2018 Brian’s Book and a Bottle™

Posted on December 2, 2018 by

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With the holidays upon us, avoid the awkwardness of lame host gifts and never knowing what to get for bosses, co-workers, and other hard-to-shop-for friends and family.  Brian’s Book and a Bottle™ has the right suggestion for everyone on your list:

For your business partner:  Bourbon Justice and Four Roses single barrel private selection.  These picks are straight from the barrel without any added water, so they are full of flavor and always memorable.  You’re clearly the brains of the business.

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For your impossible family member:  Bourbon Justice and Old Forester 1920.  Old Forester 1920 won the Bourbon Crusaders Best on the Shelf Bourbon of the Year.  Don’t try to be creative or spend a lot of time, just be 100% solid with this fantastic bourbon that you can get anywhere.

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For a host/hostess:  Bourbon Justice and Henry McKenna Bottled-in-Bond.  Running a close second place in the Bourbon Crusaders Best on the Shelf Bourbon of the Year, this bourbon will give you a chance to make small talk about history and the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 as discussed in Bourbon Justice.  And the bottle will be appreciated so much more than a glass ornament or random bottle of wine in a re-used Santa wine sack.

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For your boss or other authority figure:  Bourbon Justice and Booker’s.  The wooden box sends a message of respect and the barrel-strength robust bourbon inside sends a message of courage.  You just earned some props.

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The Bourbon Crusaders and Willett Set a New Bar for Fundraising.

Posted on November 5, 2018 by

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BREAKING NEWS:  The Bourbon Crusaders proved last Saturday something that true bourbon enthusiasts have known all along—the generosity of the bourbon community is limitless.  It’s not just about the bourbon.

In the third year of its annual charity event, The Bourbon Crusaders named Willett Distillery as its honored guest, which chose the American Cancer Society as this year’s beneficiary.  While the Willett Family Estate private selections may have drawn the crowd initially, Drew Kulsveen’s generosity captured everyone’s attention as he quadrupled his donation of a private barrel selection after four groups were each ready to pay over $40,000 each.

These incomparable donations, along with tremendous contributions from Wilderness Trail Distillery, Heaven Hill Distillers, Brown-Forman / Woodford Reserve—just to name a few more—resulted in over $335,000 in donations to the American Cancer Society!

It’s not just about the bourbon.

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Shock and Celebration

 

Posted on October 21, 2018 by

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I started the Sipp’n Corn® blog in August 2013 with one of my favorite bourbon lawsuits—the Pepper v. Labrot case from 1881.  The case captivated me because it told the true story that current-day marketers and tour guides didn’t tell.  I hosted Sipp’n Corn® on Google Blogger until November 2018 when Bourbon Justice was released, then I imported and categorized those old posts for this site.  Now I use this site to tell new stories of ancient bourbon lawsuits and to share reviews of as many bourbons as I can find.

Enjoy while you sip your corn!

Sipp’n Corn Tasting Notes—Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Bottled in Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Posted on August 27, 2018 by

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I reserved my bottle of the planned inaugural bourbon release from Wilderness Trail way back when it was called Wilderness Trace, before a certain Fireball-financed distillery seems to have complained that only it could use the word Trace for a distillery.  Long before the name of the Ancient Age Distillery was changed to evoke local history, the phrase Wilderness Trace existed as a descriptive geographic name for the area around Danville, Kentucky for over 100 years.  The area is known as the Wilderness Trace and numerous local businesses use Wilderness Trace in their names.
The files at the United States Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board reflect that the Wilderness Trace trademark was published in November 2013.  An attorney for Sazerac requested an extension of time to oppose Wilderness Trace in December 2013, and by January 2014, Wilderness Trace filed an abandonment of the trademark.  It looks like behind-closed-doors discussions occurred in late 2013 and early 2014 resulting in Trail being substituted for Trace, but fortunately, the artistic logo could still be used and is in fact used today.
I didn’t really know anything about the startup distillery when I reserved my bottle so I did my due diligence.  I learned about the scientific background of the owners and their successful business, Ferm Solutions, Inc., which provides research, product development, engineering and technical services to the fuel ethanol and distilled spirits industries.  These are the guys who work with over 200 brewers and distilleries worldwide to train and consult on fermentation, bacterial contamination, and distillation.
And now Shane Baker and Pat Heist are using that know-how to produce bourbon that instantly takes on established brands.  They have access to seemingly unlimited proprietary yeast strains, they’re using barrel-entry proof that had been unheard of for 100 years (110 proof for bourbon and 100 proof for rye), they have the discipline to use the sweet mash method instead of the more popular sour mash method, and they had the courage to plan on a single-barrel Bottled-in-Bond bourbon as their first whiskey release.  Plus, unlike so many startups and legacy distillers alike, Wilderness Trail didn’t invent any gimmicky origin story or legends.
The day finally came this past April when Wilderness Trail released its bourbon, which was celebrated with a “Taste of Danville” celebration complete with local food vendors, live music, tours, and—of course—tastings of bourbon and rye.  The majority of Wilderness Trail’s whiskey will continue to age toward a goal of six years, but this first limited edition release of 17 barrels (available with an optional polished wood gift box set) was aged for four years and was reserved for those who signed up early on.
Tasting Notes
Bourbon:
Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond
Barrel No. 14B28
Distillery:
Wilderness Trail Distillery
Age:
4 years
Mash Bill:
64% corn; 24% wheat; 12% malted barley
ABV:
50% (100 proof)
Cost:
$50.00
Appearance:
Brown side of amber.
Nose:
The aromas are almost all sweet, with prominent caramel and light fruit, vanilla, honey, and sweet spring wildflowers and honeysuckle.  After a little melt, ice changed the aromas to more malt and more herbal.
Taste:
The flavors are mostly consistent with the aromas, but not as sweet.  Caramel is the backbone again, with added layers of almond, dried fruit, cinnamon, and a slightly leathery, earthy flavor.  I preferred it neat; when I tried it with ice it seemed to taste younger and it lost depth.  But neat it’s easily my favorite new whiskey of 2018.
Finish:
Not hot, but a nice swell of caramel sweetness and cinnamon spice, drying by the end with a bit of clove for a medium-long finish.
Bottom Line
The future is bright for Wilderness Trail Distillery.  It’s amazing to me that after just four years they’ve surpassed plenty of other brands at the $50 price point that have been aged twice as long.  Maybe it’s the sweet mash or maybe it’s the highest percentage of wheat and lowest barrel-entry proof currently in production.  Or maybe it’s the marriage of science with tradition much in the same way that Dr. James Crow revolutionized the industry when he introduced the scientific discipline of his day.  And it’s a relief to see Wilderness Trial Distillery doing it right by being transparent and starting from scratch with their own distillate.
Don’t miss out on the second release in just a couple more weeks at the Kentucky State BBQ Festival held September 7-9 at Wilderness Trail Distillery.

