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#bourbon
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Whiskey Barber Poles
I like to get my hair cut on the road. I enjoy going to little barber shops in major cities, or in smaller towns. I just love meeting new people in them, and the characters that are so often the barbers. It’s easy to find a barber shop, all you have to do is look for the Barber Pole. That’s the whole concept of what I call, Whiskey Barber Poles. When it comes to wines, I like Pinot Noir’s and Cabernet Sauvingnon. When it comes to beer, I like a Pilner, Ambers, and Pale Ales. That really helps me out when I’m looking at a wine or beer list. You can do the same thing with whiskeys. There are bourbons made with wheat, and there’s only a handful of them, so if you like one of those, it sure helps out to know which ones those are. So I have written down some Whiskey Barber Poles to help you out when you are given a huge bourbon and whiskey list to look over. WL Weller – Makers – Rebel Yell >>> Larceny – Bernheim Knob Creek – Russell’s Reserve >>> Elijah Craig Small Batch Woodford Reserve –
by bernie5 viewswhiskey-101bourbonevan-williamsryesingle-barrelsmall-batch - news
Bourbon Distillery House Styles
Why do essentially the same style bourbons made from different distilleries taste so different? The laws on the books for producing bourbon are very restrictive. The law states that “Bourbon Whisky is whisky produced at not exceeding 160 proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51% corn, and stored at not more than 125 proof in charred new oak containers”. Our Master Distiller at Heaven Hill Conor O’ Driscoll puts it this way. “There’s only so many levers we can pull.” Yet bourbon tastes different from one distillery to the other. What is it that makes them taste different? I describe the difference in a large part is “House Style”. House Styles are talked about with Cognac and Tequila distilleries, and it’s something I’ve been talking a lot about lately with bourbon distilleries too. Especially now since there are around 1,800 craft distilleries, along with the 10 major distilleries. Those 10 by the way produce about 95% of the worlds bourbon. Here’s something I learned from Greg
by bernie5 viewswhiskey-301bourbonbulleit-bourbonbulleit-ryeevan-williamsjim-beam - news
Gold Dust & Bricks of Gold
Bourbon hounds love it when they come across a store that has an Elijah Craig Barrel Proof on the shelf, just sitting there. Or a couple Blanton’s, Weller 12, or Kathleen’s Batch of Booker’s available with “no strings”; just up there on the top shelf as if they were waiting there just for you. And then there’s the folks that automatically cruise the top shelves to look for “gold dust” as I call them, or in locked cases in the front of stores. Most all distilleries have “gold dust” in varying rare offerings. Its what people want, we just don’t have enough of them, but that’s really what makes them special is their rarity. As a result, we don’t have to sample them in our tastings, they’re going to sell on their own. My tastings are designed to tell a story. In my Evolution Of Bourbon Tasting, we taste unaged corn whiskey with Georgia Moon to show the genesis of American Whiskey. Then it evolved in to aged corn whiskey that illustrates how that unaged corn whiskey was put in to barrels. I
by bernie5 viewswhiskey-201american-whiskeybargain-bourbonsbourbonevan-williamsheaven-hill-distillery - news
Tax Stamps – BIB – & Other
Until 1985, the government required distillers to put tax strips draped over each bottle neck and cap to signify that tax had been paid. Because so many people are hunting and discovering old bottles and dusties, here’s a little information that might help you date a bottle. Of course, the Green Bottled in Bond tax strip states the Season and year the whiskey was put in the barrel and then the Season and year the whiskey was put in the bottle. “Tax strips are the blue (if exported), green or red strips that go up the side of the neck and over the cap and will either say U.S. Internal Revenue or Bureau of ATF. If it says ATF on the strip then your bottle is from 1977 – 1985. If it mentions the IRS then it’s pre-1977. We can break it down to smaller chunks fo time thanks to tax strip changes over the years. 1934-1944: Weight/Proof Marks on ends, no “Series” near Eagle’s feet. Upper-left edge reads “US Internal Revenue” 1945-1972: Words “Series” and “111″/”112″ added near Eagles feet. Upp
by bernie5 viewswhiskey-101bottled-in-bondbourbonheaven-hilltax-stripswhiskey