What I mean when I say I like something (and more)

July 18, 2017 Eric Burke

The germ of this article comes from one I originally posted in February of 2013. I think it's time to surface it again. I've cleaned it up a little since I think I've gotten better at writing in the last four years, but the basic idea behind my reviews haven't changed.

Everyone who writes about whiskey approaches things differently. Some reviewers like to use numbers. Numbers make a review feel scientific because you've done some math. Some reviewers like to use stars. Stars are easy to visualize and are familiar to Amazon shoppers everywhere. I like to use various cartoon faces and hearts because I'm silly. Probably too silly for my own good. The point is that any and/or all of these are correct. They all adequately represent how much or how little a reviewer liked any given whiskey. But no matter how a writer presents it, we as readers need to remember that the rating is still just a subjective opinion.

It probably goes without saying, but I like bourbon. I enjoy it in many different ways. Sometimes I enjoy thoughtfully tasting bourbon. I pour it into a nosing glass, sit down, concentrate, and try to tease out all the little smells and tastes that are hidden inside the glass. And if it is interesting, I'll probably like it. Other times, I want to enjoy bourbon in a rocks glass while playing cards or watching tv or conversing with friends. I'm not paying a lot of attention to it, but if it tastes good and it's acting as a social lubricant, I'll probably like it. Sometimes I enjoy it in a cocktail. Even if it isn't great neat, if it makes a killer Manhattan, I'll probably like it. And if I like it, then I'll tell you I like it. And I'll put a little smiley face next to it.

Sometimes I find a bourbon that doesn't taste good and isn't all that interesting. Needless to say, I don't like these. I've gotten pretty good at knowing what I like, and since I buy most of the whiskey reviewed on the site, the odds are that I'm not buying too many duds. But occasionally one slips through, or I buy one specifically for research purposes. When that happens, I'll tell you I dislike it and put a frowny face next to it.

Of course, some whiskeys are just...meh. There is nothing offensive about them. They don't taste bad. I don't dislike it, but I don't like it either. It's just sort of in the middle there for me. In such a case I'll just drop a neutral face on it.

Very occasionally I'll drop a heart on something. This means I love it. No ifs, ands, or buts. I'd take this whiskey over almost any other.

So to recap:

A heart means I loved this whiskey. I'd have to pause and think (briefly) if forced to choose between it and my wife. (shhhh... don't tell her)

A smiley face means I liked the whiskey or I found it interesting while tasting it. Or I enjoyed myself while drinking it. Or I enjoyed the company I drank it with. Or I was having fun. Most bourbons and ryes will be in this category because, on at least some level, I like most bourbons and ryes I've tasted.

A neutral face means meh. I didn't particularly like this whiskey, but I didn't hate it either. It wasn't for me. But you might like it.

A frowny face means I really disliked this. I probably dumped it out or at least thought about dumping it out.

We all have different life experiences that color our perceptions. I taste JuicyFruit gum when I taste Four Roses. Other people might taste Jackfruit, but I've never had a Jackfruit, so I say JuicyFruit. Some people might taste almond in a whiskey. I'm allergic to nuts, so I only have an academic idea of what almonds taste like. If I use it as a tasting note, it will have come from my wife (we do the notes together). The point is that everyone will like different things and has had different experiences to inform their tastes. And that's pretty cool. It gives us something to talk about.

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Basil Hayden's Rye Whiskey

May 30, 2017 Eric Burke

Last week, I went to one of my two favorite liquor stores. It's weird. I almost never go there because, although it is relatively close to my house, I have to go a little out of my way to get there. Plus there have been more than a few occasions where I went in for a six pack of beer and walked out having spent $150 when I got the beer and an extra bottle or two of whiskey that I just couldn't live without.

While my last trip there didn't end in me spending quite so much, I did walk out with a whiskey that I hadn't planned on buying when I went in. And boy, is this whiskey a controversial one. At least if you judge by the Twitter replies I got when I mentioned that I'd be reviewing it. I almost never get people telling me anything about a whiskey when I pre-announce a review, but this time I got quite a few, and they had me joyfully dreading my upcoming tasting. I like tasting bad whiskey almost as much as I enjoy drinking good whiskey.

