Tastes

Golden with a hue of orange. The nose is somewhat closed off initially. Cinnamon, caraway, apple and leather give way to stone fruit and light maple syrup. Hay, eucalyptus, wet stone - almost a Gewürztraminer vibe. Interesting. Dusty bubble gum and some jammy notes even. We’re certainly not in bourbon country anymore… After awhile this declares itself as unequivocally rye (pumpernickel, tea, herbs) but with hearty fruit and borderline-astringent oak. Definitely more tannic and earthy notes than green label Seagrass - which hits some of the same notes and on the palate doesn’t hide the rhum, Madeira and apricot brandy finishing - and in fact seems to twist and turn 3-4 times, in the above order, before having to go back for more. Will this take me down such a twisted road? Holy spice Batman. This is a bit more viscous up front and drying on the back end. Tons of spices - clove, caraway, anise, pepper, tobacco (ok, not technically a spice but bear with me). Then a swell of maple and brandy notes (jam, chocolate, blood orange) and then some weathered oak and possibly even a furniture polish note. The more sips I take the more of the leather and oak come through, but not overwhelmingly so. There is always a balance with that deep bowl of spices, dark cigar wrapper, and funky fruit. The fruit is funky indeed. Not the clean, crisp apricot or red berries of its green label sibling. This is more of a stewed, almost hogo-esque fruit. This, frankly, is challenging. Rewarding, but challenging and requires both patience and a significant financial investment. I like it a good deal more than green label Seagrass but don’t know that it justifies the cost. I would gladly give $100-125 for this but the $250 is a stretch. The well aged notes are fantastic, but honestly it’s a bit too hedonistically sweet for me - largely due to the unfamiliar light-maple and fruit character. It’s not cloying but it’s not subtle either. The way the sweet notes outcompete the earthy and oak notes on the finish is the opposite of how I’d like things to wind down. Verdict - would try before I buy, except I didn’t and am left with a resemblance of buyers remorse. Not because it’s bad, because it’s fantastic. It’s just damn expensive, so much that I’m subtracting a quarter of a point.

Half pint, comes with decorative pewter plaque stating “Specialty Selected by Lexie A. Phillips Assistant Distiller 2021.” Barrel house 2-25, barrel #22-01672, bottles 2.18.22. Amber-red in color with a thin appearance. The nose evolves like a go stopper of sorts. At first it’s all prickly oak, caraway, pepper and signature bananas foster - maybe with a side of pie crust. Over time there are bits of spearmint and eucalyptus, tobacco, caramel. The palate is equally interesting and leans heavily toward tannic territory with the oak (somewhat of a toasted profile - EC toasted in particular) but still plenty of pastry, banana and earthy notes to stay at least partly balanced. There are some younger grain notes in there as well but rye far outweighs corn. Proof drinks like it should be 115, while in reality it’s 94. The rye spice and heavier oak make this a more bitter departure from the bananas-foster, clove and marshmallow bomb of their barrel strength. It’s solid on its own and would likely make an unbelievably good Boulevardier. I wouldn’t spring for this over Willett 4y, Rare Breed rye or Russel’s Single barrel rye. Kicker is that I can get the 375ml size for $25 to taste and play around with and not be out much. Overall satisfied with this particular barrel and figure others are +/- but probably won’t rebuy unless it really opens up over its foreseeably short lifespan.

Very solid, baby knob creek. That said, these notes are delayed but that was the takeaway. Not much heft but still more than enough caramel, cinnamon bun and a dash of roasted peanut. There is plenty of competition at this price point. I will say this is the only Beam product I’ve tried under $20 that holds its own. Up against classics such as WT 101, EW BiB, OF 100, and FR yellow label I can’t say that I would pick this over any other but wouldn’t shy away either. I think I would probably reach for JTS Brown 100 (Heaven Hill) or Old Bardstown BiB (Willett) but that is based strictly on my palate preferences. All are equally good and shouldn’t be passed over or shunned as sippers and mixers alike.

I have to give it to the EC line - despite being a fanboy of the profile, most of their offerings are still a bargain. That said, I’ve seen prices on this fall from $35 to $25 as it has become more widely distributed. Nose is a mixture of vanilla, maple syrup, rye bread and spearmint. Palate follows and isn’t anything fancy, but the rye component is evident and balanced with a bit of herbal mint. Compared to an $18 bottle of Rittenhouse this has less bite and no cinnamon. Compared to a $20-25 bottle of WT 101 rye I would say it has richer sweetness (as compared to the dusty bubble gum sweetness of WT). From what I remember of Sazerac rye the two are close in sweetness and rye character but Sazerac lacked the herbal mint component. But here’s the kicker, against a $65 bottle of Willett 4y rye… it lacks a few things. No black tea or eucalyptus. But as less than half the price, do I care? This is good enough to sip on its own but would likely make a good Manhattan or Sazerac. That said, I would probably pick RR single barrel rye or Willett 4y if I’m feeling fancy and stick with this for all other occasions, substituting in Rittenhouse and WT 101 rye periodically.

