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Every fall some of the best bourbons are released to Bourbonr’s across the country. The problem is there’s never enough to go around. For Bourbon’s, fall brings phone calls to dozens of liquor stores and driving around town if we hear a shipment has arrived. All in search of our favorite bourbons. That’s what makes the bourbon hunt exciting.
Last week Wild Turkey teased a big announcement for August 1st. A lot of us speculated about what it would be. The obvious answer seemed to be Jimmy Russell’s retirement. After 60+ years as Wild Turkey Master Distiller, it seems well deserved! Turns out, we were all wrong. Today, Wild Turkey announced Matthew McConaughey as their creative director. Here’s a peek at what they have planned:
Heaven Hill released a wheat whiskey and malt whiskey the last two years for their Heritage Collection. Today they received TTB approval for PHC 10 (courtesy of SKU). In 2016, Heaven Hill will take it back to (what I believe) they do best, bourbon. This year the Heritage Collection is a Bottled-in-Bond, 24-year-old bourbon.
The Bourbonr community is the greatest thing about writing this blog for the past three years. I’ve made quite a few friends through bourbon and I know I’m not the only one. I see a lot of conversations going on in the comments section. I know even more happen over email and offline. Now, I want to embrace the community aspect of Bourbonr even more with a Bourbonr Facebook group.
There’s been controversy in the bourbon world over the last few years in regards to labels. While new customers enter so do new brands. The problem is not all the brands follow the rules for labeling their whiskey. The organization in charge of these matters is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
There are a few bourbons and distilleries that get consistently mentioned on Bourbonr. Smooth Ambler is one of them. I love what the guys in West Virginia are doing. They’ve consistently put out excellent bourbon (although their rye has been temporarily discontinued) at a great price. While their own distillate was young they released it in 375 ml bottles so we could observe the progress without breaking the bank.
I’ve been a Booker’s bourbon fan for a long time. When I got into bourbon, Booker’s was one of the first bottles I spent more than $30+ on. Booker’s was also the first barrel proof bourbon I tried and it has been a go-to of mine ever since. Last month I was invited to participate in a Booker’s Roundtable Tasting, and I jumped at the opportunity.
We discuss the bourbon secondary a good bit on Bourbonr. We talk about prices, predictions and the drama that ensues. What I’ve never talked about is how the bourbon secondary got started. Of course, collectors have always bought and sold bottles. But, I’m talking about the bourbon evolution that happened on Facebook a few years ago. Bourbon Facebook groups have shaped the bourbon world we have today. Buying, selling, and trading bottles are now common on many forums. Almost all the Facebook groups stemmed from a single group. Behind that group is one man, John Scott Bull.
It’s time for fall releases information to roll out. A perennial favorite is the Small Batch Limited Edition from Four Roses. They combine recipes from their ten different mash bills for the release. Here are the recipes Four Roses used for the 2016 Small Batch:
This year’s release is made up of three mash bills: OBSV – 12-year, OESO – 12-year and OESK – 16-year. The bottle denotes 110 proof, but that is most likely just a placeholder. Expect to see this release around the second week of September. Four Roses SmBLE has been consistently great. I don’t expect anything less from this release.
Elijah Craig (made by Heaven Hill) has gone through quite a few changes over the past couple of years. First, it started with moving the “12” to the back label. Heaven Hill reassured everyone that the age statement wasn’t going away. It was just moving to the back. In January, the “12” was officially dropped and Elijah Craig became non-age stated (NAS). I’ve tasted both. The 12 year is definitely better. However, the NAS version still beats a lot of other bourbons at a similar price point.