Here are a few of my favorites. I love conversations about whiskey.

@OBGyeayouknowme sent me a yawn gif (which I recognize from somewhere but can't remember where and it has been bugging me ever since).

@BourbonFanboy told me it had "notes of grass and misery." (I like this one, it's clever.)

@ryewhiskeylover told me to take it back and then buy a Booker's Rye. (ummm...cool? Show me an overpriced unicorn and I'll...still never spend $300 on a whiskey).

And then I had the distinct honor of being screamed at by a dude who I blocked after about the third post in what may have been an epic Twitter rant. It started with the statement of it being shit, moved into telling me to F*** my review because it is the worst rye this person had ever had.

But hey, I'm not going to let one angry guy, and a bunch of amusing ones tell me what to do. I buy whiskey for me, but also for you. If it's bad, then you will know not to buy it. And if it's good? Well, then I have something tasty to drink. We all win.

So...were they right?

Basil Hayden's Rye Whiskey

Purchase info: $44.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Blue Max, Burnsville, MN

Details: 40% ABV, 2017 Release. Noticeable lack of the word "straight" on the label.

Nose: Fresh cut grass, spearmint, citrus and a gentle spice.

Mouth: Grassy with spearmint, black pepper, and oak.

Finish: Spicy but short with lingering baking spice and oak.

Thoughts: Well, BourbonFanboy was half right, it certainly was grassy. I tasted almost no misery though.

But seriously, this reminds me a lot of Old Overholt. It's better than Old Overholt but similar. And the similarity isn't terribly surprising. Basil Hayden could be called a premium-priced version of Old GrandDad so why shouldn't Basil Hayden Rye be a premium-priced version of Old Overholt? Like Old Overholt, this works ok in a Manhatten if you cut down the amount of vermouth you use. Now, I don't mind Old Overholt, but as a $45 product, I find this to be a dud of a rye.

One of the thoughts I had while tasting this is that this is not a product that was put out with me in mind. I'm an experienced whiskey enthusiast with a well-developed palate. Basil Hayden's Bourbon is a great bourbon for the bourbon novice. Someone who is looking for a step up, but hasn't quite developed the palate for high proof whiskey. My wife was just such a person for a long time. Now she loves Old GrandDad 114 instead. Basil Hayden's Rye seems like the same thing. If you are new to rye, this would be a fine step up from Old Overholt and an ok example of the non-MGP style of rye.

So here is my verdict: if you are a big Basil Hayden fan, give this a try. If, like many, you find Basil Hayden to be too overpriced and too low proof, then give this a hard pass.

3 Whiskeys from Florida's Timber Creek Distillery

May 18, 2017 Eric Burke

It has been brought to my attention that a blog post from a certain writer that will not be named (who happens to be an undisclosed former promotional man for a different small distillery...hmmm conflict of interest?) called out this post specifically as an example of how you cannot trust me (and various other reviewers) because, and I'm paraphrasing here, "I obviously do not know the definition of bourbon because I didn't call out a fact of how these are made clearly enough." I'm not going to name that blog because, since he didn't reach out to me for comment or clarification, he is obviously more interested in being a dick, attacking people, and proving he is correct than he is about having a dialog. The sad fact of the matter is, in today's world the burden of proof is on the accused, not the accuser. And as there is no way to prove that I knew something before I was accused of ignorance, I am placing my thought process on why I wrote the post the way I did here.

The unnamed blog is correct. I did make a mistake when I wrote this post. Though I know better, I didn't call BS on the process that the distiller is using explicitly enough. I explained the process used, but did so in a way so as to not be a dick about it. Yes, it is technically correct that you should not call a product bourbon if the grains were not mixed before fermentation. The products reviewed below mixed different types of 100% grain whiskey after the fact to get the same ratios as would have been used if the product would have been distilled in a traditional manner. My thoughts on the matter were that this is a distinction without a difference, but since the law doesn't always follow my idea of common sense, I probably should have made my thought process clearer. I tried that in the comments, but I probably should have edited the post.

