Old Bourbon Tasting Results

Hope the title's not too much of a tease...these are old posts being revived. What with the discussions and threats of more whiskey tastings, I thought I'd re-post some notes on the bourbon tasting we had at Delilah's last February. I haven't re-read this, so apologies for any old mistakes that are being repeated. I'm also posting Harry V.'s excellent, more thorough notes. There are some additional comments in the original thread over on Chowhound.

My comments:

Here are a few notes from a bourbon whiskey tasting some hounds (and a few non-hounds) recently shared in Chicago. I sent these to a few folks at the tasting, but thought I'd post for the other 'hounds who couldn't make it. I'm posting here instead of the Chicago board, since the topic is of fairly general interest. There is a little more specific info on the Chicago board.

The theme of the evening was nominally one of innovation, but practically speaking, the focus was on the expression of different grains. The two Old Potrero ryes at the end were one end of the spectrum. We started with a cheap mason jar of Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey put out by Heaven Hill distillery (Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Henry McKenna). Not very good, not much character, definite corn presence, and could certainly get you drunk pretty quickly. But the point was to get a sense of the corn, of which all bourbons have at least 51%, and most have 70-80%. On average, they have about 5% malted barley, and the remainder is either wheat or far more often, rye. Of ten bourbons (in addition to the corn and rye whiskeys), we had three wheat (purportedly the only three wheated bourbons on the market) and seven rye.

The wheat: W.L. Weller 2 year, Maker's Mark, and Delilah's 10-yr. Single Barrel. The wheats in general did have fewer sharp flavor notes than the ryes, a little bit smoother in the mouth. I really like all of these'I thought the Delilah's had the most layers of flavor, possibly because it was never filtered. I would definitely return to the bar for this stuff.

The other seven bourbons were Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Basil Hayden, Very Old Barton, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve, and Elijah Craig 18 year single barrel. Of these, I really liked the Buffalo Trace and the Elijah Craig, the former for a more assertive bourbon and the latter for something a bit smoother. Basil Hayden is a bit too smooth for me, but of course this is all relative. I tend to like my whiskey, like most of my liquors, a little rough around the edges.

Finally we sampled two 100% rye whiskies, distilled by the folks at Anchor Distillery, same group as Anchor Brewing Company. We actually sampled two versions of their Old Potrero. The bartender who was responsible for the pouring accidentally and (for us) serendipitously poured the pricier version though the cheaper was intended. After a bit of good-natured ribbing from the gallery (and as ab pointed out, perhaps because he had been tasting along with us), Mike generously poured the other as well. The nomenclature is a bit tricky, in that both whiskies are 100% rye and both are single malt. The website calls one Old Potrero Straight Rye and the other Old Potrero Single Malt. It notes the Straight Rye as 19th century style and the Single Malt as 18th century style, the difference being that the use of charred oak was (presumably) a 19th century innovation. Also the Straight Rye/19th century style was aged three years; the Single Malt/18th century style was aged one. Mike had told me earlier in the day that the Anchor guy was in, and cut him a deal for our tasting, but little did I expect to get both. (Incidentally, Anchor distills a very fine, 'new style' gin called Junipero'I've really liked this for a while, but hadn't tried their whiskey before.) In any case, both Old Potreros were very good, unlike any other whiskey I've had, but the 3-yr-old was really something. Very dark, very full body, sort of syrupy with sweet, maple notes and some dark spice notes'cinnamon or nutmeg, maybe. Wow, I was really glad to have a chance to sample the stuff.

A few general comments' first, one thing I thought going in that was pretty much reaffirmed is that bourbon in general is pretty good. It wasn't like tasting wine where you like some and others you don't care for. With bourbon for me, it's a matter of degree and variation. I like it all. Second, I found interesting the similar progressions of modern bourbon and wine production, considering both the regulatory aspects and the flavor profiles. The Anchor whiskies, for example are a new breed achieved by experimenting with and extending beyond established modes of distillery and the legal definition of bourbon. I can only imagine this trend will increase with whiskey as it has done, for example, in the wine industry in Tuscany. Similarly, I find it interesting that the heavy malt, full-bodied 'fruit forward', as it were, whiskies are the result of this extension. While I welcome this experimentation and enjoy the result, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the flavor pendulum to swing back toward subtlety in the American, or the 'international' palate. The other trend that struck me (first pointed out by another taster) is not culinary, but commercial'the proliferation of private label goods in general, as seen in Delilah's own whiskey, and any other number of whiskies are pulled out of a limited number of distilled batches and tweaked to create distinct flavor profiles, but perhaps more importantly for the proprietors, distinct brands that can be marketed to various niche consumes. Not unlike the various Intelligentsia blends or many Trader Joe's prepared foods or even farther down-market Safeway Select and President's Choice. And of course any number of non-food products as well. It is interesting to see both increased homogenization and arguably a greater diversity of higher quality products both resulting from the same trend.

