House Blended Bourbon
A few months back I wrote about blending or vatting bourbons. In that post I combined different bourbons to see how they tasted together. While that post was about experimenting this post is about taking those experiments and selecting a “house” bourbon. This is your daily drinker, what you give to guests and the bourbon that defines your taste. It’s a big decision!
Beer and wine lovers are free to brew and make their own wine but yet if bourbon/whiskey lovers tried their hand at making their favorite spirit they run the risk of having the ATF knocking on(down) their front door. Nobody wants that. Until then bourbon nerds will continue to blend.
What is the Bourbonr House Blend? Equal parts Wild Turkey 101 rye and Angels Envy bourbon. It is truly excellent. The beaker just makes pouring and measuring easier.
Why don’t all bars have their own house blend? Everyone wants to have a “signature” cocktail or a barrel aged cocktail. I’m more interested to see a decanter filled with the bar managers favorite blend behind the bar.
Add your house blend recipe in the comments and my favorite blend will receive a free Neat glass.
57 comments
I have been wanting to blend and age Very Old Barton and Fighting Cock. I will either call it Fighting Barron or Very Old Cock……
Funniest damn post…EVER!! You sir, win the Internet!
LMBOOOO!!!! Very funny dude!
Lol, you also could have went with Ancient Age….
My actual house blend / daily drinker is mixing a handle of J.T.S. Brown (80) with a fifth of Fighting Cock (103 – for an ~87 proof result), but I never thought of naming it … it will have to be Fighting J.T.S. since the alternative, however funny, is too unappealing.
ER10 1/3 and OF1920 2/3.. let it marry for a couple weeks.
Nice post. My house blend is a simple 50/50 mix of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and Elijah Craig 12. Hits the spot everytime!
I usually mix 50% VW23 with 50% VW20 with 50% VW15 with 50% VW10. End up with double strength VW68. Good Stuff!!
You all better know I’m kidding…
If you want try something odd for the summer, mix a bottle 750 of Gentleman Jack with like amount Basyl Haddon and 1/2 shot Opal Negre black. sambuca , never gave it a name but its been made every summer been known to mix very well with ginger water!
I like equal parts Eagle Rare 10 yr and Rossville Union straight rye….
The blend I’ve been making for a while now is 2 parts Wild Turkey Rare Breed and 1 part Larceny. The great flavor of the wild turkey with just a hint of vanilla from the Larceny. Very Good!
50/50?
Perhaps you have heard of my world famous Sazervat. 1/2 ounce Saz 18, 1/2 ounce Thomas Handy, 1 oz Sazerac Rye. Let is rest for 2 weeks, dang good.
25% 4R Single Barrel
25% WLW 12
25% Blanton’s (US)
25% Booker’s
I blend a lot at home. Some of my favorites are all 50/50. Makers and Evan Williams BIB, Elijah Craig 12 and Old Forester Signature) and Wild Turkey Rare Breed with Bernhiem Wheat (I read about this on someone’s blog). Look forward to trying everyone else’s blends. Thanks.
I just started to blend equal parts Wild Turkey 101 and 81. It turned out real good.
2 parts Weller 12 to 1 part High West Bourye. Outstanding.
I have only been collecting for about a year. I mix 2 parts Wellers 107 Antique and 1 part Blantons to smooth it out .
2nd option 1 part Buffaloe Trace and 1 part Col Taylor Small Batch.
Both of these are like watering down fine wines for taste.
Hey Blake- are you doing the blender-aged thing or letting it sit on it’s own?
Please keep the ideas coming. I am going to do my first home blend soon and love your suggestions so far.
Jack and Maker’s / Wild Turkey 101 and Maker’s
and from time to time a little charred shine and Jack –
2 parts Old Forester to 1 part Evan Williams Black – reminds me a bit of Elijah Craig 12 Year (albeit at 86 proof), and keeps the house blend affordable.
I made the same blend using Ezra 90 pf & Old Forrester 86 pf…..A blend that also reminds me of EC 12. Very tasty & a blend that is MUCH GREAT than the sum of its parts.
How about using the 100 proof versions of OF (Signature) and EW (white label) in place of the 86 proof versions?