Tried out at a bar, open air, humid, pollen-dusted May night. Highball glass, neat. Takes a while for the nose to amount to much in this setting but lands like a younger, high corn mashbill. Would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and Larceny. Thus are wheated bourbons in most cases, for me at least. Light body, corn and wheat checks cereal, hint of cherry and overripe banana, butterscotch sweetness with a bit of char… cream? There is a bit of an odd coating sensation left behind. The latter part is the most odd of them… kettle corn, tobacco, and French-vanilla ice cream. It’s actually better than the sip itself. Verdict - this particular expression doesn’t really do much for me. I know this is a sought after expression from the Heaven Hill pantheon but seems like a case where the fancy decanter outclasses the contents. Other releases might outclass this one but I would be a bit pissed to pay even the $100+ MSRP for this one, let alone secondary.

I like bourbon, and writing, and the Oxford comma. I’ve also learned to like rum, mezcal, gin, things that end in “gnac,” Chartreuse, and so on. Long story short - sometimes standing out is better than fitting in. Friends who are, at times, offensively true to themselves are not unlike fine spirits. If these things haven’t turned you off already then let me tell you a tale. A friend of mine is leaving soon. He is unconventional and tends to shake the confidence of people who aren’t used to being questioned. An experienced educator, a physician and gay man from Kentucky - who was kind enough to help a friend move and was paid in the common currency of his state. While cleaning out a cabinet he stumbled across a half empty bottle with a gold wax top but missing it’s cork. A wine stopper retained 2/3 or so is the bottles contents. He was told the bottle was an expensive mistake. It had been opened and shared among friends, only to be largely disapproved of. The remainder would become his and eventually he and this bottle would make their way through medical school. To celebrate, he brought it to share with me. Meanwhile I’ve been scouring the earth spending far too much time and money on whiskey. To that end, I broke down and bought a bottle off the secondary several years back - paying around $125 for a bottle of screw cap Weller 12 year. An $18 bottle of screw cap, green label Weller had been relegated to the back of the cabinet, but with a bit of effort was excavated. Them a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 15 year (purchased above MSRP via a lottery) found it’s way out. We poured these four all sides by side and the difference in color was striking. The youngest two were a light golden color, the 15 a nice amber and the 23 a cherrywood red. We sat and talked about life, about being screwed over by an impersonal system and still managing to find not only peace but prosperity. We talked about making up for lost time the moment it is lost and not seven years later. There was more but I will spare you. As we sipped, we noted the following: Weller - thin with corn syrup, bananas, green cigar wrapper, nutmeg and pepper Weller 12 - more caramel, a bit of soft oak, a more developed and interesting array of spices, but nothing your grandmother couldn’t drink near Pappy 15 - something that might make grandma cry - a much darker, thicker level of sweetness with toffee, dark cigar wrapper, cherry, a bit of pepper, allspice and cinnamon with lofty notes of varnish and a hint of bitter walnut Pappy 23 - the nose is rich and so heavy, weighted with burnt, resinous sugar, bits of seasoned cast-iron skillet, ripe red raspberry (weird but true), Wurthers original butterscotch candies and old furniture - BUT WAIT - the palate is viscous, almost syrupy (not unexpected) and immediately floral to the point of perfume or shaving cream, the sweetness is almost neigh with bits of burned cornbread and toffee, delayed varnish notes and a lasting oily sensation like a film throughout the mouth with a finish that goes on forever - lingering perfume, grape seed oil, wood and a subtle tarry sweetness We both agreed the 23 was unlike anything we’d ever had. No where as oak laden as the 15 but a different animal entirely. The interesting part was that going back to every pour there were now noticeable floral notes in them all. The green label was like a pair of kakis, a blazer and Old Spice - simple enough but timeless. The 12 was more of a loosely dotted suit and some department store cologne. The 15 - full on tuxedo with the undiluted perfume of a Gatsby party. The 23 - incense, robes and majesty. We then agreed the 15 was our favorite. Drinking Queen Elizabeth was a bit too far out for us at this point in life. Tuxedos and booze thanks. The next day I did some reading. Bottle 1709, “Bottled by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery” - Lawrenceburg, KY, clear glass complete with gold top wax. Likely a 1999 or 2000 bottling - ie. the last of what was bulk distilled at Setzel-Weller, purchased by the Van Winkles and bottled at the Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg (prior to merger with Buffalo Trace). Sounds like ‘98 and prior would have been green glass (and also distilled with a partly rye mash bill) and anything after 2001 would be labeled as bottled in Frankfort. Hence 99/00, which would have been distilled around 1976-77. How did this taste initially, some 20 years ago when it was opened? No idea. Allegedly bad enough that it was sealed and hidden. Which leads us to the moral of the story. Pappy Van Winkle’s bourbons tend to fall into the hands of 1) the lucky lottery winners, 2) the fortunate fools who are kind to others, 3) people who sleep in tents outside liquor stores and urinate into Gatorade bottles, and 4) people with more money than sense. Would I pay $300-400 for a bottle of Pappy 23? Yes. It’s just so bizarre and tastes like something that undoubtedly sat in a dresser drawer for over 20 years. Would I reach for it often? Absolutely not. But it does make for a decent story. The contents will soon be gone, and like my friend will be missed. If it is meant to be then we will do it all over again some day. Otherwise we will forge our way through this world and hopefully empty ourselves to others who need us and will tell our stories for years to come, and continue the cycle. Cheers.