Buffalo Trace (Sazerac) continues their quest of brand redesign. Today, BT received approval for a redesigned Weller 12, Old Weller Antique and Weller Special Reserve. While the Weller brands received a huge surge in popularity over the last three years the labels remained the same. I’m sure they’ll continue to be the same great (impossible to find) bourbons.
Fall bourbon is here! This week a couple bottles of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon popped up in the Bourbonr Facebook group.
Every fall Buffalo Trace Distillery release their Antique Collection (BTAC). The antique collection includes some of the best bourbons and ryes released each year. The Antique Collection won 150+ awards from every major whiskey competition in the world. They’ve won everything from “Whisky of the Year” in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible to Double Gold Medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (but you already know how I feel about whiskey competitions). Aside from that, George T. Stagg holds one of the highest honors bestowed upon a bourbon. It’s my favorite bourbon.
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.
You may remember that we launched the new BourbonHunt site last summer as a way to add more features for the Bourbonr readers. As I’m sure, you’ve noticed, nothing about Bourbonr has changed nor will it change in the future. BourbonHunt and the “pro” membership are completely separate sites with their own benefits. I greatly appreciated everyone that decided to support Bourbonr with a “pro” membership.
Buffalo Trace just received approval for a new expression in the EH Taylor line. E.H. Taylor Four Grain will be a mix of corn, barley, rye and wheat. This will be the fifth expression in the E.H. Taylor line. To be honest, things are getting a little confusing. I defended Season Wood while others were claiming it watered down the Taylor name and a wheated bourbon didn’t belong in the brand. Now that Buffalo Trace appears to see the EH Taylor(EHT) line as their launch pad for limited releases I find it strange. Isn’t this what Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection (BTEC) is for? Maybe, if a release is exceptionally good it skips BTEC and goes straight to EHT?
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.
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”
As Bourbonr’s continue their thirst for more information, details like mash bills, barrel char and barrel entry proof, and their affect on taste, gain more attention. Let’s begin with a bourbon’s mash bill. We already know that legal requirements mandate 51% corn for bourbon but what about the other 49%.
I’m sure you’ve noticed a trend of empty Weller shelves over the past few years. It’s not William Larue Weller that you can’t find. It’s not even W.L. Weller 12 or Weller Antique. It’s the entire Weller line that can’t be found. A year and a half ago I wrote a post about Weller Antique and Special Reserve being the “available” wheated bourbon option. Since then, things have changed drastically. I haven’t seen Weller Antique in months and Special Reserve sparingly. Retailers tell stories of guys cleaning them out as soon as a Weller bottle hit the shelf. Is this the bourbon version of trickle down economics?
We continue Bourbonr “Wheated Week” with a review of Buffalo Traces E.H. Taylor Seasoned Wood. Going into this review, I thought “I better tread lightly.” Without tasting, one side bourbonr’s will curse Buffalo Trace’s name for this new release. They’ll claim it’s overhyped garbage from a greedy distillery. Sure, they’ll probably try a sample at a bar or from a friend but be prepared for some fireworks in their tasting notes. Now to the other side. This is the guy that can’t wait to spend whatever dollar amount it takes to get this new bottle. If he doesn’t turn around and flip it for a profit expect tasting notes in ALL CAPS. Words like “phenomenal” and “best ever” will flow freely. Where do I fall into these two camps? I’m not exactly sure. But, I wanted to try it first before voicing too much of an opinion.