Malt Mission 2009 #370

Honest McGee
"Medicial Elixir"
bot. Oct 31, 2009
Blended American Whiskey
abv% uknown
$¢£ priceless

It's about time that I wrapped up this pentad of American whiskies and what better way to do it than with something terribly unique and wholly unusual. I was intending to feature Parker's latest Heritage release but when Greenback Dollar and Associates handed me this wee bottle of goodness at WhiskyFEST NYC earlier this week I knew that it had to be tasted and shared post haste.

With an attractive matte label of vibrant although muted colours, Honest McGee comes complete with multiple text fonts and sizes, but what the text actually says is what is most intriguing:

"twas when he was serving on the western front of the great war that ol' trenchfoot mcgee first created his corn-based medicinal elixir to soothe the nerves of the allied troops. decades later, his great grandson greenie inherited the recipe and set about honoring his ancestor by bottling the elixir and selling it to rubes at a fair price. hand crafted from a blend of elmer t. lee bourbon, ancient ancient age bourbon, and rittenhouse rye (greenie chose to leave out the trench water), then finished in a cask that once contained alvear carlos VII amontillado, honest mcgee's blended american whiskey is as smooth as a southern gentleman, and as sassy as a southern belle."

Sounds delicious. More HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Grape juice and rich, sweet vanilla notes. Sweet and light with a weighty, oaky backbone. Creme brulee, a touch of sage, and more sweet grape notes like gum or juice powder.

Surprisingly mellow considering it is very likely 45% abv or more, with distinctly toasty characteristics. Raisins, vanillin, and oak strike in a quick, staccato chord of flavour that hints at stawberries, almonds and chocolate but alludes to much more than it actually becomes.

SUMMARY:
Not one to mull over for hours but, man, could I ever make this bottle empty quickly! What it lacks in development it more than makes up for in its drinkability:richness ratio. An interesting drop that takes the flavours of Kentucky into new, grape-soaked dimensions. What could very well have been a dry drop (Ancient Age 10yo + Rittenhouse Rye?) actually becomes a great bourbony bed upon which to let Elmer T Lee show all its sweet fruitiness. Add to that the fact that Greenie takes it all to the next juicy level with the amontillado finish and you have a medicinal elixir worth fighting for. More please?

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Malt Mission 2009 #369

Michter's 10yo, GH-1
Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey
47.2% abv
$75 (USD)

"Michter's: the Whiskey that warmed the Revolution."

In 1753, Swiss Menonite farmer John Shenk joined the American tradition of whiskey making and built a farm distillery in Schaefferstown, PA for "local use". Within four generations the family distillery became a commercial venture (apparently on the back of supplying Washington's troops with liquid courage) and was sold.

After prohibition closed the distillery, a confusing web of tales seems to exist that this author tries to untangle, but the story seems to end the same: "sometime around 1991 everyone just up and left." Today, what was the Michter's distillery is a crumbling, weed-overrun site that scarecely looks like it ever produced anything.

The name "Michter's", however, was sold to Chatham Imports who proceeded to revive the brand with great success.

And goddamn it if this isn't just another example of how hard it is to wrap one's head around the world of American whiskey. Can't wait to finish my American "weeks" here on the mission; I don't have time for invesitgative journalism!

There still seems to be plenty of mystery surrounding the Michter's name and history that scholars far more informed on the topic than Dr. Whisky cannot seem to answer. For more info, check out Cowdery's book, click HERE or HERE, or just have a googlygander yourselves. Geneology in the world of American whiskey can be hard to navigate, but is made somewhat easier by this great online resource from Sku, Complete List of American Distilleries and Brands, which tells us who bottles this liquid (KBD), but gives no info on who produces the sauce. Heaven Hill? Other? Anyone have an idea?

Finally, this past weekend we saw the Michter's range on optic at the Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Not something you see very often in this country so I thought it was interesting and that I would share it with you here.

Now, finally, let's taste.

TASTING NOTES:

Whoa. Vegetal, meaty, oraganic and gingery. Some floral notes but the meatiness persists with lamb and peanut butter, ginger again, green peas and/or soy beans. Brown sugar, clay, muddy autumn leaves, and plasticine.

Kale, vinegar and ice cream truck butterscotch. Strachy, bean-y. Perfumy vanilla. Oaky and spicy on the way out.

SUMMARY:

Firm, fun flavours, unusual ones, too, but jaw-splittingly unbalanced. It would be hard to get me to fill another glass, YES even if I added some Bernheim Wheat, rye, vinegar or applesauce. What is the point in trying to make this more appealing to me? Life is too short to drink whisky I don't enjoy and lord knows there is no shortage of fine drops to drink instead.

Now, I have examined other reviews of this and spoken with several friends about their reactions to the whiskey and although it is quite clear that David and I had a very different reaction to this whiskey than the majority of others, I stand by my (our?) opinion and only slightly reluctantly press "publish", esp in light of all the recent Dr bashing.

