Bourbons And Biscuits!
- 1792 Ridgemont Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 46.85% ABV $66.99 750 ml.
Barton 1792 Distillery was established in 1879 and continues today as the oldest fully-operating Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Situated in heart of bourbon country on 196 acres, the Distillery boasts 29 barrel aging warehouses, 22 other buildings including an impressive still house, and the legendary Tom Moore Spring. It is named in honor of the year Kentucky joined the United States. 1792 Small Batch Bourbon is a higher-end bourbon from Barton, itself one of a number of bourbon brands owned by Sazerac. It’s aged eight years. Mashbill: 75% Corn, 15% Rye, and 10% Barley. Distiller’s Notes: unmistakable spice mingles with sweet caramel and vanilla. Brash and bold, yet smooth and balanced.
- Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey 45% abv. $42.99 750 ml.
Augustus Bulleit, a tavern keeper in 1830’s Louisville, was dedicated to a single goal: the creation of a unique bourbon. After countless experiments, he perfected his recipe. One fateful day, while transporting his barrels of bourbon from Kentucky to New Orleans, Augustus Bulleit vanished. What happened is still unknown, and his creation nearly disappeared into history along with him. However, in 1987, Thomas E. Bulleit Jr. fulfilled a lifelong dream of reviving his great-great grandfather’s bourbon recipe by starting the Bulleit Distilling Company. While Augustus never sold his product, Tom (working with Four Roses) first started producing his version of this "Frontier Whiskey" around 1987. Mashbill: 68% Corn, 28% Rye, 4% Malted Barley. Distiller’s Notes: Medium amber in color, with gentle spiciness and sweet oak aromas. Mid-palate is smooth, with tones of maple, oak, and nutmeg. Finish is long, dry and satiny with a light toffee flavor.
- Jim Beam Bonded Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 50% abv. $39.99 750 ml.
In 1740, The Boehm family emigrated from Germany, and changed their name to Beam, because it was easier to pronounce in the new world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition), seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production. In 1880, the whiskey was called “Old Tub”, and it was one of the first brands to be marketed nationally. In 1943, the name of the spirit was changed to “Jim Beam” in honor of Colonel James B. Beam, and the name stuck. The term ‘bonded’ has long been associated with quality assurance. That association comes from pre-prohibition times when ‘bourbon regulations’ was somewhat of an oxymoron. The Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897 put a stop to the shenanigans. Jim Beam Bonded is one of the latest editions of Jim Beam to come out of the famed Kentucky distillery. The Jim Beam bonded bourbon follows the letter of the Bottled in Bond Act. It's bottled at 100 proof, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse and produced in a single distillery season at a single distillery. Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley. Distiller’s Notes: Aroma: oaky notes with a background of vanilla and caramel. Flavor: oak spiciness, medium bodied with a balanced flavor.
- Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon 44% abv. $74.99 750 ml.
Brad and Kate Mead are the founders of Wyoming Whiskey (2009) and keepers of the family ranching tradition begun in 1890, to this day overseeing the Spring Gulch and Kirby ranches. They pride themselves as independent, family-owned whiskey makers in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. As they state on their website: “Our company and products are a collaboration between our partners and 97,818 square miles of Wyoming. The state defines us; it’s in our blood and in our whiskey.” Perhaps not surprisingly, all of the grain -- corn, barley, and wheat -- used in the distilling process is sourced from within 100 miles of Kirby, Wyoming, as is the water. The corn, wheat, and barley are hand-selected, non-GMO. It’s a real “farm-to bottle-to table” small batch bourbon: each label is hand numbered with the bottling date and lot. The bourbon is aged a minimum five years in the unique Wyoming climate: hard cold winters, baking hot summers. Mash bill: 68% Corn, 20% Wheat, 12% Malt Barley. Distiller’s Notes: Color: dark amber. Nose: floral, with a hint of vanilla bean and caramel pudding. Palate: floral with brown baking spices and browned butter, vanilla crème, caramel, and a hint of cinnamon. Mouthfeel: light and smooth with vanilla bean and cinnamon spice filling the mouth cavity, hint of mint. Finish: medium length finish with toffee. Spice and vanilla fade.
- Cyrus Noble Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey 45% abv. $56.99 750 ml.
