Louisville has had a thriving restaurant scene for decades, which has paired perfectly with our love of Bourbon.  Now, just east of downtown in the Butchertown neighborhood – and a stone’s throw from Copper and Kings – Butchertown Grocery is our newest culinary star, with Chef Bobby Benjamin nailing the interplay between creativity and approachability.

Butchertown Grocery also has an ambitious beverage program headed by Marie Zahn.  While still working on expanding its Bourbon selection, Butchertown Grocery opened with fantastic cocktail options, including entirely different cocktail menus downstairs and upstairs; downstairs focuses on classic cocktails and upstairs is more modern and adventurous.  The upstairs cocktail menu is helpfully arranged from easiest-drinking to strongest, and sweet to dry, plus, a bespoke cocktail program allows guests to choose three words from a menu, which are then used to create a custom cocktail.

I went back to Butchertown Grocery for Bourbon, though, and the Old Forester Single Barrel Private Selection in particular, to see if the Bourbon selection could match the culinary side of the menu.

Reddish amber, but the room was dark.

Rich caramel, honey, and candle wax up front, followed by pecans (reminiscent of the classic New Orleans Praline), and balanced with slight leather.

Caramel and honey sweetness are the primary features, dominating the sweet profile (without any fruit sweetness).  The rye comes through nicely, along with leather and polished wood as hinted in the aroma, and toasted candied nuts.  It’s not particularly complex or assertive, which should make it a crowd-pleaser.

The finish was medium in length, with nice, lingering warmth.  Oak became more noticeable in the finish, without being overly-woody.  While the finish was overall dry, it still had a pleasant fading caramel sweetness and a hint of fig pastry.

Old Forester is sometimes lovingly referred to as “Louisville’s House Bourbon,” and for good reason.  It is one of the absolute best values on the quality/cost matrix, and when you drink as much Bourbon as we do in Kentucky, not everything can be a Limited Edition.  Old Forester works well in cocktails (especially the Old Fashioned), neat, or on ice, which isn’t true of all Bourbons.

It’s always nice to mix it up between the different Old Forester proof options, an occasional Birthday Bourbon Limited Edition, and great private barrels like Butchertown Grocery’s.  This private barrel had less of the corn flavors than I typically find in both the 86 proof and 100 proof Old Forester options, and none of the fruitiness, but it had much more caramel, which is one of the dynamics that I love about single barrels.

After proofing down, the barrel produced 225 bottles, so you’ll have several months to try this Old Forester at Butchertown Grocery.  On the other hand, there’s really no reason to wait when both the restaurant and the Bourbon are outstanding.

By the fall release season of 2013, Bourbon’s popularity had already been surging for a decade.  While it had legitimately developed into a “craze” about two years earlier, 2013 was just about the time that truly limited edition Bourbon became nearly impossible to find in Kentucky.  The market hadn’t yet been flooded with 50 new “super-premium” brands or previously “lost” barrels, and brands like W. L. Weller 12-year were still four deep on shelves.  Unfortunately, Weller 12 was just being discovered by a new breed of Pappy histrionics who were hearing that Weller 12 “was the same thing as Pappy.”

Demand was skyrocketing for Buffalo Trace’s wheated Bourbon mash bill – which Buffalo Trace desperately needed to succeed since it was just about out of its Stitzel-Weller stock used for Pappy Van Winkle 20 and 23-year.  Apparently, however, Buffalo Trace had underestimated demand for longer-aged wheated Bourbon, so it had sacrificed the seven-year age statements on Old Weller Antique and W. L. Weller Special Reserve.  Weller 12 was also rumored to be discontinued or dropping its age statement, presumptively because more needed to be held back for more profitable brands.

While fans are now dealing with Weller 12 allocations, instant cleaning of shelves when it or Old Weller Antique are released, and a high secondary market, at least Weller 12 didn’t lose its age statement then (or since).  The other member of the Weller line that continued to receive high acclaim was the wheated member of its popular Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (“BTAC”), William Larue Weller.

In 2013, Buffalo Trace set aside 39 barrels for William Larue Weller.  At 12 years old, these barrels could have been used for Weller 12 (90 proof) or Van Winkle Special Reserve 12-year (90.4 proof), and gone a lot further.  On average, about 55% of each barrel had been lost to evaporation (meaning just about 23.7 gallons per barrel), but I suppose that BTAC pricing for barrel proof Bourbon makes up for fewer bottles.  Here are my thoughts:

Distillery:  Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky

Age:  NAS label, but 12 years, 1 month

Barrel:  Independent Stave #4 Char

Barrel Entry Proof:  114

Bottle Proof:  136.2

Warehouses:  M and P, 3^rd and 4^thFloors

Filtration:  None

Cost:  MSRP $80.00

Dark, luscious amber.

This is a sweet nose with the expected caramel notes, and other sweet notes of brown sugar and butterscotch, but with depth added with aromas of raisins, espresso, and tobacco.  Despite the high proof, I didn’t really get any alcohol burn.