Best inexpensive blend: Old Grandad 114 + Larceny . Each compliments the other
I absolutely agree 4 years later 🙂
My house blend is a 50/50 blend of Bulleit’s bourbon and Bulleit’s rye. I stir it well and let it rest overnight. Yields a great flavor profile.
So far my favorite has been 400ml Weller-12, 300ml OldWeller Antq 107, 50ml Stagg Jr. Bottle and shake every other day or so for 2 weeks, Add a vanilla bean for the next 2 weeks. . .keep shaking. Truly a rich flavor and nice neat sipper. . . .I call it ‘WellerIbettergetbacktowork’
The biggest problem is finding the Weller
Weller 12 has become a ghost. I blended owa with wsr 40/40 then added 20% larceny. Floral and smooth with nice finish. The special reserve brings down the heat of the antique and the larceny brings in the long caramel note. Goes down with perfect amount of heat.
I have a number of decanters. Recently I accidentally added some Zachariah Harris to Black Grouse. It wasn’t bad.
I actually do the same thing with Elmer T Lee and Stagg Jr.
For me it was about targeting a particular flavor combination, along with ease and availability.
1 part Elijah Craig 12 (for that strong toasted coconut sweetness I get, and solid finish)
1 part Eagle Rare (for that characteristic bourbon corn sweetness, toffee, and oak)
1 part Rittenhouse Rye (for the dark fruit and strong spice)
Pulling the strongest characteristics of the three to round a simple blend that has strong rye characteristics but remains a bourbon.
The Smoking Priest: Mix 4 parts Elijah Craig 12 to 1 part Laphroaig 10.
My house favorite has been 75% George Dickel 12 and 25% Old Granddad 114. Gives the Dickel that kick in the Dickel it needs.
1 oz Henry McKenna 10 yr BIB 1 oz four roses small batch. Floral with strong oak back ground. I’ve only mixed in glass. Maybe I need to purchase a decanter and experiment.
I’ve made several blends, so far up to #3 but have taste tested probably 5 times that number. Generally I end up blending whiskies that I find have flavor profiles that are too far on one edge of the flavor spectrum for me to really enjoy drinking as is. The three successful blends, I call “Swill” are significant improvements over their component parts which I definately then enjoy drinking. Yeah, there’s some expensive stuff thrown into the Swill, but for most individual components I’d otherwise never get through the bottle…
Swill #1:
Faultline Bourbon (K&L), 4 parts
J.E. Pepper 15-yr Rye, 1 part
Swill #2
Hooker’s House Cohabitation 7-21, 2 parts
Stagg Jr Straight Bourbon (R1), 1 part
Hirsch Selection 25-year Rye, 0.1 part
Swill #3 (this one came up amazingly sweet after 2-3 weeks in the bottle and clearly evolved for the better as it sat)
J.J. Bowman Single Barrel, 2 parts
Hirsch Selection 25-year Rye, 1 part
A little harder to source, but if you Vat Old Fitzgerald Prime 80 proof (40%) and Old Weller Antique 107 (60%) you end up with my favorite vatted blend “Very Old Yeller” – it’s fantastic.
My recommendation is 50/50 Old Weller Antique 107 and Bulleit Bourbon. The carmel / vanilla flavor of the Old Weller and the high proof (107) combined with the Peppery Rye of the Bulleit at a lower proof (90) has great complexity. It has a truly unique flavor profile. The combination brings the proof of the Weller down enough to be a great sipping bourbon.
I like the poetry of the combination too. The Bulleit Bourbon Experience is located in the former Stizel -Weller distillery in Louisville. So the combination marries these two historically significant products into one awesome tasting bourbon.
2 parts 4R yellow label, 1 part Weller 12, 1 part WT101. This has been my “house bourbon” for quite some time.
Recommendations for vatting with Old Overholt Rye? Too boring on it’s own but want to find a way to use the bottle I bought.
