Whiskey TalkBeer Single Barrel Bourbon - A new barrel!

IN!!

 

Meghan's law aficionados?

 

IN?

 

We lucked out with some great barrels to pick between. Found one that was really just awesome, and I think you guys will love it. I'll recap the details later; cell service generally isn't fantastic here in Bardstown.

 

IN!

 

I feel like I should have had a jacket or a flannel button-up to leave open floor the last photo. #thecursethatisbeergeekcasual #shouldawornmyheels #toodamnshort

 

Still in

 

Is this where I say that I'm in?





































Because I'm in.

























































Still not sure. In?

 

The barrel only yielded 2 and a half bottles. Sorry guys.

 

Alright friends, I am finally back from Kentucky and ready to share the details.

First, a little background. My great friend of many years (Vercingetorix, AKA Joe) is getting married in the fall, and I have the tremendous honor of being his best man. He is a true lover of American whiskey - bourbon and rye alike - so it seemed just too obvious what we should do to celebrate. Joe, myself, and two other gentlemen (njdc2 and kep) in his wedding party set out for Kentucky on Thursday, driving 11 hours before arriving in Louisville, in time for a little ‘whiskey palate calibration’ and dinner.

We arrived at 9:45AM the next morning at the Four Roses warehousing & bottling location in Cox’s Creek. We pulled into the lot just as Jim Rutledge was getting out of his car. He led us into their brand new barrel selection room, where the ten barrels were there waiting for our arrival. This new room was a nicer and more formal setting than the one we encountered last year, in which we tasted from a lone table just off the bottling line floor.



We chatted with Jim and had a little Q&A while things were being set up, and then went one-by-one getting our glasses filled with samples straight from the barrels. There’s nothing quite like those little bits of barrel char in the bottom of each glass to remind you you’re drinking right from the source.

We did a first pass of smelling and tasting, then a second pass, and then revisited some individual samples. I realized pretty quickly that we had a great overall line-up - last time we were able to eliminate at least 3-4 on the first pass, but this time it seemed like at least eight of the barrels were really solid. Jim agreed that he had trouble kicking any of the samples out of the mix outright. That said, out of this very good line-up, there were three that did stand out as having something special.



We talked through the differences between these three, tasting, smelling, and re-tasting. As we deliberated over the course of the first hour, we noticed how a little air and a little time affected the samples. The candied orange peel that I had originally noted in the one was fleeting; it had almost completely faded, leaving a whiskey that was, while delicious, somewhat unremarkable. The black cherry in another had started to give way to a more traditional barrel character, which wasn’t a bad thing, but it had lost some of its unique charm.

After all this time, one of these three favorites - an OBSK at 10 years and 8 months of age - was still as alluring as it had been on the first sip. The nose is char & spice all the way. On the palate, it has a distinctly rich mouthfeel, leading with that spice again, balanced by waves of caramelized sugar, molasses, and subtle suggestions of candied fruit. As you roll it over the tongue and swallow, these waves lead into this seemingly everlasting finish, easing out from brown sugar to the slightest hint of ginger right at the end. I could drink this stuff all day.

Bottling will take place next month, and then the bottles will be available once they get to our partner out in California. We’re selling these through a different retailer this time, so the process will be a little different but should still be easy enough. I’ll follow up when we have more info. We are hoping to do the Barrel #003 pick as soon as October, so there will be more info on that in the coming months as well!

 

That's awesome. You're awesome. The barrel sounds AWESOME.

 

Sounds awesome!

 

For the love of God I am thirsty. Gimme dat bourbon!!

 

So there gonna be another barrel picked in Oct. that will be TB #3, what is this one gonna be called?

 

TBA

 

I'm so excited! And my wife is so mad! Best Memorial Day Ever!