I tried to find similarities in the taste alongside Weller 12, and while there are some (like butterscotch, caramel, and fresh bread), even without considering the distractingly high proof of Weller BTAC, they seem barely related.  I did not particularly enjoy this Weller BTAC neat, and I struggled to find the correct ratio of water, but found that a single ice globe worked magic, retaining complexity and opening up new flavors.  The sweet caramel and butterscotch flavors were heightened, along with other rich sweetness like dried dark fruits.  There’s also a nutty quality, along with cinnamon with a blast of oak and tobacco.  With right amount of water and chill, it’s a rich and robust powerhouse.

The warmth outlasted the flavors on the finish, which was overall dry with more leather, pepper spice, and really dark chocolate as it faded.

Although we’re hardly removed from it, I think that we’ll look back at the summer of 2013 as the point when the Bourbon craze turned into Bourbon pandemonium.  Since then, Buffalo Trace has pumped out press releases of doom and gloom for the shortages of its premium brands, age statements have dropped like flies (but sometimes numerals remain on the bottle), and old over-filtered stocks have flooded the market in an attempt to capitalize on the resurgence of Bourbon.

Value-wise, though I really enjoyed it, this isn’t worthy of the hype or worth the trouble to hunt because there are plenty of cask-strength alternatives now.  Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, for example, is readily available, and while it is a little younger, it will satisfy your need for a wheated high-proof Bourbon.  Either way, you can count me as one more person who is done hunting for the Antique Collection.  Just let me reserve the right to change my mind.

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.

Wild Turkey has been making a push over the past two years to enter the “super premium” (and super-expensive) segment by offering a series of limited edition bottlings, starting with Diamond Anniversary, then Master’s Keep, and most recently Russell’s Reserve 1998.  Brands usually cannot make the jump straight from mid-priced offerings to super-premium limited editions, so Wild Turkey laid a nice foundation over many years with Russell’s Reserve and Kentucky Spirit.

Wild Turkey made another smart decision in the past few years to start a private barrel program for Russell’s Reserve and Kentucky Spirit, which helped increase its profile and buzz.  Wild Turkey had always puzzled me a little with its market strategy of having three brands (these two plus Rare Breed) all priced within reach of each other.  That seems to cannibalize itself, when perhaps instead Kentucky Spirit or Russell’s Reserve could be reserved for limited bottling runs, and of course a higher price, giving a cleaner progression between those three labels.

The plain bottle for Russell’s Reserve seems to send the message that it is intended to be not quite as “premium” as the stunning art deco Kentucky Spirit bottle, but that’s not where I’ve landed in the past between the two.  Regardless, I like the standard bottle of both of these, and had high hopes for these private selection bottles.

The Russell’s Reserve is a bit darker, as should be expected due to the lack of chill filtration, one year longer in the barrel, and less water added.  Russell’s Reserve is dark amber with a tinge of reddish-brown, whereas Kentucky Spirit is more of a standard medium amber.

Russell’s Reserve had a better nose, with more caramel and oak, and far more robust.  Kentucky Spirit’s nose was overall faint, with plenty of corn, fresh grass, vanilla, and honey.  The edge goes to Russell’s Reserve because of its deeper aromas, but both were enjoyable.

Russell’s Reserve was creamy with a nice blast of caramel and flavors of oak, leather, tobacco, and baking spice.  Kentucky Spirit was thin and less robust in comparison.  Prominent flavors were corn, some pepper spice and cinnamon, along with a little honey, vanilla, and lemon zest, but not enough oak to write home about.  Once again, between the two, the more robust Russell’s Reserve takes the edge.

The finish of Russell’s reserve was overall dry, with good balance and great warmth.  I was looking for a longer finish, but it was medium at best, and even then it had to linger to get there.  Kentucky Spirit’s finish was mostly sweet and on the shorter side, but perfectly pleasant in its own right (perhaps a finish that would be preferable for someone new to Bourbon).  For me, it was an easy call in favor of Russell’s Reserve.

Before you buy private selection barrels, see if your store has samples available.  Although I could have, I didn’t try either of these ahead of time.  If I had tried them, in hindsight, I might have bought three Russell’s Reserves instead of two, and I would have passed on the private selection Kentucky Spirit, but maybe bought the standard issue instead, knowing that I couldn’t have gone wrong with Jimmy and Eddie making the picks.

The choice between Russell’s Reserve and Kentucky Spirit is easy for me; I knew that ahead of time though (hence buying two Russell’s Reserves out of the gate).  Now both Russell’s Reserves are empty, and the Kentucky Spirit is still half full.  Regardless, I’ve liked the standard Kentucky Spirit much better than this private barrel, and would expect future ratings to be higher.

Kentucky Spirit Private Selection Barrel No. 44:  2.5

Russell’s Reserve Private Selection Barrel No. 57:  3.0

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.

