bloomington, IL

Details: 41.3% ABV. Batch: C12-232

Nose: Floral soapiness, wet stone, dusty wood, sweet caramel and raisins.

Mouth: Thick and sweet. Fruity caramel paired with dark chocolate. 

Finish: Sweet and of a decent length. Lingering fruitiness that fades to bitter. Dries the mouth nicely.

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Thoughts: This is a good conversation whisky. Buy it to have with your friends for those times you’d rather think about your friends than your whisky. It’s not a complicated whisky, but I like it. Just not for every pour.

In the end, the Sherry Cask is better than the regular release. Is it twice as good? No. But then whisky math is seldom that straightforward. If I pick this up again it will be as a change of pace whisky. It doesn’t perfectly line up with my palate, but it’s not far enough off that I wouldn’t want a glass now and then.

Two Old Foresters Head to Head, Signature and Single Barrel

I’ve described my last trip through Kentucky as a bit of a let down. Apparently a Sunday in February is as little fun there as it is here in Minnesota. There are good points though. The temperature is nicer for one. Another is that the liquor stores are open so there is a good chance of walking away with something that will make you happy you stopped. My stop at the liquor store involved me picking up the first bottle of Old Forester Single Barrel I ever saw. Old Forester has only offered a private barrel program for a little over a year now and at that point none had made their way up to the frozen north.

I’ve claimed to like Old Forester for a while now. I liked the Signature enough that I’ve recommended it to people instead of Woodford Reserve, though admittedly I only buy it when it’s below $20 and it hasn’t been that for a while. I enjoyed the 86 proof, but remember it as being a little weak. The Birthday Bourbon is good basically every year. So the chance to pick up a Single Barrel version and taste it was a no brainer for me.

Now you may wonder why I used the word “claimed” above. Well I thought that it would be a good idea to taste this along side the one I’ve recommended for so long. You know, see how it stacked up to one that I remembered liking so much. Could it possibly be worth twice the price I used to pay?

Old Forester Signature

Purchase info: $17.99, 750 mL (on sale) MGM Wine & Spirits, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: brown sugar, dusty oak, cocoa powder and cherry

Mouth: Thin and hot. More bitter than I would have expected from the nose. Flowery. A splash of water helps this, diminishing the heat and bringing out more honey, bitter orange and earthiness.

Finish: Hot, long and flowery. Fades to bitter. Water doesn’t help here. It’s now warm, but short with just a hint of floweriness.

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Thoughts: Hotter and more bitter than my memory led me to believe. Water is a mixed blessing allowing you to taste it through the burning, but killing the finish. I wonder now if I would prefer the 86 proof version as this one is just hot. Meh.

Old Forester Single Barrel

Purchase info: ~$40 with tax for a 750 mL at Westport Whiskey and Wine, Louisville, KY

Details: 45% ABV. Barrel# 2012. Lot ID: 08E30. Barreled: 5/30/08. Dumped: 10/21/13. Bottled 10/23/13. Barrel Proof: 134.2. Warehouse L

Nose: brown sugar, wet stone and a fruity waxiness along with hints of fresh sawn lumber

Mouth: Warm with classic bourbon vanilla/caramel at the front of the mouth. Fruity honeydew melon and spicy ginger appear as it moves back.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering spice and brown sugar sweetness

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Thoughts: Classic bourbon flavors dominate but a nice fruitiness enters partway through as well. My total bill was roughly $40 with tax so not only is it good, but it’s a nice value as well. I like this one.

Now you know where “claimed” came from. I was shocked by the bitterness I encountered on my first sip of Signature. I won’t be recommending it to people anymore. If they want Woodford, let them spend the money on it. The Single Barrel is good though. And I think it really was worth just less than twice the price of the Signature. It tastes more than twice as good to me.

UPDATE (11/13/14): I'm sipping on a different retailer's selection and I'm a bit shocked at how different it is. Less fruity floral flavors and more spice. Same heat. Still good, but different.

Review: Jim Beam Single Barrel

I’ve been living at my current residence for almost eight years now. I’ve been ready to move for almost seven and a half. It not that there is anything particularly wrong with where I live. I mean, it snows way too much and gets way too cold for way too long, but it wasn’t that. I’d lived with those things my entire life.