I continued to refer to the various whiskeys as "bourbon" because I felt that using a different name than what was on the bottle would be confusing to readers when I was reviewing multiple whiskeys of different taste profiles. I stand by that as I still feel that would be confusing.

To be clear, I still find the process that was used by the distiller very interesting. That and the fact I am nowhere near where it was distributed is why I accepted the samples in the first place. And now on to the review that you probably came here to see. In order to maintain transparency, I haven't changed a word below the line. It's sad that I've had to explain this because one person on the internet decided to make an accusation of untrustworthiness without even asking a question as to why a writer would write a certain way, but welcome to the United States of America in 2018.

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Timber Creek Distillery for providing this sample to me with no strings attached.

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by the PR firm that works with Timber Creek Distillery to see if I would like to review some of their products. At first, I was a little leery since, unfortunately, I've sort of soured on trying new craft whiskey lately. At this point, they have to be interesting on some level to even get me to respond anymore. I've just been burned too many times.

But as I was reading through some of the notes that came along with the offer, I thought to myself, "what the heck? I probably won't be back to Florida for a while, and the rye says it's made with a Florida specific strain of Rye grain." So I said yes to the offer of samples. The worst that would happen is that I would have something to make another batch of Cherry Bounce this summer.

Timber Creek is located in the Florida Panhandle near the town of Crestview, about 70 miles north and east of Pensacola). In talking to Camden Ford, the proprietor, I was intrigued by a few of things. First, he is very particular about where he gets his barrels. He sources 15-gallon barrels from McGinnis Wood Products in Cuba, MO and 53-gallon barrels from Canton Cooperage in Lebanon, KY. Both sizes are charred to a #3 char level. (I was glad to hear he shared my opinion of the Minnesota produced barrels you often see small distillers use. I've had very little good whiskey that came out of them.)

I liked the idea that they were doing things a little differently than the big guys. They use a roller mill to crack the grains instead of a hammer mill. Then they lauter them before fermentation (in other words they filter out the grains as you would in making beer) and ferment the wort instead of distilling with the grains still in. They also produce their whiskey in the Canadian manner. They grind, ferment, distill and age each of the grains individually and then blend them after aging. To my knowledge, I've never had an American Whiskey that was created this way.

So yes, they make their own products. These whiskeys are young. The age statements are nine months on each of them. But as they are blending product from small and large barrels, this isn't surprising, particularly in the heat of Florida. Their standard Bourbon is a wheated bourbon made from corn, wheat, and less than 5% barley. The Reserve Bourbon is a four-grain Bourbon made from corn, wheat, less than 5% barley, and a Florida-specific strain of rye called Florida 401 or Black Rye. The Black Rye Whiskey is made from 100% Florida Black Rye.

Timber Creek Florida Bourbon

Purchase info: This bottle was provided to me for review purposes by the distillery. Doing a little digging shows that it is available for purchase online for $40.

Details: 9 months old, 46.5% ABV

Nose: Young with raisin, cinnamon, and cedar.

Mouth: Peppery with dried fruit and a lot of baking spice.

Finish: Short and gentle with lingering dried fruit notes.

Thoughts: If you are generally a fan of craft bourbon, you are probably also a fan of very young whiskey. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking a young, well-crafted whiskey. And while this certainly is a well-crafted whiskey, it is not my preferred style. There's no nice way to say this. For me, this tastes way too young.

Timber Creek Florida Reserve Bourbon

Purchase info: This bottle was provided to me for review purposes by the distillery. Doing a little digging shows that, it is available for purchase online for $50.

Details: 9 months old, 50% ABV

Nose: Young with raisins, brown sugar, and almonds.

