Bourbon Family Tree

10 year Old Rip VanWinkle Craig and Tim

10 Summer old, Old Rip Van Winkle Review Craig and Tim

Tasters: Tim and Craig

Contributors: Peg and Chelsea

Price: $33.95

Description: Asleep many years in the woods, 10 summers old (on the bottle)

Proof: 107

Appearance: Semi dark, golden, honey oak

Aroma: Soft sweet oaky smell with a tinge of vanilla. Very pleasing on the nose.

Chelsea was the only one, but she sensed honey.

Taste 1 Neat:

Craig: Tastes exactly like it smells. Sweet, smooth, soft and oaky in flavor. Sweet, not vanilla, I can’t exactly put my finger on the where the sweetness originates.           

Tim: Thick and rich on the tongue. Soft oak flavor with a hint of vanilla, very pleasing to say the least.

Rating: A-

Taste 2 Neat:

For both of us it was exactly the same, no deviation or change. Very consistent from taste 1.

Taste3, on the rocks:

Craig: not a whole lot of change really. Did not get any smoother, like in most bourbons. The only change I can really comment on is the oakyness is a bit bolder. I prefer the slight stronger hint of sweetness in the neat taste.

Tim: two small pieces of ice. No significant aroma change. The ice took the sweetness out of it and made the oaky flavor richer and fuller. Possibly a hint of spiciness, but not heavy by any means.

Rating:

Tim: A

Craig: B+

Overall rating:

Tim: A rating and at that price would only drink this bourbon for the rest of my life and would pay double.

Craig: A rating and at that price would not bat an eye t buy it again, would also pay double with no problem.

***Note***

Tasted 15-year-old Pappy directly after this taste. We both immediately agreed that it is exactly the same as the 10 except three times better. Full review at a later date. Is it possible to have higher than an A+ rating?  

Bourbon Tasting

Visited the Party Source in Newport Kentucky on 12-13-13. That is Friday the 13th 2013, let's talk about luck. We ( Tim, Tom, Mary Jane, Me and Sandy) tasted two top shelf bourbons. The luck is the first was George Stagg which was very good (this is not a review), but at 142 proof it needed proofing. The second was 23 year old Pappy. The Pappy was true to form, it was great (it must be the wheat for me). The servers said that the 23 year old is very good, but the 15 year old Pappy beats them all. Still waiting for the special occasion to open my 15 year old Pappy. The real luck is the one ounce tastes only cost 4 dollars.

Henry McKenna Craig and Tim

Tasters: Tim and Craig Contributors: Chelsea, Peg, Cindy, Rick Description: Henry McKenna Aged 10 Years Bottle-In-Bond 100 proof Barrel Number: 1062 Barrel Date: 8/15/2003 Appearance: ​Dark Amber, appears to be darker than other Bourbons we have had. Aroma: Craig: Stronger than other Bourbons I’ve smelled, tended to burn the nose. Also smelled a sort of caramel hint ​Tim: Somewhat oakey and sweet aroma. ​Overall: Oakey, sweet, with a hint of walnut and caramel. Taste 1, neat: Craig taste 1: First feeling was a strong spiciness. I believe I took too large a taste causing the excess burn. Rating: C Tim taste 1: First impression was there was less burn than expected from 100 proof bourbon, my expectation was a stronger, hotter taste than the mildness I sensed. Rating: B Craig taste 2: Smooth and nice. Mildly spicy, and not being a fan of spicy bourbon I am surprised I enjoy it as much as I do. Rating: B Time taste 2: Thick on the tounge, a little heavier on the rye flavor than I am accustomed to, but not severe in the sense it becomes a nuisance. Rating: B- Taste 2, one ice cube: Craig taste 1: The burn and spiciness of the no ice taste test is almost gone. Very pleasant and smooth, no after taste or burn. Rating: B Tim taste 1: Still an oakey rye taste, no burn, mild and very nice. The ice softened and enhanced the flavor. The entire taste was on the same level of flavor and potency from beginning to end. Rating: B+ Smell and the flavor is exactly the same Slight anise hints Very nice bourbon with consistency from smell to taste, wood flavor. With ice, no burn. Everyone who smelled and tasted agrees that the strongest aroma and taste is wood, then there are hints of anise, walnut, and almond. There is a smell that is also in the flavor that we cannot identify. We think it is due to the rye part of the mash bill, but not overpowering like rye bourbons. Overall Rating: Tim: B but would buy it again. Craig: B+ and will buy it again.

Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2013 Edition

So Buffalo Trace releases an antique collection each year in the fall.  Gotta find out more about this!!

Knob Creek Review

I have completed my first ever review of a straight bourbon whiskey, Knob Creek.  I have never tried Knob Creek nor have I consumed very much bourbon during my 67 years. Being a novice I was intellectually and sensually intimidated by the whole process.  I wasn’t sure my senses were up to the finite discrimination required of the task, and they weren’t.

To provide my mind with a mental context, I sought out other reviews of Knob Creek.  That did help focus my brain/senses, but believe me I definitely need bourbon tasting sensual diversity training.  

The review:

Knob Creek

Amount: 50 ml

Proof: 100—diluted with 1 teaspoon of filtered water.

Info on bottle: Aged 9 years, small batch, hand bottled in limited quantities for superior smoothness

Color: Medium to dark amber.