Here’s one I call “Underrated”, because I believe each of the components are underrated. The sum is much greater than the parts:
2 parts Four Roses yellow label (40%)
1 part Weller 107 (53.5%)
1 part Wild Turkey Rare Breed (56.4%)
It comes in at 47.5% and only cost me about $25/750ml. It is fantastic for that price. The Weller and the Wild Turkey add complexity and a unique woodiness to the Four Roses, and bring the proof up a bit and the rye down a touch.
Actually, I have to say that I like Wild Turkey Rare Breed better than this, so I guess the sum is greater than two of the parts.
I tried the Wellers antique/Blantons blend. That was really nice. Tried to do same with Old Forester signature and Blantons. That was a fail! I hope people keep submitting.
I was able to get a few bottles of this past year’s Parker’s Heritage wheat release so I do a spin on the Poor Man’s Pappy in my 700ml decanter by blending:
350ml Weller Antique
250ml Weller 12
100ml Parker’s Heritage Wheat Whiskey
My first question is where can we get the bottle with an “R” on it.
My vat is a one part Angels Envy and Elmer T
I have both house bourbon and rye. The bourbon is:
2 Parts Weller 107
1 Part OGD 114
1 Part EC 12
1 Part Angel’s Envy
The rye is:
1.5 Parts WT 101 rye
1 Part Rittenhouse BIB
1 Part Bulleit/Dickel rye
I always leave a blend to marry for several weeks before I drink it. When I’m playing around with ratios, I like to start with 3 or 4 equal portions, and go from there. It keeps a balance, without letting one whiskey be too dominant.
78% WT101 & 22% WT Rye81; similar to WT Forgiven & better than either separately. Try it you’ll like it… Price of blend is cheaper than Forgiven too & you have 2 750’s for the price of 1.
I can definitely recomment my favourite blend: 1/2 ounce Saz 18, 1/2 ounce Thomas Handy, 1 oz Sazerac Rye. It tastes the best if you leave it for 2 weeks before drinking. I’m sure you will love it 😉
I tried old weller 107 with four roses single barrel in a glass and liked the fusion. Just got a bottle of elijah craig barrel proof. Tried it with owa, meh. It might just be best on its own. Fun to experiment tho. I just worry about spoiling the top shelf stuff doing it…
After reading all these recipes, I’ve tried quite a number and come up with a few of my own:
1. 50/50 Henry McKenna BIB with Rittenhouse Rye BIB. The rye has a nice initial spice and the HM gives the mix a nice long finish. Maybe a small ice cube to help the whole thing along.
2. I found the Johnnie Walker Rye Cask whisky not to my taste – a bit too smooth and light. So I’m currently trying a 70/30 mix of the JW with the Rittenhouse Rye BIB. The 100 proof of the Rittenhouse really kicks up the punch but the blend retains some great flavors. Going to try this with a cigar soon.
I love all of the ideas, My house is: 2 parts Buffalo Trace, 1 part Dickle 12, 1 part old Grand Dad BiB.
great carmel, tofee, a little vanilla, and the OGD stretches the finish and kicks up some heat! Keep the ideas flowing
I do 2 parts buffalo trace with 1 part larceny. I tried several ratios of these two and I even tried putting in some Elijah Craig 12, four roses single barrel, or Rowan’s Creek etc. to add some complexity from longer aging… but it’s hard for me to beat the simple 2:1 BT:Larceny for week night sipping.
Anybody know what is going on for those two weeks you let your whiskeys marry? I’d like to understand the science of it. I just haven’t noticed a difference.
Well I’m behind the times and the last post here was 2017?? Where are all the bourbon nerds! Looking at the above blog, the bottles being mixed are some expensive trys in today’s market. Wow. I found this site because I want to mix something that tastes like Blanton’s, with the orange/citrus flavor. Has anyone done a blend that comes close? I’ve mixed some Triple Sec (15 to 20%) in a pedestrian bourbon and at least got some orange in the flavor profile, but wondered if anyone has a blend that hits the mark. Since Buffalo Trace is restricting Blanton distribution to the small, local owned liquor stores; our local dealer in Houston wants $96.00 for the Blanton’s original. I just can’t see paying that for a $55 bottle. Can anyone help me out?
ER10 1/3 and OF1920 2/3.. let it marry for a couple weeks.