Brian Haara
Bourbon. Law. Author.
Sipp’n Corn Bourbon Review – Elijah Craig 12-year Barrel Proof Batch B517
The original 2013 white-label/red-12 Elijah Craig 12-year Barrel Proof (129.7 proof) has been my standard-bearer for all subsequent EC12BPs. Some of those that followed nearly matched it, some packed too much heat, and none of them really surpassed it. My first taste of Heaven Hill’s May 2017 batch (“B” for the second batch of the year, “5” for the month, and “17” for the year) might have provided a new standard.
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Bourbon:
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Elijah Craig 12-year Barrel Proof Batch B517
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Distillery:
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Heaven Hill, Bardstown and Louisville, Kentucky
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Age:
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12 years
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ABV:
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62.1% (124.2 proof)
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Cost:
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$65.00-ish
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Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly sent me a sample
for this review, without any strings attached.
Thank you.
Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Brown side of amber with a red hue showing its age.
Nose:
The aromas are simple, leading with oak, and balanced with green tea, cocoa, butterscotch, praline, baking spice, and a hint of tropical fruit.
Taste:
The palate is where this Elijah Craig Barrel Proof shines, causing me to utter an audible “WOW” when I tried it. There’s a huge blast of flavors beyond the standard caramel; there’s also brown sugar and honey on the sweet side, balanced by earthiness, tobacco, black pepper, and oaky notes with a cinnamon kick, for a fantastic experience.
Finish:
The long finish has a great swell and gentle fade with rye spice and black pepper, but without a discernable gear shifting of some finishes.
Bottom Line
From the first sip to the end of the finish, this Elijah Craig batch is a remarkable Bourbon, approaching that 2013 white label. It should be on the shelves now, but it won’t be for long, so don’t delay.
Score on The Sipp’n Corn Scale: 4.0
The Sipp’n Corn Scale:
1 – Swill. I might dump the bottle, but will probably save it for my guests who mix with Coke.
2 – Hits the minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.
3 – Solid Bourbon with only minor shortcomings. Glad to own and enjoy.
4 – Excellent Bourbon. Need to be hyper-critical to find flaws. I’m lucky to have this.
5 – Bourbon perfection. I’ll search high and low to get another bottle of this.
Sipp’n Corn Bourbon Review – Bulleit Barrel Strength 2017
I was a big fan of the 2016 inaugural release of Bulleit Barrel Strength, which was a Kentucky-only release. For 2017, Bulleit has expanded distribution to also include Texas, California, Oregon, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Colorado and Washington DC. The proof of my sample of Batch 2 is virtually indistinguishable compared to Batch 1 (0.4 difference), but it has its own distinct characteristics, and according to Bulleit, other batches will likely range between 120 and 125 proof.
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Bourbon:
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Bulleit Barrel Strength (Batch 2)
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Distillery:
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Unstated
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Age:
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Unstated
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ABV:
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59.7% (119.4 proof)
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Cost:
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$59.99
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Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly sent me a sample
for this review, without any strings attached.
Thank you.
Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Golden-amber.
Nose:
Swirling intense aromas of rye, baking spice, gingerbread cookies, tobacco barn, and cinnamon candies tell me to get ready for some serious spice. Air in the glass (and also after a week in the bottle) toned down these spicy aromas.
Taste:
The flavors hit high on the intensity scale with sharpness and the predicted rye spice, balanced out by spring grasses, toffee, maple syrup, and oak. Air time resulted in more creaminess on the palate, so I suggest giving it time to breathe.
Finish:
Medium finish, overall dry, and gives the oak its turn to shine.
Bottom Line
The 2017 edition of Bulleit Barrel Strength is destined to be a crowd-pleaser. Bartenders and fans of cocktails that retain Bourbon’s flavor without getting lost in the ice and mixers should flock to this, but it’s also great for sipping by the campfire this summer. Bulleit’s profile begs for barrel strength, so I’m glad that Tom and his team gave us another year of this expression.
Score on The Sipp’n Corn Scale: 3.5
The Sipp’n Corn Scale:
1 – Swill. I might dump the bottle, but will probably save it for my guests who mix with Coke.
2 – Hits the minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.
3 – Solid Bourbon with only minor shortcomings. Glad to own and enjoy.
4 – Excellent Bourbon. Need to be hyper-critical to find flaws. I’m lucky to have this.
5 – Bourbon perfection. I’ll search high and low to get another bottle of this.