Nose: After a few minutes of sniffing (to get over the alcohol aroma) I could definitely detect the oak and maple sugar nose.

Taste: The caramel flavor was most dominant, but the oak notes were there as well.

Finish: The finish was smooth. But, the fist two swallows seemed to kick like a 12 gauge shotgun. As my palette learned what to expect the subsequent swallows produced more of a 410 kick/tap.

Overall: The bourbon was good I would try it again. Since this the first, in what I hope is a series of review, I may need to revise my impression.

Bourbon Family Tree

I tried to put the jpg on the blog without luck.  Here is the link.  It appeared in an article in GQ magazine. I thought it was interesting.  I bought the book (Nook book) in which it was originally published.  The GQ article mentions the book title if you are interested.

http://www.gq.com/life/food/201311/bourbon-whiskey-family-tree

Knob Creek – Small batch (9 yr) 100pf

A true novice’s review

I performed my 1^st ever bourbon review on this 375mL bottle purchased from my local Powhatan ABC store for $18.90.  I chose Knob Creek as my 1^st review because it seemed to be a good value (not cheap) and I’ve heard good things from friends.  After finishing the bottle I realized I should’ve jumped to at least a full 5^th.  I tended to struggle detecting some of the components and before I knew it, the bottle was empty (apparent in the blurred picture I took in haste).  I attribute most of my struggles with my inexperience, which would obviously affect my review so I tried to compensate by breaking the review into 2 parts; performance against label claim and performance relative to my personal likes/dislikes (the former of which should be taken with a grain of salt).

My review

In general my 1^st review was a bit chaotic as I was making it up as I went along.  I did learn a lot along the way.  So instead of walking you through that “process” step-by-step to share my experience, which Josh did such a good job of in his review of EC, I decided to simply list the attributes measured and applicable grades.  Hopefully you find it somewhat useful.

My tasting was at room temperature, neat with a couple of sips after being diluted to 92 pf (0.5 tsp/oz.).  Before I thought to test it with ice I had about 3 swallows left so I’ll have to test that out next time.

Label Claim
Knob Creek describes this 9yr small batch as, “a dark amber product with expansive notes of maple sugar, toasted nuts and oak and a taste that takes over your palate with big notes of oak, caramel and fruit.  The finish is long and smooth with more kick than most.”

(Grades:  Label Claim/Personal)

Color (A/B+) – Moderate to dark amber (I personally like the appearance of the deep mahogany/red colored bourbons.  This was very close although I feel I don’t have a good standard to measure the color consistently yet)

Aroma (B/B+) – Initial sweet sugary oak with a masked aroma that could be described as toasted nut after some breathe time (or after proofing to 92).  Nice smoky oak or nutty aroma intensifies with more sitting time (Difficult to describe the aroma without knowing the label claim, but a good overall aroma with some character to help distinguish it from others.  I liked it, which is why I should have gotten the 5^th!)

Taste (C/B-) – Smooth with a generic sweetness initially, and a smoky taste (maybe oak/nut) that lingers a bit and strengthens after holding in your mouth.  Slight bitter taste in the back of the throat that tends to mute other flavors, but doesn’t linger too long (Difficult to taste the “big notes” of caramel and fruit even after proofing to 92 and allowing to breathe.  This grade is expected to improve some with experience)

Feel (na/B-) – Initially smooth (like water) on the tongue with some spicy heat that builds very slightly and lingers on the tongue and lips a bit.  Didn’t really coat the mouth.  Heat is briefly overshadowed by a moderate throat burn, but the heat does come back to play a bit in the finish (Grade mostly affected by my desire for more spiciness and a rich coating)

Finish (B/B) – Moderate in length and intensity - Pleasant with a slight spicy kick and slightly bitter after taste that fades relatively quickly with a moderate throat burn (at 100 and 92 proof) – (any bitterness is not desired, although it is expected to decrease with an additional dilution.  Overall happy with the finish, but nothing to write home about)

Value (na/B) – Fairly good value for the quality and age, but a bit high for a small batch bourbon.  Although a fair price in Virginia, would recommend a good barrel proof or single barrel at this price point.

RESULTS

Label Claim – B (Primarily affected by the lack of fruit and caramel detected in the flavor profile, which is suspected to be at least partly due to my inexperience)

Personal – B (more spice, a better coating and a bit less bitterness (not significant) would likely have bumped this up a letter grade)

Overall – B (I would recommend the 9yr. Knob Creek small batch as a solid option for someone who isn’t looking for a rich, spicy bourbon, but would like a nice smooth bourbon that could be enjoyed neat or in a mixed drink)

Pappy

Stopped at Mountain Liquor in Maryland after visiting Gettysburg. We were looking for 44 N Vodka for Angel.  Didn't have the Vodka, had just gotten in a few bottles of Pappy. Bought this fifteen year old for $129.99; they sold the twenty year old the day before. They had two bottles of the fifteen, I should have bought the other.  The also had three bottles of ten year old for $69.99 each.

We stopped in another liquor store in Frederick Maryland, where we found the Vodka.  I told the gentleman at the store that I had just bought the Pappy.  He said when they have it they get $30.00 more than what I paid.

I have never been on a blog so not sure what to do. Oh yea I guess have another Bourbon and think about it.