Private selection barrels are hot items.  Retailers, serious whiskey bars, and local whiskey societies desperately want them.  Unfortunately, the demand has resulted in some distilleries being overbooked, some are low on available stock, some give a take-it-or-leave-it option of barrels that are nothing special, and some have had to suspend their barrel selection program.

For the most part, the barrels offered for selection are going to be superior barrels.  This does not mean, however, that privately-selected Bourbon is going to taste better than the standard issue of that brand.  Sometimes private barrels are not better, they’re just different.  Oftentimes, they can essentially taste the same as the standard, less expensive bottles, and occasionally, they’re disappointing because they’re not as good as the standard offering.

A private selection can be disappointing due to the lack of experience of the selection team, or because their personal preferences are a little off, and you can end up with a Bourbon that is too bitter, bland, or unbalanced.  Additionally, very few distilleries permit bottling of private selections at barrel strength, so when proof is taken down, the flavors in the private selection change and it might not taste anything like it did straight from the barrel, so the selection team has to toy with adding the right amount of water.  The key is that consumers need to look for private barrels from palates they trust.

In some circumstances the stars line up, a knowledgeable selection team has access to enough barrels, and fate includes a true honey barrel in the mix.  A quick Twitter survey (thanks for all of the tweets!) came up with a great list of retailers and bars who have selected your favorite private barrels.  Four Roses, Smooth Ambler, and Willett (whose program is now on a hiatus) absolutely dominated your tweets, with an occasional Old Weller Antique, Knob Creek, Woodford Double Oaked, and a few others rounding out the list.

Some of these private barrels are known by the people who selected them, like Doug Philips – whose Rye selection is spoken of in legendary terms – and newer selection groups, particularly the Bourbon Crusaders.  On rare occasions, private barrels are known by their own name, like “Wheated Warrior” and “Aged Truth.”

Certain retail stores have gained a reputation through consistently great picks across all distilleries, like Liquor Barn, or an award-winning selection, like Crown Liquors with its 2014 Four Roses OBSK pick.  Bars and restaurants with private barrel programs can become renowned for their picks too, like many Louisville establishments (as should be expected), but non-Kentucky players, too.  Dry 85 in Annapolis, for example, has an outstanding private barrel program, but it goes a step further and has also worked with Angel’s Envy on developing unique private blends.

Consumers are starting to look not just for any private barrels, but for barrels with particular characteristics, like OBSK and OESK barrels aged on the East side of Warehouse M at Four Roses (“ME” barrels), and odd 65 gallon barrels stored upright at Heaven Hill for 15 years (which became part of mysterious private barrel of Heaven Hill Select Stock).  Keep an eye and an ear tuned for these kinds of tips because this sort of information can help give the consumer confidence that the extra money will be worth it.

I haven’t been lucky enough to try any of the Doug Philips selections, Wheated Warrior, or Aged Truth, but I’ve been amazed by the quality of private barrels that are more readily available.  Some of my favorite private barrels over the past several years (not necessarily ranked in order) have included:

What has been your favorite private barrel selection?  Which retailers and restaurants or whiskey bars routinely stock the best private barrels?  Your Twitter responses gave the following stops for an epic road trip across the U.S.:

Liquor Barn (Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Danville, KY)

Haymarket Whiskey Bar (Louisville, KY)

Down One Bourbon Bar (Louisville, KY)

Bourbon’s Bistro (Louisville, KY)

Westport Whiskey & Wine (Louisville, KY)

Cork ‘N Bottle (Crescent Springs, KY)

The Party Source (Bellevue, KY)

D.E.P.’s Fine Wine & Spirits (Cincinnati, OH and northern KY)

The Livery (Lexington, KY)

Julio’s Liquors (Wesborough, MA)

Joyal’s Liquors (West Warick, RI)

Dry 85 (Annapolis, MD)

McScrooge’s (Knoxville, TN)

Bottles Beverage Superstore (Mt. Pleasant, SC)

Decatur Package (Decatur, GA)

Lincoln Road Package Store (Hattiesburg, MS)

Nasa Liquor (Houston, TX)

Big Red Liquors (Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Bloomington, IN)

Crown Liquors (Indianapolis, IN)

Liquor Locker (Evansville, IN)

Tippins Market (Ann Arbor, MI)

Antioch Fine Wine (Antioch, IL)

Binny’s Beverage Depot (all over Chicago, IL)

West Lakeview Liquor (Chicago, IL)

Warehouse Liquors (Chicago, IL)

South Lyndale Liquors (Minneapolis, MN)

Ken & Norm’s Liquors (Minneapolis, MN)

Davidsons Liquors (Highlands Ranch, CO)

Hard Water (San Francisco, CA)

Elixir Saloon (San Francisco, CA)

Which stores or bars are missing from this Twitter list?  Please add your favorites in the comments below.  Cheers!