Kentucky Bourbon Affair – A True Bourbon Fantasy Camp.
As the 2017 Kentucky Bourbon Affair (June 6-11) draws near, I was reminiscing with friends about last year’s event, where I started by going in-depth at Four Roses, tried pre-prohibition T.W. Samuels the following evening, and wrapped up the next day by shooting skeet with Eddie Russell at Wild Turkey.
On the Four Roses trip, Al Young was our surprise MC for the bus ride from Louisville to Lawrenceburg. He regaled us with Four Roses stories from the past 50 years and passed around historical documents for the research fanatics amongst the group. It made the short trip pass even faster, and before we knew it, Brent Elliott was greeting us for a Q & A session followed by an in-depth tour of the distillery. We learned every step of the distillation process, and could see the planned expansion taking shape.
After lunch and a tasting of Yellow Label, Small Batch, Single Barrel, and Elliott’s Select Limited Edition guided by Brent, I had the chance to get into the weeds with him about the use of other yeast strains and citric acid, which he said was the first time he’d ever discussed those issues with a consumer. Then we all headed to Cox’s Creek for a demonstration of the barrel dumping and bottling facility, along with a tour of their unique single-story warehouses.
The next day, after another trip to Four Roses with the Mellow Moments group and getting the first opportunity to buy a bottle of Elliott’s Select Limited Edition, my wife and I, along with several friends, headed out to Rob Samuels’ home for dinner and a tasting of century-old T.W. Samuels. Rob’s hospitality rivaled his father’s (in 2015 I went to a crab and crawfish boil at Bill, Jr.’s home with the Bourbon Affair; read about it here), and we heard Rob’s perspective on growing up in the Maker’s Mark world, the development of Maker’s 46, and the Maker’s 46 private barrels that were just starting to be released. But the focus of the Bourbon tasting was taking a sip through time with a 1917 bottle of T.W. Samuels made by the Samuels family long before the Maker’s Mark brand existed.
Legend has it that Bill, Sr. burned the old family recipe when he struck out on his own to form Maker’s Mark, and if this 1917 bottle represented the old recipe, then Bill, Sr. did us all a huge favor. While maybe we can blame oxidation over the passage of time, “wet cardboard” is the best way to describe this old whiskey. I had to cleanse my palate and get back to Maker’s 46 ASAP.
Last but not least, Wild Turkey was an absolute blast, literally. This event was perfect for me to bring along a great friend and client (who inquired into whether he could bring his own shotgun). We had expert marksmen guide us through skeet shooting, and teach us the finer points of the sport. After an in-depth tour of the distillery led by Eddie Russell, we were treated to lunch with Jimmy and Eddie, along with a guided tasting of Diamond Anniversary, Master’s Keep, and Decades before heading home.
If standard 30 minute tours leave you wanting more, check out the 2017 Kentucky Bourbon Affair, and you won’t be disappointed.
Sipp’n Corn Bourbon Review – Trader Joe’s Kentucky Bourbon
Updated April 11, 2017: A Public Relations Manager who saw this review emailed me today to state that Trader Joe’s Bourbon “is from Bardstown and is Barton juice,” and she asked me to update this post accordingly. Thank you for answering the question about the source.
Tax day is around the corner again, so it’s back to the bottom shelf for me until I snap out of my annual funk, or until I realize that many bottom shelf whiskies are there for a reason.
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Bourbon:
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Trader Joe’s Kentucky Bourbon Straight Whiskey
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Distillery:
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The label claims that it was “Distilled by Bourbon Square Distilling Company, Louisville, KY” but there is no such distillery in Kentucky, let alone in Louisville.
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Age:
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NAS, so it should be at least four years old
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ABV:
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45% ABV (90 proof)
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Cost:
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$15.00
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Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Slightly on the brown side of standard amber.
Nose:
Grain, corn sweetness, some vanilla, a little pepper, only a little rye grain, and not much oak.
Taste:
The taste is young-ish, with some standard caramel and other standard Bourbony-flavors, but nothing much stands out. It was uninspiring neat, and an ice cube or water muted whatever favorable flavors existed in the first place. I also tried it in Kentucky Mules, where the ginger, mint, and lime took the lead and made Trader Joe’s Bourbon perfectly serviceable.
Finish:
Short and on the verge of bitter.