I love being in a new place. I love not knowing where I’m going and finding the best way to go anywhere. After I move to a new city, a trip to the grocery store is as exotic and full of adventure as a holiday on another continent is for most people. “What happens when I turn here?” “Where does this go?” “That’s a pretty road/tree/park.” “What a cool little hardware store.”

But then, after about six months or so, you’ve found all the ways you can travel to the grocery store. You know what the hardware store stocks on it’s shelves and that the Home Depot is probably still cheaper, even if you do need to buy an entire box of screws instead of just the three you need. You know what to expect around every turn. And that what’s there isn’t really all that interesting. 

In other words, it’s time to move again. But you can’t. You just bought a house. You are stuck there. 

For twenty years. Maybe ten with good behavior.

I think I developed a nomadic streak somewhere along the line. I like nothing more than to be somewhere new. To see what there is to see, smell what there is to smell, and taste what there is to taste. It’s possible that it is this same drive to experience new things that makes me love trying new bourbons. Especially single barrel bourbons. Even if you think you know what you are getting, sometimes there manages to be a surprise or two around the metaphorical corner. 

Jim Beam Single Barrel

Purchase Info: $39.99 at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 47.5% ABV, Barrel #: 4-164, Bottled on: 2-19-14

Nose: Dried grass, cedar and apricot

Mouth: Syrupy mouthfeel. Caramel corn. Gentle, with just a hint of spice.

Finish: Warm and sweet with a hint of spice

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Thoughts: While I like this much more than the regular release, I’m not as wowed as I thought I’d be. If you are a lover of Jim Beam products, this higher proof version is certainly a step up from many that bear that name. It lands right inside the Jim Beam stylistic wheelhouse. Tasty enough, but I don’t think I’d buy a second bottle. Meh.

Evan Williams Single Barrel bourbon, 2004 vintage (The Cellars Wine & Spirits pick)

Evan Williams Single Barrel has a special place in my heart. It was one of the first souvenir bottles I picked up on my first trip to Kentucky. And by souvenir, I mean I payed too much for it in a gift shop because it had the distiller’s signature on it.

It’s not like it was anything special, but it seemed it at the time. I was actually quite excited by it. In a way I feel a little silly about that now. Some dude scrawls his name on a bottle and I was one of the people dumb enough to pay extra for it. And while I wouldn’t probably do that now, it does still sit on display in my office so maybe the extra price was worth it. I’ve paid a lot more for dumber things to sit on a shelf and collect dust. 

I enjoyed that first bottle and and have been going back every year since. As my palate has become more experienced, I’ve noticed that I like these bourbons less and less. I really liked 2001. 2002 was ok, a bit meh. 2003 I didn’t particularly care for. A solid meh (and I tried two bottles of that one). I’m not sure if I’ve changed or if they’ve gotten worse. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that any of these are bad bourbon. They are good, not great. Average and uninteresting. I still buy them every year. It’s not like $25 is a bad price, even for average bourbon. 

So my interest was peaked when I walked into a new liquor store here in the south Metro and noticed that they had their own pick of the 2004 vintage. I hadn’t had the regular release of the 2004 so I picked it up. My hope is that being a store pick, it might be a little more interesting than the regular release once I get around to buying that. 

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2004 (Cellars Wine and Spirits)

Purchase info: $23.99 at Cellars Wine and Spirits, Eagan, MN

Details: Barrel # 229, barreled on 4/6/04, bottled on 2/4/14. 43.3% ABV

Nose: Honeydew melon and wet rock.

Mouth: Baking spices, grasses and a hint of the melon from the nose

Finish: short with just a hint of a burn

Thoughts: This was certainly interesting. I’ve never gotten melon from a bourbon before. But in the end this is another good, not great Evan Williams Single Barrel. I’m not wowed, but then I didn’t really expect to be.

I don’t know how representative this is of the 2004 release but, considering the price, I could be convinced to recommend picking up a bottle.

A visit to Smooth Ambler and a review of their Yearling Bourbon

In November of 2013 I was traveling through West Virginia. It was Black Friday and I was in the mood to follow that great American tradition of spending money. As it was my first time through West Virginia, I only knew of one place to stop. Smooth Ambler, in Maxwelton, WV is a fairly short detour off of Interstate 64 at the Lewisburg exit.

