This blend of 10yr old straight rye whiskies from Canada bottled at 100 proof presents mint and floral aromas with just a touch of fruit and grain on the nose. The palate explodes with fruit driven rye flavor. Tropical fruit, as well as banana with a sharp rye spice, grassy rye, with a sweet earthiness emerging on the finish. Don’t let this standard offering of Whistlepig pass you by, it’s still damn premium with a depth of flavor that the price point commands.
Category: Buy It Again
The latest in ROCK SOLID Jack Daniel’s innovation is a 97 proof, batch 2, 10yr old. Woodsy leather, herbs, and creamy vanilla on the nose with a touch of cornbread. On the palate, chewy leather, fresh cut oak with tropical fruit and more sweet corn mush. All around a big, rich oil and leather laden whiskey. This is vintage garage drinking whiskey!
Lifted fruitcake and malty aromas on the nose with biscuit, grass, and a thick lemon curd aroma as well. Bottled at 118 proof with no chill-filtration this is ADVANCED whiskey, so many complex layers of fruit and barrel spice mixing it up. Once you let the whiskey melt over your tongue you get creamy butter notes along with some traditioanal irish grassiness. This is a rich, complex malt, belonging in the Scottish big leagues.
Matt talks to Bardstown Bourbon Single Barrel program director Vince Metcalf and chooses a perfectly balanced 6yr Barrel Proof Origins Series single barrel.
A popular brand for over 150 years, Yellowstone has bounced around and been reborn six or seven times by different companies. In its current iteration, it’s owned by MGP who bought Luxco this past year. It was reborn in the early part of the craft whiskey boom by LImestone Branch, a craft distillery operated by Stephen and Paul Beam. A Kentucky Bourbon, LIKELY sourced from Heaven Hill, but NOT confirmed the nose presents soft mint and honey with a caramel corn quality. On the palate, the whiskey is soft with buttercream and vanilla emerging before spice and a kick of sugared orange peel along with brown sugar and a touch of oak spice. It’s a combo of 4 and 7 yr bourbons, I think MOST akin in flavor profile to regular Buffalo Trace, which is sometimes hard to get. Bottom line, soft, sweet, but balanced with enough oak to stand up in a cocktail or a big rock.
Aptly nicknamed “Big Red” for his coloring, Secretariat is till arguably the greatest race horse who ever lived, STILL holding the record for the fastest Kentucky Derby. This 50th anniversary edition commemorates the 1973 victory, with a beautifully rendered painting by Jaime Corum, a Louisville native and equine artist. Grab 2 bottles before they are gone. One to drink and one to admire.
Big Red Liquors first ever Rittenhouse Rye Bottle in Bond single barrel comes from warehouse MM, on the old Schenley campus outside of Bardstown, from floor 4. Barreled on April 25th, 2018, so 4.5 years old at bottling and of course 100 Proof. Rittenhouse, in its HH form, has always been a sturdy, no nonsense rye, with a blend of spice and sweetness. This particular single barrel starts with a fresh hit of spice, then honey, then a touch of floral and finally apple. On the palate, bright orange and an explosion of clove, sweet and almost savory with peppermint emerging with more honey on the finish.
When John Teeling converted an industrial alcohol plant in County Louth into what became “Cooley” distillery in the late 80s, the seeds were planted for the revival of Irish whiskey. Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, and Connemara all sprung forth, as well as a slew of barrels for smaller brands to grow and experiment. Post-Beam Suntory acquiring Cooley and the brands, the second generation of Teelings went to work on founding their eponymous whiskey company. Today, happily ageing and bubbling away in downtown Dublin, the Teeling Whiskey Co. is still owned by John and Stephen, but with a 40% stake by Bacardi, the whiskey has grown it’s global presence. Presumably the brand began life from older Cooley stocks, finished in ex-rum casks and bottled non-chill filtered at 92 proof. The nose is an explosion of fruit and malt with a rich cereal grain and sweet tropical fruit note emerging. On the palate more malt, sweet spice, and a treacly, syrupy rum soaked spice cake. Finish is long, sweet, and simply pleasurable.
The best part about a Jack and Coke is that it’s an actual cocktail in a glass…sweetness and bitterness from the cola with the exact right amount of whiskey to round out, smooth out and give a touch of refreshing bite. The new Jack and Coke is a collab worth trying!
Sneak peak into our 2023 Single Barrel Picks. Cheers!