Mouth: Sweet with wintergreen, brown sugar, raisin, and ginger.

Finish: Short with lingering wintergreen, ginger, and sweetness.

Thoughts: On the first taste of this, I am finding it much more palatable than the previous bourbon in tonight's review. It's still young tasting, but the sweetness, ginger and wintergreen add a nice counter to the young grain/raisin notes. As far as young bourbons go, this is pretty interesting. I'm going to say that I like this, but if you are turned off by young bourbons, you probably won't.

Timber Creek Florida Black Rye

Purchase info: This bottle was provided to me for review purposes by the distillery. Doing a little digging shows that it is available for purchase online for $51.

Details: 9 months old, 46.5% ABV

Nose: Sweetness with raisin, anise, cedar and a hint of wintergreen.

Mouth: Gentle in the mouth with dried fruit, wintergreen, baking spice and a generic sweetness.

Finish: Short and gentle with lingering wintergreen and granola.

Thoughts: This is definitely the most interesting of the three as it was distilled from a local Florida grain I have never encountered before. I'm actually very happy that this one wasn't aged too long as too much barrel influence might well overwhelm what makes it different from other rye strains.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Brown Rice

May 9, 2017 Eric Burke

Rice. It provides more than one-fifth of the calories consumed by humans worldwide*. It's a bit of an understatement to say that it's a pretty important crop to humanity. And yet, for a long time, Americans drank more rice than they ate**.

That rice was not, however, consumed in the form of bourbon. Instead, Americans consumed their rice in the form of Budweiser beer. Up to four pounds of rice per person per year.

So, as I am of an age where I started drinking beer before the current iteration of the craft beer revolution, it is safe to say that I've consumed plenty of fermented rice in my life. I can honestly say though, that I've never had fermented and distilled rice before the bottle of bourbon I'm reviewing tonight.

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Brown Rice

Purchase info: $16.67 for a 375 mL bottle (on sale) at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 11 years old, 45% ABV, Brown Rice used as flavoring grain.

Nose: Strong brown sugar, bubble gum, and oak.

Mouth: Peppery heat with peanut, mint, vanilla, and oak.

Finish: Peppery heat that fades fast and is replaced by a general lingering sweetness.

Thoughts: While this is by no means a bad whiskey, it is my least favorite of the bunch so far. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I like it, but I don't dislike it either. It's just kind of meh. Kind of how I feel about Bud Light.

*According to the Wikipedia article on Rice. Accessed 5/9/17.
**New York Times Food section, December 17, 1997. Accessed 5/9/17.

This is the third of six reviews in the Jim Beam Signature Craft, Harvest Bourbon Collection Series. I've previously reviewed the Six Row Barley and the Soft Red Wheat.

Bourbon Supreme, Williamsburg Decanter, bottled in 1969, emptied in 2016

April 20, 2017 Eric Burke

Bourbon Supreme Williamsburg decanter, 1969 Front

Bourbon Supreme Williamsburg decanter, 1969 Back

In the past, I've talked about my antique-bottle project. I spend a lot of time in antique stores looking for the information for my spreadsheet. Of course, I almost never go into a store intending to purchase anything. But, of course, intend is the key word there.

Tonight's review comes from one of my antique store finds. It is a decanter of Bourbon Supreme from 1969. When I bought it, the cork was intact, and the tax seal was intact. So I decided to decant the liquid out and give it a look.

These days, Bourbon Supreme is a blended bourbon produced for select markets by Luxco. But in days of yore, Bourbon Supreme was a product of the American Distilling Company out of Pekin, Illinois. American Distilling Company was an old company, at least as far as US companies are concerned. Pre-ProWhiskeyMen mentions that the company was formed in the mid-1890s and, after taking over a few other companies, by 1908 was mashing 6000 bushels of grain per day. The company continued to grow from there, though. A 1964 article in the Chicago Tribune Magazine states that capacity had grown to 12,000 bushels per day. Of course, in the end, all things must pass and Mike Veach says that by the early 1980s American itself had been acquired by Standard Brands who was acquired by other companies until pieces of what used to be American Distilling Company found itself part of Diageo.