I stopped in fairly late in the afternoon, not really expecting to get on a tour, but hoping to at least give them a little of my hard earned cash. To my happy surprise, I was able to do both. 

We joined up with a tour already in progress in the still room. 

Shiny fermenters all in a row. A far cry from the giant tanks that the big boys use, but if you aren't making as much as them one giant tank would be much less flexible than a few smaller ones. 

An empty barrel waiting to be filled. As you can see, they get their barrels from Independent Stave (like almost everyone else) and they like char #4. Which according to our tour guide on the ISC tour is pretty much what almost everyone gets. 

Bourbon barrels filled just a day or so before we visited. This is either the start of a new set of racks or they are waiting to be put somewhere. Most of the stacks were twice this high.

Apparently they are aging a wheat whiskey and something called 50/50 as well. 

After aging was tasting. I really like this tasting room. I'm a big fan of red and wood together. 

Though they make a gin and a vodka, my wife and I decided to concentrate on those things that spent some time in a barrel. I tried the Barrel Aged Gin and found it to be a tasty gin. I also tried the Old Scout Rye. I knew before I tasted it that they did not make this. One of the things that I liked about these guys is that they made no secret of that fact. There was no claiming it was from a secret family recipe that a gangster used to prefer. It was just "we bought this because we liked it and now you get the chance to like it too." And I did. I thought it was tasty. My wife tried the Old Scout and Old Scout Ten. She liked it enough that that's the bottle we brought home with us. Unfortunately I was not able to try the Yearling which is the only bourbon that they've put out that they made. So that meant I needed to keep my eyes open for it on the way home. I was really interested in trying something that was admittedly only put out to satisfy the curiosity that whiskey geeks had over what the products they made themselves might taste like. Luckily the Party Source was able to satisfy my desire.

Smooth Ambler Yearling Bourbon

Purchase Info: $24 per 375mL bottle, The Party Source, Bellevue, KY

Details: Batch 6, Bottle Date: 11/14/12, Aged: 1 year 8 months, wheated bourbon, 46% ABV

Nose: grain and butterscotch

Mouth: young, hot and sweet. This is the sweetness of grain though, not of barrels.

Finish: longish with a lingering sweetness that transitions to vegetal

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Thoughts: To say that this is good would be a gross overstatement. That does not mean however that is it bad. It is what it is. It's a young bourbon that needed much more time to mature. It shows a lot of promise though and I can consider my curiosity duly satisfied. I'm excited to see what this will turn into with 5-8 more years under it's belt. For now though satisfy your curiosity, but don't expect much more out of it.

Bourbon Review: Jefferson's Presidential Select, 18 year old

Roughly a year ago, I was walking through one of my usual liquor stores. I was on a beer run. And, as I always do, instead of walking straight back toward the beer coolers I turned left and went to look at the bourbon. 

There is a tiny little shelf near the ceiling that holds four or five of the more expensive North American whiskies they have on hand. And I look up there every time I visit. I have to, it’s where I found (and passed on) various van Winkles back in 2011. It’s where I found out about the yumminess that was the 2009 Four Roses Mariage (still my favorite of the ones I’ve had). 

On this particular visit, I hadn’t planned to buy a hundred dollar bourbon. I hadn’t really even planned to look. I was stopping in for a six-pack of beer. My wife was with me. More at issue, my mother-in-law was with me. Randomly dropping a hundred bucks on something to put in my closet would get a raised eyebrow and a shrug from my wife, but it would get shock, confusion, questions about my sanity and wonder that her daughter ever let me out of the house unsupervised from my mother-in-law.

So, of course I looked. And up there, was one bottle of a bourbon that I knew was no longer being distributed. The writers were cautioning that if you saw it, and wanted it, to grab it because that was it. There would be no more. 

Well, crap. It was one I hadn’t tried yet and one I’d been meaning to. There was nothing for it. I had better grab it. And so I came into possession of a bottle of Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18 year old (Batch 14, bottle 1811). My wife, predictably raised her eyebrow and shrugged. As a lifelong drinker of Old Style beer, my mother-in-law was shocked that anyone would pay that much for any booze. And kept on being shocked for a while. 

So was it worth it? Sure, my mother-in-law is a funny lady and I’d pay a decent amount to set her off sometimes. But what about the bourbon?