Bottom Line
First, for the source, a 2013 promotion on Trader Joe’s website states that its Bourbon is sourced from Bardstown, Kentucky. A few reviews claim that Trader Joe’s Bourbon is sourced from Barton, which would be consistent with the company’s promotion, but inconsistent with the label, which represents that it is “distilled by Bourbon Square Distillers, Louisville, KY.” A third option we could believe is the source filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State, which shows that Bourbon Square Distillers is actually an assumed name of Buffalo Trace, with Buffalo Trace’s address in Frankfort, Kentucky. Which is it, Bardstown, Louisville, or Frankfort?
Sadly, this Bourbon wasn’t good enough for me to care about the brand’s conflicting representations. If you want cheap Bourbon for a mixer and you think that Trader Joe’s is a cool store, go for it. Otherwise, Trader Joe’s Bourbon is a hard pass. You’re better off with Four Roses Yellow Label, Wild Turkey 101, or Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond, just to name a few.
Score on The Sipp’n Corn Scale: 1.5
The Sipp’n Corn Scale:
1 – Swill. I might dump the bottle, but will probably save it for my guests who mix with Coke.
2 – Hits the minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.
3 – Solid Bourbon with only minor shortcomings. Glad to own and enjoy.
4 – Excellent Bourbon. Need to be hyper-critical to find flaws. I’m lucky to have this.
5 – Bourbon perfection. I’ll search high and low to get another bottle of this.
Sipp’n Corn Review – Minor Case Sherry Cask Finished Straight Rye
While Limestone Branch continues to distill and age its own whiskies (and while it expands), its partnership with Luxco has given Steve and Paul Beam access to additional sourced whiskey – this time Straight Rye Whiskey from Indiana. Just as Limestone Branch was transparent with its previous releases of sourced Bourbon while resurrecting the family heritage of Yellowstone, Minor Case honors their family heritage and their grandfather Minor Case Beam with similar transparency.
Coincidentally, Luxco has also just released a two-year Rye, so the starting point of these two whiskies could be the same, although MGP has different Rye mash bills. One clear difference is in the finishing at Limestone Branch. Additionally, an aesthetic difference is in the packaging; the bottle for Minor Case Rye is absolutely beautiful. In fact, I can’t think of another whiskey bottle that makes such an impression. I was interested to see whether a two-year Rye could be as impressive as its appearance.
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Whiskey:
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Minor Case Sherry-Finished Straight Rye
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Distillery:
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Finished and bottled by Limestone Branch Distillery, Lebanon, Ky.
Distilled in Indiana, so presumably MGP
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Age:
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2 years
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ABV:
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45% (90 proof)
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Cost:
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$49.99
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Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Light amber, but darker than typical two-year old whiskey, presumably a more subtle contribution of sherry cask finishing.
Nose:
Great fruity nose with berries and light fruit like pear, and an enticing balance of rye spice. There is not much oak influence, but that is to be expected. Lack of oak, however, does not mean that has aromas like many young whiskies. Perhaps again because of the sherry influence, this does not smell like a young whiskey.
Taste:
Like the nose—and just as expected given the age—this is not an oaky Rye, but frankly it doesn’t need oak. Flavors of peaches, apricot, brown sugar, coffee cake with icing, and a hint of raisin make this a predominantly sweet Rye. The rye spice is warming, which tells me that this is not MGP’s 95% rye mash bill; it drinks more like a really high-rye Bourbon, but that also might be the sherry cask influence. This whiskey feels older because of its warming and coating sensations, without the telltale signs of being a relatively young whiskey. I would never have guessed the age.
Finish:
Crisp to medium finish, with a swell of cinnamon, dried fruit sweetness, and cocoa.
Bottom Line
Sherry casks have been a huge part of Scotch Whisky, but not so much with Bourbon or Rye Whiskey. My only other point for comparison is the Canadian Rye Alberta Premium Dark Horse, which actually blends in a little bit of Oloroso Sherry. That one was a little too unbalanced for my liking, but Limestone Branch found a fantastic balance, which I hope can be duplicated in future batches. I’ll be interested to see whether Limestone Branch tries the same finishing approach if Luxco can get access to older stocks from MGP. Can you imagine a Rye NCF barrel-strength equivalent of Aberlour a’bunadh?
In the meantime, Minor Case Sherry-Finished Rye is a winner. It’s so good that I wonder why sherry cask finishing hasn’t been more popular with American Rye producers.
Brian Haara 