Rant/Rave: Bourbon

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33anda3rd
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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by 33anda3rd »

Had the pleasure of lunch and a private tour of Buffalo Trace today. Really remarkable, can't recommend visiting here enough. I love getting out of the car and smelling the caramel, corn and wood in the air. Some highlights included...

Got to have lunch with Harlan Wheatley, the 6th Master Distiller there. I asked how long until we get to the point where there's enough Blanton's, Weller 107, Col EH Taylor Small Batch so that people are not freaking out and paying 4X MSRP, he said about 2.5 more years. They're distilling in two 10-hour shifts/day now, and bottling in two 8-hour shifts. They had quite a bit of EH Taylor Small Batch in the gift shop for $43/bottle, which isn't bad if you can't find it anywhere else. Didn't buy anything, I'm saving my dollars for Willett tomorrow since Chicago has had zero Willett Family Estate Bourbon dropped at the distributor this year and I'm told the Willetts in the gift shop there are available and are about $11/year.

Got to see the Blanton Single Barrel Bottling House. About 30 employees working two bottling lines. Today they were bottling EH Taylor Single Barrel and Blanton's. They put out several palettes of each. They knock out about 2200 bottles/day in the two 8-hour shifts here.

Walked through a couple of the rickhouses, C and I think the other was H, the latter is the only metal one, built by Col. Blanton to experiment with hotter aging. The barrels are like porn. Some with red "Do Not Move: Experimental" stickers on them. All labeled either Mash #1, Weller, or Rye. The Weller mash is not just Weller, it's anything from one of three mash bills they produce including Weller, Van Winkle, and others. Lower floors they hold the good stuff, up high is where the Benchmark and Ancient Age will sit for 3.5 years to age fast and then get dumped and bottled.

Bourbon Pompeii was very cool, it was found when they were digging to build an event space and they found the archeological remains of Taylor's two distilleries from the late 1800s. It will become a distillery and by the late 2020s there will be Col EH Taylor OEC released that comes from here.

Had a private tasting of all the white dogs--the Weller, Mash #1, and the Rye Mash--with an example of the bourbons next to them in the lab above the old house that Grandpa Taylor lived in. That was a real treat.

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by Swirls »

Sounds absolutely incredible. I love me some Buffalo Trace; it's definitely my go-to bourbon. I bought another bottle of it on July 4, actually... Been drinking Old Fashioneds like they're going out of style lately.

I had a work trip to the Louisville area about a month ago. I spent a week in Charlestown, IN and was really wanting to stop by a distillery or two while I was there, but naturally my coworkers were all fuddy duddys and never wanted to leave the hotel in the evenings to go exploring, and our last day there they chose to get to the airport 6 hours early before our flight rather than sightsee.

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

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Yesterday we did Heaven Hill and Willett.

Heaven Hill, kinda boring. They distill in one place, age in a few others. We watched a video and tasted, which was fine since it was indoors and air conditioned and the day prior we walked around Buffalo in 96 degree heat for 4+ hours. Tasting was Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, William Heavenhill 14, Larceny, Pikesville Rye. Little museum at the Bourbon Heritage place, then a big gift shop with everything under the sun carrying one of the brands. You can also buy William Heavenhill 14 ($250), Elijah Craig 18 ($200, which the guy in front of me enthusiastically told me "is way less than the secondary market" before not buying any himself), Elijah Craig Barrel Proof ($70), and the Elijah Craig grenades for $30 a pop. I didn't buy anything. The EC Barrel Proof goes for like $40 wholesale, the EC 18 for $92 and I can buy those from Southern and swipe my credit card at work pretty much any time I want one, and I wasn't too crazy about the Heavenhill. We were only there like 45 minutes. Would recommend this "tour" only if you want to pay $20 for four 1/2 ounce pours and watch a corporate video. Would recommend a stop at the gift shop only if you are really into the high-end bottles they have and don't have access to them otherwise.

Willett was incredible. You could take all their rickhouses, stuff them into one of Heaven HIll's (you can see the Heaven Hill rickhouses from the Willett grounds, they are vey close) and still have room for a few thousand barrels in that rickhouse. Willett has been distilling for years, after a long time off, and is now at the point where they're releasing some 4-year bottles (Old Bardstown and Old Bardstown Bonded, the latter avail only in KY and delicious) that are 100% their juice. For years all their bottles have been labeled that they are produced at a generic DBA, with some of the juice coming from neighbors (likely HH, possibly Beam or 4 Roses I guess), but soon they will be labeled under their name. You get the sense of the family business, and it's every bit that. Sister is president, brother is master distiller, a cousin or sibling or something runs the gift shop. They've built a physical Noah's Mill, inspired by the dream that inspired the bourbon, which sits on Rowan's Creek, and next to it are building a B & B / event space for weddings and out of town guests. It's very pretty, but the whole grounds are very pretty. Everything from the gravel in the walks to the bags in the gift shop is very nice. We had a tasting after the tour and we got some Pot Still Reserve, then we had your choice of two more, from everything in the line except Family Estate Bourbon. Went to the gift shop on the way out and bought some Family Estate Four Year Rye and Bottled in Bond Old Bardstown for the road. This one was a really fun time and I'd highly recommend it. Nice contrast to Buffalo Trace which is gigantic.

