I’ve been running this site for almost eight years now. I started slow, really only reviewing something about once every couple of months on average. (In a good month, there would be two posts at the beginning, so it isn’t quite as bad as it seems.) For the last six years or so, I’ve been pretty consistent about putting out two posts a week. And during that time, about 80 percent of them have been reviews, which is odd as I never set out to do a review site.
The idea for this site was a long time coming, but it boils down to one fact: I like to tell stories. I’d had a blog previously where I told stories. Twos of people read it. Occasionally a really popular post would go up, and maybe five people would. After that, I had a photoblog. I didn’t really care if anyone visited that site. The goal was for me to improve my photography skills. I took photos, post-processed them, and chose one for publication. I did that every day for three years. After I got to the point where I felt pretty good about my photo skills, I ended the photo a day project, and I told stories about photos instead.
Then I discovered bourbon. I learned everything I could about bourbon and other whiskeys. I read every book I could get my hands on, read every blog, listened to the podcast. Along the way, I realized something: I didn’t really like whiskey reviews. I liked the people that wrote them. I enjoyed the content around them. I liked the stories and personalities. But I didn’t like the reviews. They were either too sterile or too poetic for me. Some were basically just a rehashing of the press release. So, I went back to the idea I had with my photo site. I was going on a bourbon journey. I was trying to learn all there was to know about bourbon. And along the way, I’d share what I learned with everyone else. I didn’t plan on writing reviews, but Google seemed to like it the few times I did. And unlike the previous sites, I thought I might be able to contribute to the wider community. So since Google liked them, I decided to include them in the posts. I’d craft each story in such a way that it would weave into and set up the review. In a way, it was a lot like the photo-a-day project. Each time I did it, it got a little easier. And I became a better writer. And eventually, the reviews became fun. The stories and the reviews didn’t need to be woven together because frequently, the review would inspire the story.
So all of that is the background to this past weekend. I realized that my editorial calendar had run dry. Somehow, I just never planned past my tax appointment last Thursday. It was an odd feeling. And when put on the spot, I couldn’t think of anything that I wanted to write about. Not off the top of my head. So I decided to check the archives and see if there was something that I had overlooked over the years. Some easy to find bourbon that somehow slipped through the cracks.
And I realized that I didn’t have a list of what I had reviewed previously. Not one. Just the website itself. I’d been keeping track of everything in my head. Which if you know how my memory works, you’ll understand that it is the least safe place I could keep track of things. So I spent all weekend cataloging eight years’ worth of blog posts. And I found some things that I’d overlooked over the years. I filled a whiteboard with ideas.
Then I went to the store and immediately bought two bottles that were not on my list at all. Just because they looked interesting. Sigh. One of those bottles is a 10-year-old version of the Corner Creek that I featured in September of 2018. I did a pretty good intro to the brand there so I won’t rehash it here.
Corner Creek 10 year
Purchase Info: $50.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN
Price per Drink (50mL): $3.40
Details: 10 year age statement, 44% ABV.
Nose: Mixed berries, baking spice, brown sugar, mint
Mouth: Nicely spicy with notes of baking spice, juicy ripe fruit, mint, and caramel.
Finish: Nice finish. Medium length with notes of mixed berries, menthol, and cinnamon.
Thoughts: This is pretty good. I like it. Very fruity with notes of mixed berries throughout the experience. The finish isn’t hot, but the menthol notes last a while.
When I revisited the standard Corner Creek, I called it a “change of pace” bourbon due to the very fruity nature of it. This lands in the same place. Very fruity. I wouldn’t want it all the time, but when I’m looking for something that is a little off the standard bourbon flavor profile, I’ll probably reach for this one.
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