Come Join Me At The Orlando Whiskey Festival

Blakein
Posts
2

Come join me this weekend at the Orlando Whiskey Festival! This will be the second year I’ve gone to this festival and it really was a great event. Last year, I sampled William LaRue Weller, George T. Stagg, Whistle Pig Vermont, 2015 Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition, Willett 11-year private barrel and Old Forester Birthday Bourbon just to name a few. I know the taste list will be even better this year. If you’re in the Central Florida area (or willing to travel) you won’t want to miss this.

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Inside A Sourced Bourbon

Blakein
Posts
10

Sourced products are one of the most controversial topics in bourbon. Mainly because some brands choose to use deceptive tactics. This is the story of how it all works.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I worked with Manifest Distilling in the Winter of 2016 to source a 10-year product. This story really starts close to three years ago when I met a local whiskey enthusiast via Bourbonr, Scott Kennelly. Long story short, he became one of the founding members of Manifest Distilling and introduced me to another founder and Head Distiller David Cohen. Like drinking buddies do, we often discussed what we liked and didn’t like about the industry and what products we’d like to try.  As Manifest planned their distillery opening, the option to source a product kept coming up. Craft distilleries are forced to walk a tight line in the early years. Release a product too young and you may lose customers. However, cash is king and most businesses aren’t positioned to sit and wait for 3-4 years with little to no revenue.

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The Story Behind Single Cask Nation

Blakein
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There are many brands and distilleries out there. Part of the fun of Bourbonr is exploring some of the more interesting parts of the world of whiskey. Single Cask Nation (and the Whisky Jewbilee events) is one I’ve been followed for quite some time. They consistently release some of the most sought after private barrels on the market. They also put on a large whisky festival in multiple cities every year. What I like most is they’ve created their own model for how to deliver great whiskey to their customers. I decided to reach out to Joshua Hatton at Single Cask Nation (SCN) and he was kind enough to tell the SCN and Whisk Jewbilee story.

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What Affects A Bourbon’s Taste?

Blakein
Posts
23
With fall bourbon season over it’s time to get back to what I love writing about on Bourbonr. The nerdiness behind bourbon. Chasing limited editions is fun. But, I’d rather help Bourbonr’s expand their knowledge of bourbon. That’s what today’s post is about. We’re looking at the bourbon process and how the different processes affect taste. Even with large improvements in automation bourbon flavor is still more of an art than a science. This is why Master Distillers spend a lot of time taste testing different barrels (tough job!). Here is how the following processes affect the taste of bourbon. This is a look from 10,000 feet. Each segment could fill an encyclopedia with information (

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2016 Bourbonr Whiskey of the Year

Blakein
Posts
33

As you may remember, we opened up voting for the Bourbonr Whiskey of the Year (WOTY) last week. While I’m sure, you won’t see a sticker on a bottle anytime soon with the words “Bourbonr Gold Medalist” this award is significant. It’s significant because it was awarded by you, the readers. Each year we open up the voting for Bourbonr WOTY.

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2016 Bourbonr Whiskey Of The Year

Blakein
Posts
33

Voting ends Friday (1/13/17) at 5:00 PM EST

Discuss your pick in the Bourbonr Facebook group

It’s that time of year again. 2016 was a crazy year for bourbon. While there are plenty of things to be frustrated with there are also a lot of bright spots. I found myself disagreeing with a lot of the whiskey’s that were chosen by other books/sites for “Whiskey of the Year”. That’s why we do it a little different at Bourbonr. We open the voting up to you, the drinkers. What whiskey did you love this year?

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Death Of A Bourbon Generation

Blakein
Posts
55

“Value is a perception, not a calculation”

For those that have been living under a rock in the bourbon world for the last 24 hours here’s the deal. Friday, Beam Suntory confirmed a rumor that Booker’s will now be priced at $100 a bottle. It will also drop from six releases a year to four. I mentioned this in my Friday wrap-up but at that point, I thought it was nothing more than a rumor. Unfortunately, it was true. Before I dive into my thoughts on Beam’s decision it’s worth giving Chuck and Fred a read.

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Untold History of The Bulleit Brand

Blakein
Posts
9

Walk into any bar across the country, and you’ll find an orange label with “Bulleit” on the front. The words “Frontier Whiskey” prominently displayed on the bottle. Bulleit (pronounced “Bullet”) has been a gateway bourbon for new drinkers over the last two decades. Everyone tries Jim Beam or Makers. Bulleit’s high-rye mash bill provides a different flavor profile from the standard “shelf” bourbons. Most know that Diageo owns the Bulleit brand. But, the brand has a whiskey family history dating back to the 1850’s. This post is a story about the brand. Not the history of the name. This is the story of the Bulleit brand that most Bourbonr’s don’t know.

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Provenance of Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

Blakein
Posts
6

Occasionally, I find myself bored and digging through old archives of Straight Bourbon. These information hunts usually result in some interesting material. Today’s hunt was no exception. This information was posted by Bourbon writer, Chuck Cowdery. The post by Chuck is his response from, Buffalo Trace CEO, Mark Brown. Mark provides the origins of the first BTAC bottles. It also proves that Chuck has probably forgotten more bourbon information than I will ever know.

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Bourbon Blending Kit from Timber Creek

Blakein
Posts
3

There’s a lot of craft distilleries popping up across the county. For some of the distilleries it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Most small (craft) distilleries turn to different techniques or unique mash bills to differentiate themselves. Bourbon and whiskey takes years to make. That doesn’t mean these small distilleries can’t produce something with buying before that.

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