The story of Cyrus Noble Bourbon is rooted in San Francisco and the boomtown years of the California Gold Rush. After a failed attempt to strike it rich in California’s mines, the adventurous Cyrus Noble returned to his home in Ohio. He took a job with a local distillery, where he soon became a superintendent and perfected his tasting and blending skills. In 1871, a new whiskey was commissioned under Cyrus’ name, and his claim to fame came not from a mine, but as the namesake of the most sought after Kentucky Whiskey of the San Francisco Gold Rush. Haas Brothers of San Francisco, a family owned grocery enterprise, and purveyor (read negociant) of spirits since 1851, has distributed the brand for almost 100 years. Cyrus Noble Bourbon Whiskey is a 90 Proof straight Bourbon produced in Kentucky and aged five years in new American white oak barrel casks in San Francisco. Mash bill: 75% Corn, 17% Rye, 8% Malted Barley. Distiller’s Notes: Cyrus Noble Bourbon is rich and velvety with notes of caramel, toasted hazelnut and buttery toffee. Craft distilled in small batches from the family mash bill recipe.
- Wild Turkey Russell`s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon 10 yr. 48% abv. $54.99 750 ml.
Russell’s Reserve 10 is named after Wild Turkey’s Jimmy Russell. It was launched commemorating his 45th anniversary in 1999. Originally intended to be a one off to commemorate the anniversary, it proved to be the progenitor of the Russell’s Reserve 10 yr. It’s selected by Jimmy and his son Eddie who have nearly 90 combined years of experience. Mash bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley. After the grains are mashed and fermented, they are distilled to a lower proof than at other distilleries in Kentucky, meaning that less water is used in diluting the bourbon before it is matured and bottled. Following distillation, the bourbon is aged for at least 10 years in virgin American oak casks that have been charred with a #4 char (a heavy, “alligator hide” char). Distiller’s Notes: Bottled at 90 proof, this hand selected small batch bourbon has a rich, caramel and vanilla taste and a uniquely smooth finish.
- Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 43.3% abv. $56.99 750 ml.
Evan Williams was known as a jack-of-all-trades, but he seemed truly to master one: turning corn into smooth whiskey. And Kentucky grew a lot of corn. So Evan made the best use of this abundant crop that he could think of: distill it. Realizing the potential of his whiskey, he set up his distillery on the banks of the Ohio River. According to the Bourbon Heritage Center, he built one of the first commercial distilleries in Kentucky back in 1783 on 5th Street in Louisville. Williams would become the standard for quality in the bourbon world. The 2004 Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon is the latest edition in a series going back 19 years. For this vintage the distillers went with a character that is a bit more assertive and bold than in years past, selecting barrels that sit a bit higher up in the warehouses where the temperature gradients over the 9 or 10 years of aging are a bit more extreme. Because it’s a vintage dated bourbon, each bottle is marked with the vintage date it was put into oak, along with the year it was bottled and the exact serial number of the single barrel that the Bourbon was drawn from. Mash bill: hard to find. Distiller’s Notes: Color: Delicate amber gold. Nose: Dark caramel, sweet oak, charred wood. Taste: Lush, spicy; oak with honey, apple and orange notes. Finish: Long, graceful and relaxed.
- Buffalo Trace Eagle Rare Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 yr. 45% abv. $64.99 750 ml.
In Kentucky, buffalo carved a pathway that was followed by America's early pioneers. On the spot where the buffalo migration route crossed the Kentucky River, Buffalo trace been making bourbon whiskey for over 200 years. It is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. During Prohibition the distillery was even permitted to remain operational, to make whiskey for "medicinal purposes". Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey is crafted and carefully aged for no less than ten years. Every barrel is selected to offer consistent flavor but with a seemingly individual personality. The mashbill is intentionally mysterious, but anecdotal accounts suggest it’s from Buffalo Trace’s unofficial “Mashbill #1,” a low-rye mash common to Benchmark, Stagg, and Buffalo Trace. Distiller’s Notes: The nose is complex, with aromas of toffee, hints of orange peel, herbs, honey, leather and oak. The taste is bold, dry and delicate with notes of candied almonds and very rich cocoa. The finish is dry and lingering.
Bourbons and Biscuits
List of Sources
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