And from Harry V.:

1. GEORGIA MOON CORN WHISKEY. Mike Miller, owner of Delilah's and emcee for
the event, began with this whimsical selection so as to demonstrate the
flavor of 100% corn whiskey (of course bourbons, to be labelled as such,
must be made of more than 50% corn). It was the color of pale straw, to my
senses it smelled of weak tequila and tasted like very light rum. A ringer.

2. W.L. WELLER 12-YEAR BOURBON. The first three actual bourbons sampled
represent those in which corn is supplemented with wheat, rather than the
more usual rye. To me this one had a bright, pleasantly acidic aroma with
hints of honey, and a very wheaty flavor suffused with black pepper. Very
nice.

3. MAKER'S MARK. Another wheated bourbon, this long-time favorite (of mine)
had a nice woody aroma, and a more well-rounded flavor than the Weller, less
wheaty and a little more .. well, "fruity" is what I wrote down, even though
there's no fruit in the stuff. (Surely I was still sober at this early
stage?)

4. DELILAH'S 10-YEAR SINGLE BARREL UNFILTERED BOURBON. I believe Mr. Miller
indicated that this bourbon was derived from the Van Winkle line of bourbon.
This was the last of the wheated bourbons we tried, with an elegant, well
balanced aroma (i.e., it smelled simply like bourbon), with a flavor that
was less bright than the previous two, but richer, deeper, earthier and more
well-rounded, with a much longer finish than anything we tried all night
except the two Old Potreros at the end. Excellent.

Disclosure: the next seven whiskeys, all featuring rye rather than wheat
(and most of them very modest amounts at that), didn't do much for me. So my
comments on them should perhaps be taken with more than usual dosage of
salt.

5. OLD FORESTER BOURBON. Strongly alcoholic, turpentine-like aroma; very
middle-of-the-road flavor (it should not have followed the Delilah house
brand).

6. WOODFORD RESERVE BOURBON. Aroma of apples plus turpentine; flavor was
much like that of a youngish, indifferent Speyside single-malt.

7. BASIL HAYDEN BOURBON. This had a mild, "fruity," slightly sweet aroma;
very mild, smooth flavor. Aptly described by Mr. Miller as a "ladies'
bourbon" (Joan: his words, not mine).

8. VERY OLD BARTON BOURBON. Aroma similar to the Basil Hayden, but not as
sweet, a little more turpentine (due, I would assume, to a stronger proof);
flavor was exceedingly mild, akin to Canadian whisky.

9. BUFFALO TRACE BOURBON. The least successful whiskey we tried, in my
opinion (apart from the leadoff corn squeezins). I thought it had no smell
at all, with a watery, corn-whiskey-like flavor.

10. WILD TURKEY RUSSELL'S RESERVE BOURBON. This was a good one, with a
strongly malty aroma (first sign of maltiness in the tasting; but stay
tuned) and a dark, rich, buttery flavor, slightly reminiscent of a superior
dark rum.

11. ELIJAH CRAIG 18-YEAR SINGLE BARREL BOURBON. Sweet, appley aroma with a
mellow, slightly clove-like flavor.

Last came the two Old Potreros. Initially Mr. Miller planned to serve only
the Single Malt Whiskey (from toasted barrels); but in the middle of working
himself, and us, into an ecstasy of expectation while he described its
glories, he noticed that his assistant had poured out the other Old Potrero
(from charred barrels). After a parliamentary exchange of ideas between
ourselves and he, Mr. Miller eventually came 'round to providing a sample of
the toasted-barrel Old Potrero as well.

12. ANCHOR DISTILLING "OLD POTRERO" STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY (CHARRED BARREL).
Not much finesse here but what a blockbuster! Intense aroma of pine cones
and pine forest; a rye plus black pepper flavor of intense fullness, depth
and length; kind of like drinking a liquid Ry Krisp (but better).

13. ANCHOR DISTILLING "OLD POTRERO" SINGLE MALT STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY
(TOASTED BARREL). This, in my opinion, was undoubtedly the finest drink
tasted. A very well-rounded, sweet, fruity, piney smell (but not
monochromatically piney like the charred Potrero); flavor of intense
maltiness - sweet, rich and peppery - just great! (And strong!)


SUPPLEMENTARY TASTING

After the official tasting was over, a few of us decided we needed to
supplement (ahem) our findings.

S1. BAKER'S. Gary Wiviott's bourbon of preference entering the tasting,
Baker's was smooth with nice flavor, a fine all-around bourbon.

S2. EVAN WILLIAMS. Aaron's preferred mixer bourbon - and I can see why.

I took notes at the time of the tasting, but they are long since lost and forgotten. I will say that I learned more about bourbon in the few hours we spent tasting and listening to Mike than I had in years of drinking bourbon. The basic division between wheated-bourbon and rye-bourbon was a revelation and seemed obvious after the tasting (how did it get by me for years?).

Anyway, count me in if we do this again with different bourbons. Especially if that Apple Fritter shows up again.