Jefferson’s Presidential Select, 18 year old

Purchase Info: $99, Blue Max, Burnsville, MN (May 2013)

Nose: Sweet baked apples with brown sugar. Earthy, like freshly dug soil. 

Mouth: Nice syrupy mouthfeel. Warm on the first sip. Baking spices and sweetness at first, but transitions to a dry tannic woodiness.

Finish: Swallows gentle but develops a heat in your chest that lasts for minutes. Drys the mouth.

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Thoughts: I find this to be too woody. To me, it was aged too long. It’s too dry. I described it in a tweet shortly after opening it that it was like drinking woody honey. My opinion hasn’t changed. That said, my wife really likes it. Which doesn’t surprise me in the least. I’m not normally a fan of extra-aged whiskey. The bourbons I like best tend to be in the 10 year range. Whereas her favorite bourbon was 18 years old before it was discontinued in favor of 20, 21 and 22 year old varieties. So if you also like bourbon with a bit of wood on it, give this a shot if you happen across one of the few remaining bottles. I’m glad I did even if, for me, it was just meh.

Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets: The Championship Rounds

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

At the beginning of this tournament, if you had asked me if I would have found a gem in the field, I would have guessed yes. I mean, that was kind of the point of the exercise. But, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that out of the entire field, there was only one bourbon that I wouldn’t want to drink again. Some were certainly mediocre, but only one was downright bad. Heck, many of them I’d be happy with neat, or with an icecube or two. 

In the interest of not being influenced by my memories of the product from the opening rounds, I did the next two rounds using my typical double-blind format where I poured into glasses 1 and 2 and my wife moved them to spots A and B. I knew what bourbon was which number and my wife knew which number coresponded to which letter, but neither of us knew which bourbon coresponded to which letter. These were not formal tasting notes, just impressions to let us decide which one we liked better.

Round 2: Down to Four

Division 1: Old Charter 8 year vs Ezra Brooks

Nose A: Trends more vegetal or medicinal/chemical

Nose B: Caramel covered fruit

Mouth A: spicier and warmer, but still more vegetal

Mouth B: gentle, sweet and floral

Finish A: Nice, but unremarkable

Finish B: Perfumy and slightly offputting

Thoughts: A’s vegetalness made it less enjoyable head to head. Whereas B’s gentleness made it feel more watery in comparison. That said, I enjoyed both of these on their own during the past two weeks. 

Winner: B, but only just. The main thing it was missing was kick so it’s no surprise that B was the lower proof Old Charter 8 year old.

Division 2: Old Crow Reserve vs JW Dant Bottled in Bond

Nose A: A slightly medicinal Juicyfruit gum

Nose B: Fruitier, but with hints of cinnamon. Also more caramel sweetness

Mouth A: lots of caramel here

Mouth B: sharp, medicinal

Finish A: hot, but in a good way

Finish B: warm bitterness

Thoughts: B has a much nicer nose. More complex and it makes me anticipate a tasty dram. The problem is that once it get’s in the mouth it falls apart. It goes sharp and medicinal when compared with A. Classic overpromise, underdeliver. 

Winner: A wins this hands down. Honestly, it wasn’t even close after the nose. I was surprised Old Crow Reserve didn’t put up more of a fight after all the people I talk to that are enjoying it, but the clear winner is JW Dant Bottled in Bond.

Fancy Shelf Championship

Old Charter 8 year vs JW Dant Bottled in Bond

Nose A: Typical bourbonness, caramel sweetness with some spice

Nose B: A bit more burn. Almost chocolate chip cookie.

Mouth A: very sweet with just a hint of sharpness

Mouth B: Warm and not very sweet, kinda sharp

Finish A: gentle and sweet

Finish B: wow! great finish. Nice warmth that lasts.

Thoughts: This was a very close one. My wife and I both enjoyed each of these a lot. In fact, it was so close that we each picked a different winner. I chose B on the strength of it’s finish. My wife chose A. 

Winner: That said, it’s my blog so the Fancy Shelf Champion is: B, JW Dant Bottled in Bond.