At Willett, one super cool thing, in the rickhouses, dead center where there's open space, the chef Sean Brock has cured country hams hanging. Each one hangs for a couple years then goes to Husk in Nashville. They look disgusting but are probably delicious.

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by 33anda3rd »

5 years ago today Elmer T. Lee died. Not only is his namesake bourbon excellent, he was the fella who started the single barrel revolution by introducing Blanton's, named after his mentor, a whiskey that was a big part of the bourbon renaissance.

Tipping one back to ol' Elmer tonight.

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by Michael »

33anda3rd wrote:
Michael wrote:/thread hijack

Change of plans. I just found out he loves to sip tequila. I know he enjoys Don Julio 1942 Anejo Tequila so I might get that, but I'm open to suggestions. Price range 100-200.

edit - he's a pretty wealthy guy so I'm sure has quite a few bottles of the 1942, so I'd really like to get him something else
Fuenteseca 7 Year Old Extra Añejo. It will top out your budget but it's worth it. Half aged in used California red wine barrels, half aged in used French oak, they sit at a very high altitude in a very cool climate for 7 years. The cool climate means no major diurnal shifts to expand/contract the wood, and the barrels are refills, so this is not an oak monster. There's just a hint of toasty oak but mostly this tastes like roasted Weber Agave and white pepper.
Sorry, I just checked this thread and I realize I didn't think you. The Fuenteseca 7 Year Old was a hit! Thank you!

Another tequila rec would be much appreciated. Something in the 200 dollar range that I can find in Chicago is ideal. Thanks again!

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by Michael »

Michael wrote:
Many thanks. I plan on calling around and going shopping tomorrow. I'll get your suggestion or this El Tesoro 80th Anniversary bottle as a backup. The El Tesoro has similarly great reviews as the Fuenteseca. The one I choose will depend on availability near me.
After researching it I think I'll pick this one up.

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by cardsfantx »

guess this is the tequila thread now, lol

anyways, my buddy owns a decent size construction (framing) company, and one of his supervisors that's from mexico got him this last week for his 40th bday...
[SHOW]
Image
seems like it ranges between $300 and $400 here in the states; the guy said it's expensive, but not like that in mexico (where he bought it)

it tastes exactly like a very nice bourbon though...my friend doesn't drink liquor so he left it at my house...about 1/2 gone now

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by 33anda3rd »

That Herradura is $266.67 frontline wholesale pricing for me, so it's a bit less for retail and yeah should land around $300 on the shelf. In Mexico it would probably be about the equivalent of $40-50US.

Michael, you should be able to get the 2014 Vintage of Tequila Ocho La Magueyera Extra Anejo for ~200. If Binny's doesn't have it you could ask them to order you one from the distributor, Tenzing, who for sure has it in stock. Chinaco Negro Extra Anejo is mighty tasty too, should land right around 200 retail.

Is this person who's getting the tequila gifts into mezcal or other agave spirits?

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by 33anda3rd »

Michael I was thinking more about this today. As an aside tomorrow is national tequila day so it’s a great time for an agave gift.

Here’s a thought. People who love tequila and like trying different bottles, usually love variety. Wine nerds love tequila because tequila...(I might have written this in another post please forgive me if this is redundant)...delivers terroir better than other distilled spirits. Distinct sense of place. When people talk about it they talk about location and farmer/distiller because they geek out on that. Tequila is often more about that bottle that they haven’t tried than it’s about price tag. That bottle that’s not available in the US or that is from a very small batch is something they covet more than the bottle they can get if they have the wallet for it. The story of place and topography rings with agave fans.

I’d seek out things that are hand-labeled with a batch or date and that come from good producers. I’d also suggest veering into some of the other agave spirits, especially the obscure ones, because that’s an opportunity to use the gift to introduce your tequila drinker to something he would like that’s not too far off from what he normally drinks. The thing I love is when a distributor rep or bartender puts something in front of me that I’ve never tried before: I like to taste things a lot and I’d bet your giftee does too. If you’d like some suggestions for raicilla or mezcal that are close in profile to tequila but a little different let me know.

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Re: Rant/Rave: Bourbon

Post by Swirls »

33, what would you recommend as a good value bourbon (on the previous page you listed Heaven Hill, but that's only available in KY)? Buffalo Trace is my go-to, but the wife is getting tired of me spending $25 on a bottle when she gets by with drinking well vodka and soda water like it's going out of style.

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