Category: Hall of Fame

This 35% high rye mashbill combined with the delicately fruity standard “V” yeast, aged 10yrs and 2 months, in the northern section of Warehouse T, rick #31, Tier 3 in position H (8) and bottled at 113.8 proof presents subtle tropical fruit on the nose with sweet banana, passion fruit, and pineapple. The palate drips with delicate cinnamon and fine leather. The best of Four Roses single barrels fall into two categories, flavor bombs, and/or essays in elegance. This is the latter. So subtle, so sippable, and just damn easy to drink.

From an undisclosed source, this is one of the most perfumed oak noses on the bourbon market. Other 10yr old bourbons do NOT smell like this much age. Rich varnish with intermittent apple skin and pear aromas. Some orange bitter and cherry as well. This tastes like the liquid version of the “bourbon candy” that seeps from the barrels in the warehouses. The 94 proof while maybe not the favorite of the diehards is a great drinking proof, which means you can happily consume neat and enjoy all the chewy chocolatey, nutty oak flavors this very rare and allocated bourbon has to offer.

Differing from the Sazerac lineup of ryes, the EH Taylor Rye is ONLY made from rye and malted barley. (65 rye, 35 malt) NO CORN is used, so the spice level is much higher along with the maltiness. This mashbill and this brand in fact have really dialed it in recently with spice, fruit, brine, pepper, and clove balanced with caramel and toffee sweetness as well. The nose is highly perfumed, and the palate just explodes with rye spice.

This single barrel is a combo of an 8yr 7month Willett bourbon with a 3yr 7 month 1792 bourbon bottled at 127.5 proof. How do we know…just look up the mashbills. They are unique to these distilleries only and they are listed on the label. It also says “distilled in Bardstown” which is technically true of both Willett and 1792. So, how’s the juice? Incredible. Another win for Hirsh. Brown sugar and leather arm chair, green and red fruit, oak and a blast of toffee. On the palate 1792 oak bomb with the gentle baseball glove leather of an old Willett.

20 year Mellow Corn? Sure, why not! 115 proof small batch 20yr old corn whiskey. 80% corn by law with 8% rye and 12% malted barley making up the rest. The nose is wildly perfumed, closest thing I can think of is a vanilla ice cream root beer float with a touch of the sweet earthiness mixed with a big vanilla pop! On the palate the thick fatty corn flavor bounces back and forth between popcorn, and sourdough bread. Sweet, sour, and richly flavored. This is probably a love it or hate it!

The new 100% fermented, distilled, and bottled range from Bardstown called Origin Series includes this 36% 6yr old rye mash bourbon, bottled at 96 proof. Light and fruity on the nose with floral notes, cinnamon, and a touch of licorice. On the palate, amazingly bright fruit and oak spice. It sizzle and pops on the mid-palate. While I LIKED the wheated, this is modern bourbon on a whole different level, such a CLEAN and BRIGHT taste profile with literally NO FLAWS. Big juicy rye spice to finish. Buy as many bottles as this Fall 2016 as you can as it will be the original release of this new whiskey.

Perhaps the most famous “private label” ever created for a retailer. Made for the Mitchell family, basically a Dublin Liquor store, and now one of the most sought after single pot still Irish whiskies in the world. A blend of pot still whiskey aged 7 to 10 years in new fill bourbon casks, refill casks, and sherry casks and bottled by Pernod Ricard and sold around the world in small amounts. Another oily, malty fruit bomb with touches of clove and citrus plus cinnamon apple spice and creamy malt.

Single pot still Irish Whiskey, a style unique and legally bound to Ireland uses at least 30% unmalted barley in its grain bill and is typically triple distilled to achieve a uniquely pleasant grassiness combined with citrus. Add to that ageing in sherry casks and you get Redbreast 12, one of the most elegant and drinkable premium whiskies in the world. Spice, citrus, and fruit dominate the nose. On the palate, red fruit and citrus, then candied lemons, orange creamsicle, light earth and a perfectly spiced finish.

To say that Jameson Irish Whiskey is a great blend, is a bit of an understatement. And although in recent years it has transcended the Irish whiskey category and simultaneously spurred billions of dollars in invest in the country and category itself, at the end of the day it’s about THE WHISKEY. And guess what…it’s fantastic. Portions of single pot still and sherry finishing meld seamlessly with fine light and sweet Irish grain. Soft, fruity, grassy, with a depth, roundness, and “liquid gold” drinkability that’s really not matched among the great world blends. Chivas, Dewars, Johnnie Black, Crown Royal, Seagram’s VO Gold, these are all great, historic, magnificently drinkable whiskies, but if I’m sitting in a strange hotel bar with limited options and 20 minutes to kill…give me a JAMO all day long!

#1. Green Spot Irish Whiskey – this single pot still Irish whiskey is made with up to 30% unmalted barley, aged for 7-10 years in a variety of new and used bourbon barrels with some sherry barrels as well. The blend is powerfully flavorful with malt, fruit, cereal and citrus all pinging off the charts. #2. Bushmill’s 10yr Single Malt represents the “malt” style whiskey which is made extensively in Ireland as well as an offering from the north part of the island. This is the chewiest, maltiest, citrus inflected of the bunch and has always been a sleeper hit in my opinion, tons of juicy grape-like flavors as well. #3. Jameson Irish whiskey is the best selling Irish whiskey by millions of cases, but that doesn’t make if bland or bad. In fact, it’s fully flavored, but with an approachability that has made in inextricably into a shot brand. Oh well, it’s just darn good. Honey rich with a touch of sherry influence and a grainy sweetness that persists.