The Bourbon Supreme brand though did not go with the American Distilling Company. In the thread mentioned above, Mike Veach mentions that the brand passed through the hands of either Heaven Hill or Barton to its final resting spot, the David Sherman Company, today's Luxco.

Today's Bourbon Supreme doesn't sound much like anything I'd want to try, but let's see how a version from almost 50 years ago tastes.

Bourbon Supreme, Williamsburg Decanter, 1969

Purchase Info: Some antique mall in St. Paul, MN for I'm guessing under $20. (It's been a while).

Details: 86° proof, 74 months old (my label is partially torn, this info was found by searching eBay for images of the bottle)

Nose: The nose starts with vanilla and coconut that transition to fruit, caramel, and floral notes. After more time, the fruit and floral wander away to be replaced by rich leather...mmmm...caramelly leather.

Mouth: Sweet butterscotch with a little oak spice.

Finish: Light and short with distinct floral notes.

Thoughts: This has a wonderful nose, an ok mouth, and a terrible finish. It's very interesting but this might just stay a curiosity for friends to try when they visit. Serious meh on this one. Maybe it's how the decanter was handled for the last half century or maybe the stuff put into the decanter just wasn't that good to begin with.

A word on lead: There is a forum thread on straightbourbon.com that details the story of a man getting the whiskey from one of his decanters tested for lead and finding very high levels of it. I do not have the equipment to test this myself. I did, however, allow the bourbon from this decanter to evaporate and then drip the contents of a lead paint tester into the residue (saving a drop or two for the confirmation strip) and there was no red for lead. I won’t say this bourbon doesn’t contain lead or that any of the bourbons from old decanters you find will or will not contain lead. But this test satisfied my curiosity enough to allow me to do the small tasting I did for this post without fear of too much harm.

For more information on lead poisoning visit: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002473.htm

Lazy River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

April 18, 2017 Eric Burke

Every so often, Total Wine will have a display of miniature bottles in the bourbon aisle. I have often picked them up. I have also often regretted doing that (see the Parker Hayes Reserve review). But even though I don't often care for what is being pushed, I still keep doing it.

For one thing, it's an inexpensive way to get content. And seriously, I do have a lot of fun unloading the day's frustration on a terrible whiskey. But the other reason I keep buying them is that I am an eternal optimist. I keep hoping that just one of them is going to turn out to be something that is a good everyday drinker. One that isn't expensive, but also doesn't taste awful.

It's ok. You can wish me good luck on that. I'm not offended, the miniatures they push in this way don't have the best track record. If I were anyone but a blogger looking for content I'd probably write that placement off as the kiss of death for a product at this point.

Until tonight's selection, that is. This one looks to be another Total Wine exclusive, (though you can buy it online at Ace Spirits for cheaper should you wish). Unlike many of the Total Wine house brands though, this doesn't look to be a Terra Pure product or to be produced by Sazerac. In fact, a little digging shows that the COLA belongs to Frank-Lin Distiller's Products. They are the company who owns the Medley and Wathen brands of bourbon. Not the greatest bourbons, but also not bad either.

Lazy River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: $1.99 for a 50 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 45% ABV. No age statement.

Nose: Granulated white sugar, juicy fruit gum, mint and a touch of oak.

Mouth: Peppery spice, sweetness, and a general fruitiness.

Finish: Short to medium length. Peppery spice with a good hit of dry oak.

Thoughts: This is not a bad bourbon. Not at all. It isn't fantastic. But around $25 it is certainly worth giving a shot, especially since you can pick up a 50 mL for just a couple bucks. It straddles the line between meh and liking it for me. Your mileage may vary though.

Calumet Farms Bourbon

March 7, 2017 Eric Burke

Every so often, a bourbon comes along about which I have almost nothing to say. Calumet Farms is one of those bourbons.