Sipp’n Corn Tasting Notes – Peerless Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Posted on August 16, 2018 by

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As most whiskey fans already know, the father and son team of Corky and Carson Taylor revived the Peerless brand that their ancestor, Henry Kraver, started in 1889 in Henderson, Kentucky.  I hadn’t been able to visit Peerless—now located just west of Louisville’s downtown business district—until this past spring, and I quickly realized that I’ve been missing out.
Currently, all distillery operations and aging are in the same building, but as we saw, the aging warehouse area was full to the brim.  Peerless has two rickhouses nearing completion in neighboring Henry County, both using a single-story design with a capacity of 5,200 barrels each, that are expected to be ready this summer.  Part of what differentiates Peerless from almost all other distilleries is that it uses the sweet mash process.  The sour mash process—which is often credited to Dr. James Crow as one of the innovations he perfected around the 1830’s—uses backset from a previous fermentation run to jumpstart the next batch.  Sweet mash, however, involves steam sanitizing the fermentation tubs after each run and using only fresh yeast and grain.
Caleb Kilburn, the Head Distiller, is now officially one of my favorite people in the whiskey world.  He’s knowledgeable beyond his years, he has tremendous skill and gives straight answers while being personable.  After getting deep into the weeds about sweet mash, proof off the still and the doubler, barreling proof (107!), fermentation periods, and more, Caleb took us through a tasting of the award-winning two-year small batch Rye and three single barrels that highlight what he called the three flavor pillars of Peerless: oak & pepper, fruits & floral, and caramel & vanilla.  All are non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel strength.  My favorite was the single barrel with the sweet profile, which I bought at the gift shop.
My only complaint is that our tour guide, John, incorrectly stated that the old Peerless was one of the “lucky six distilleries to have a license during prohibition to sell medicinal whiskey.”  This line also used to be part of the Peerless story that the company was mistaken about, but I thought that it had been sufficiently corrected by folks like Maggie Kimberl (see Maggie’s article here) by early 2017.  The six (of ten authorized) medicinal licenses were issued to the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery, the American Medicinal Spirits Company (via Old Overholt), Brown-Forman, Frankfort Distilling Company (acquired by the Paul Jones Company in 1922), Glenmore Distillery, and Schenley Distillers.  Peerless was not one of those six licensees.  And just like the other shuttered distilleries, Peerless stocks were consolidated into government warehouses and sold as medicinal whiskey.  The banner news here is that Corky and Carson had the love and the drive to revive Peerless, so why not focus on that without the licensee distraction?
Whiskey:
Peerless Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Distillery:
Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.
Mash bill:
Undisclosed (but more than the minimum 51% rye grain and less than truly high rye)
Age:
26 months and 15 days
ABV:
53.9% (107.8 proof)
Cost:
$120.00 (gift shop)
Appearance:
Medium amber; darker and creamier than I expected.
Nose:
Sweet caramel and vanilla galore along with fresh-baked iced cinnamon rolls.  There aren’t any obvious youthful aromas and it has more bourbon aroma than what I would expect from a rye whiskey.
Taste:
Carmel and vanilla as advertised, along with deeper flavors like oak and tobacco, light rye, and baking spice, delivered with a creamy mouthfeel.  It’s missing any pronounced pepper and spicier rye, but that’s precisely why this single barrel was selected—to showcase a distinctly sweet profile.
Finish:
Medium finish with noticeable grain coming through while retaining a sweet, satisfying warmth.
Bottom Line
I really enjoyed this Rye, and I don’t qualify it as “great for a two-year Rye.”  I never would have been able to guess its age.  While Peerless is proof that young whiskeys can be remarkable, rest assured this won’t be confused for a whiskey with a dozen or more years in the barrel.  They’ll definitely be different, and I might like them for different reasons, but more age doesn’t always mean better whiskey—just like a higher price doesn’t always mean better whiskey, which is where you have to be careful with Peerless.  The price is going to stop many purchasers in their tracks, but that’s probably the only thing preventing it from being out of stock.
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