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By now most Bourbonr’s are familiar with the Jefferson’s brand. You probably know them for their Small Batch or Ocean bourbon. Or, if you were lucky enough, their Jefferson’s Presidential Select bourbon. The man behind the brand is Trey Zoeller. Trey is a great guy I got a chance to chat with him about Jefferson’s new distillery and some other questions I’ve had for a while.
Today has been an interesting day in the bourbon world. This morning I read Bourbon Truth’s post “Where Is Jim Rutledge?” that had the Bourbonr’s across social media buzzing. While the grammar may not always be perfect, Bourbon Truth’s information is usually spot on.
This afternoon I received a press release stating that Jim Rutledge, form Four Roses master distiller, was starting his own distillery. I automatically thought it was a hoax. Then I checked out the website in the release and thought it seemed like a lot of information for a hoax. To verify I figured I would call the number in the email signature of the press release. Guess who answered?! Jim Rutledge himself! Always a class act, Jim chatted with me for 10 minutes about the plans for the distillery and their hopes to crowdfund the distillery. Count me in!
No, this isn’t a post on how to pair bourbon with cookies. It’s not some gluttonous baking recipe either. Today, we examine the bourbon market through the lens of a chocolate chip cookie study. Yes, you read that correctly but hear me out. This isn’t your typical bourbon blog post, but this study may explain some of the bourbon craziness we see today. The study took place in 1975 by Stephen Worchel, Jerry Lee, and Akanbi Adewole. The study examined how scarcity (and different levels of it) affected a persons rating (or perceived quality) of a cookie.
Most Bourbonr’s know that fall is prime time for bourbon. Each fall we’re greeted with new releases alongside our favorite annuals. While fall gets most of the good stuff spring and summer of 2016 is shaping up to be a great season for bourbon drinkers. Here’re what’s coming.
Booker’s Rye is first on the list for a reason. It’s the release I’m most excited about. I love Booker’s, and I like rye. What do you get when you marry the two? A $299 price tag. The details are still unconfirmed on this one. Here’s what we think the release will be. A 13-year-old rye whiskey that’s close to 140 proof. It will be limited to around 6,000 bottles so you may want to start putting in your order with your local retailer. It should start hitting store shelves (or back offices) in June.
I’ve never been a big fan of collector versions of products. In fact, the last collector’s edition I bought was the Michael Jordan Silver Wheaties box. But, this is a pretty cool bottle. If you’re a die-hard Maker’s Mark or Horse racing fan (or know someone that is) this may be worth picking up.
This past weekend I had a chance to attend a limited release tasting at the Orlando Whiskey Festival (full recap coming next week). Out of the five whiskeys, I tasted there was a definite stand out. It was a 15-year-old rye from WhistlePig. This is the oldest expression WhistlePig has ever released. On top of that the 100% rye whiskey (sourced from Canada) was finished in barrels made from oak trees on the WhistlePig farm/distillery. Here’s some more information:
Today is the Tax Day! For some, it’s a dreaded day because you had to stroke a large check (that means you made money so take comfort in that). For others, you received a refund (that means you let the government hold on to you money interest-free for a year :)) and it’s time to splurge on a nice bottle. Or, you’re like me and work in public accounting so today is right up there with Christmas when it comes to ranking holidays. Whatever your circumstances, here are a few bottles to enjoy today.
Michter’s just received approval for their 25-year old rye whiskey. Originally released in 2011, Michter’s 25 Rye is on the list of most sought after (and expensive) whiskey’s in the bourbon/whiskey world. Like other limited Michter’s bottles, the 25 rye has taken a hiatus over the last few year. Here’s the new label:
For the unfamiliar, Orphan Barrel is a line of “unique”, usually well-aged bourbons from Diageo. The story goes, the world’s largest producer of spirits was clearing out an old warehouse and stumbled across some aged stock. These barrels were the foundation of the Orphan Barrel line. There’s now six different brands under the Orphan barrel monicker. Several of them have started to release older bottles (i.e.Rhetoric 20 & 21).
Bourbon tasting is a skill and as with any skill you can train it. A bourbon workout is for training your sense of taste and smell. It improves your ability to distinguish subtle flavor notes in a bourbon. This workout isn’t about picking good bourbon and bad bourbon. The workout is to help find tastes you like and where those flavors come from. Before getting started you may want to review “How To Taste Bourbon”