Calumet Farms Bourbon is a product of Western Spirits, an NDP that also produces Lexington Bourbon and Bird Dog Whiskey. They've recently signed a production contract with Bardstown Bourbon company to distill future product, but they currently source from who-knows-where.

It has a pretty bottle, though...so maybe that's enough to warrant the $50 asking price.

Calumet Farms Bourbon

Purchase Info: $4.99 for a 50 mL bottle at Westport Whiskey and Wine, Louisville, KY.

Details: 43% ABV. NAS, and not labeled straight.

Nose: A bag of Old-Fashioned Candy mix ("Grandma Candy" as it's called around my house). By that I mean a ton of sweetness, a mixture of fruits such as citrus or berry, and spices like clove, cinnamon, and anise.

Mouth: Peppery and sweet with a faint vegetal/grain note underneath.

Finish: Medium length with lingering sweet and spicy notes.

Thoughts: Solid meh on this one. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't particularly like it either. It has an odd nose and a fairly plain palate. There is heat and sweet, but I didn't find it especially inviting. This one mostly gets knocked for the price. If it were around $15 for a 750 mL bottle, I'd be much more generous with it. But for $38 to $55 (locally), this is hard to recommend.

Jim Beam Choice, an unintentional dusty find.

February 23, 2017 Eric Burke

Jim Beam Choice, Green Label 5 year old bourbon.

It has been quite the day. I had to meet with my tax accountant today. My tax bill is...well...let's just say that it is much more than I had hoped but less than I had feared. Sadly it's closer to the fear than the hope. Anyway, it's a day where I feel like drinking whiskey. And based on the current set of my financial situation, it had better be something fairly inexpensive.

As you might have guessed based on the last month, I've been slowly gathering materials for a series of If You've Had... posts. One of the ones I thought might be fun was Jim Beam. Not the entire line, but the ones that most people can afford. White , Black, Double Oak, Bonded, Devil's Cut, Green, etc.

Wait? Green? What the heck is Jim Beam Green? Well, these day's it is nothing. It is no longer sold. But back in the days when Jim Beam thought that age statements were a good thing, it was the middle of the road offering between NAS white label and 8-year-old Black label. Named Jim Beam Choice officially, the green labeled version came in at a stated five years old. These days, according to the Beam PR rep I talked to, you might find it on a shelf, but it is no longer a product Beam sells. This is just me guessing, but when the eight-year went NAS, I'm guessing that the taste distinction between the Black and Green got a little hard to decipher with the result being that Choice joined the ranks of discontinued brands.

When I bought the bottle in September, I had no idea it was a dusty. But there you go. I guess you just got to keep your eyes open. You never know what you'll run across. For instance, I saw a Jim Beam Rye Yellow label on a shelf today if anyone is in the market for an 80 proof rye from Beam.

Jim Beam Choice, 5-year-old green label

Purchase Info: $13.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN (September 2016)

Details: 5 year age stated. 40% ABV.

Nose: Mint, apple, allspice, and honey.

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel and delicately flavored. Sweet granulated white sugar, allspice along with a light chamomile and peanut.

Finish: Medium, but gentle with lingering chamomile and allspice notes.

Thoughts: This bottom-shelf dweller ranks a good step above its white-labeled brother. Whether it is better or worse than Jim Beam Black is a matter of how much you like that "Jim Beam" waxy pencil/peanut flavor that both black and white have in abundance. This has a lesser "Beam" presence than I remember from either of them. It feels mostly like a Beam version of Evan Williams Black, just not quite as good. Not a bad whiskey, but not one the world is likely to miss.

Blog

Basil Hayden's Rye Whiskey

Timber Creek Florida Bourbon

Timber Creek Florida Reserve Bourbon

Timber Creek Florida Black Rye

Jim Beam Signature Craft: Brown Rice

Bourbon Supreme, Williamsburg Decanter, 1969

Lazy River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Calumet Farms Bourbon

Jim Beam Choice, 5-year-old green label