It’s crazy to me that three of the top four are bourbons that I would be perfectly happy pouring for myself neat or with a bit of ice. Two weeks ago, my wife drove to New Orleans to visit a friend, I liked the Old Charter 8 year enough to have her grab me a handle of it on her way back since they don’t sell it in Minnesota. I do wish it had a little more proof and so I hope to check out the NAS Charter 101 next time I travel to a state it’s sold in. Ezra Brooks is nice for those days I want a little spicy kick, but don’t feel like having anything special. Card-playing bourbon I like to call that. Dant Bonded isn’t quite as good as it’s higher priced brother Evan Williams Bonded, but it’s almost there and it’s well under $20 per liter here in MN where EW is a little over that at my normal shop. Old Crow got a lucky draw in the first round. I’d put off deciding how I felt about it, but can say now that it’s mediocre at best. I’ll use it for mixing or cooking and be pleased with the purchase.

Old Crow Reserve vs. Rebel Yell, Round 1, Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets

Round 1d of the Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets features a couple of old names that have fallen on a few hard times. The number 2 seed of division 2: Old Crow Reserve is facing off against number 3 seed: Rebel Yell. 

Old Crow Reserve. I’ve been curious about Old Crow ever since I went back home to the backwoods of Wisconsin and saw it was the only bourbon in the bar. I’d have gone beer, but this particular dance hall had three kinds of Miller on tap and the keg of Old Style that the groom’s family had purchased for the guests to drink. Not only did I not want any of those, but I wasn’t quite sure when the last time the lines were cleaned since this particular place is mostly used for weddings. So I went with the Old Crow. I ordered it neat, because I didn’t really trust the cocktail skills of the bartender. She didn’t now what neat meant so I was probably correct there. But, I didn’t hate it. In fact I liked it better than the Beam White I found later in the evening by wandering across the street to a liquor store that was sadly lacking in 50mL minis that I could sneak back in.

The only thing I’d heard about Rebel Yell was the statement “I hear the Reserve isn’t bad.” I’d hear that statement every time I mentioned that I’d slated it for inclusion in this tournament. No one knew anything else. And it seemed no one had tasted either the Reserve or the regular release. So, I read the bottle and by reading the label I learned that it is a wheater and that it is: “Unique. Commanding. Unforgettable.” After a bit of internet searching, I learned this is an old brand once produced by Pappy Van Winkle himself. The forum posters claim that if you find old bottles of it, it’s kinda one-note, but not bad. These days it’s a sold by Luxco out of St. Louis. No one mentions what it’s like now.

Old Crow Reserve

Purchase Info: Haskell’s Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN $16.99 for a 1L

Stated Age: Four years

ABV: 43%

Produced by: Jim Beam

Nose: Rubbing alcohol right at first. But that dissipates: fresh sawn lumber. Dry with just a hint of caramel, mint and orange peel.

Mouth: Maple syrup and black pepper. Hints of vegetal and soapy flavors.

Finish: Some heat. Spiced honey. Transitions to bitterness. 

Thoughts: Not one I feel like I’d grab first. If I was in a bar that had it, I’d pick it over Beam White and not feel too bad about the selection. But I might ask for it on the rocks.  

Rebel Yell

Purchase Info: Blue Max, Burnsville, MN $11.78 for a 750 mL

Stated Age: NAS 

ABV: 40%

Sourced/Sold by: Luxco

Nose: Dried Corn, Orange Peel, Caramel 

Mouth: Watery mouthfeel. Dried corn. Hints of vinegar. Unpleasant.

Finish: Decent but not overpowering burn. Grain and a nice bitterness.

Thoughts: I have no idea what I will do with this bottle, but I certainly won’t be drinking it. The finish is nice, but the taste and nose are not pleasant at all. My wife has been bugging me to give her bourbon to use in a homemade bug repellant recipe. This might be fine for that. 

Winner: Old Crow Reserve doesn’t win this one quite as much as Rebel Yell loses it. To say it was a favorable matchup is being nice. Rebel Yell might give Town Branch a run for the title of worst bourbon I’ve tasted. It lives up to the “Unique” and the “Unforgettable” that the label promised. But not in a good way. So by process of elimination Old Crow Reserve wins. We’ll see how it does in the next round before I say if I like it or not.

UPDATE: So, after fourteen hundred and some odd days, I finally got around to trying Rebel Yell again. Here are my updated thoughts: Rebel Yell: Revisited.

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