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Malt Mission 2009 #368

Four Roses Single Barrel
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
TN 85-4L
50% abv
$40 (USD)

Although Wikipedia tells us that Four Roses was possibly named after original founder Rufus Mathewson Rose, his brother and two sons, Four Roses' website tells the story of Paul Jones, Jr., founder of Four Roses, whose love interest accepted his invitation to a grand ball and showed up wearing, as promised, a corsage of 4 red roses. I guess if we whisk(e)y nerds weren't spending all our online time surfing porn and writing vitriolic comments on whisky websites and fora we could remedy the spread of misinformation. But where would be the fun in that?

Four Roses produces 10 different recipes of bourbons out of 5 different yeast strains and two mashbills (one 60% corn, one 75% corn) at their Lawrenceburg, Kentucky-based distillery. While most of their whiskies are made with a mix of each between 2 to 10 of these different bourbons, this Single Barrel is, obviously, I suppose, made using only one.

From 1957, Four Roses bourbon was unavailable in its country of origin with Yellow and Black label being more easily found in Kyoto than Kentucky.

Master Distiller Jim Rutledge continues to make great whisky: 5 stars from F. Paul Pacult, Gold at the ISC, and Best Bourbon (no age statement) WWA 2008. So the verdict is in. What of any significance could my opinion possibly add?

Tasted as a part of a lovely morning session with DS.

TASTING NOTES:

Big and sweet. Luscious candy fruitiness, Bazooka bubble gum, Watermelon Hubba Bubba, Juicy Fruit. Coconut and gorse, even some baby powder with water.

Dry but chewy with basil, mint, caramel. Sweet and light, floral. Cream soda and maple with time and a pleasant slightly bitter and spicy finish.

SUMMARY:

Interesting and tasty drop that kept insisting I stick and re-stick my nose in the glass and revel in its big, sweet, voluptuous vapours. My only complaint (or perhaps oversight on my part) is that there is no indication of which mashbill this cask is made. They have this cool tool on their website but the numbers on the label (TN 85 4L) seem to have no relationship to the spirit codes but rather to the cask and warehouse number. Would be cool to know which spirit is which, esp as it is single barrel, no?

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Malt Mission 2009 #361

Old Weller Antique
"The Original 107 Brand"
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
53.5% abv
£25
$23

Fuck Scotch. There, I said it.

And you have ALL been thinking it. And typing it all over the world wide interweave. You know you have.

Fuck Scotch.
Say it!
Doesn't that feel good?

Money grubbing capitalists colouring their computer-produced imported barley spirit shit brown, pumping it into bell-shaped/square/triangular/crystal bottles (that POISON us!) and then increasing their carbon footprints by shipping it all over this blessed, otherwise perfect world, and selling it at a premium to noveau riche wankers from India to Indiana. Disgusting. How dare they?

Fuck fucking Scotch.
Yup.
THAT JUST HAPPENED.

1000 whisky jobs lost in Scotland last month, $16,000 dollar new releases, $18,000 bottles at auction, and mutually masterbatory awards and festivals where these whisky makers (read "venture capitalists") congratulate themselves to the point of orgasm, then bottle it and call their new make "the spirit drink that dare not speak its name." Well sirs, we do not swallow your lies. We spit.

Fuck Scotch.
Let's have a stretch of non-Scotch whiskies here on the Malt Mission.

Here's a 'wheated' bourbon from the good people at Buffalo Trace. And, as the faux-vintage label so eloquently says, this stuff is "7 summers old".

TASTING NOTES:

Full of vegetables and bitter oak. Parsnip, tomatoes, celery salt. Maraschino cherry. Starchy, brown sugar sweetness and raw corn.

Apple crumble, vanilla, boiled potatoes. Kicks my ass when I swallow it. baBang! Spicy. Cinnamon, some vanilla and maple syrup, but jeebus... Cutting it brings out pecans, more apples, and a warming butterscotch flavour. Oak drives the finish and, believe it or not, I reach for my glass again and again until it is dry.

SUMMARY:

Okay, maybe don't "fuck scotch" so soon.

Seriously, though, this liquid can take an insult and throw it right back in your face. Yes, this bourbon bites back. Alcohol with attitude. Definite bang for buck cuz I been banged up good.

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Malt Mission 2009 #344

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Four Grain
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
46.2% abv
$80

I think this drop has the longest name to be had on the Malt Mission. Congratulations!

Woodford Reserve is the only triple-distilled pot still-produced bourbon in the world and the bottle shape of the Master's Collection is seemingly inspired by those copper kettles. Brown-Forman bought the historic Labrot & Graham distillery in 1994 with the explicit intention of producing a quality pot still-produced bourbon. The result has been well-received and Kentucky is all the better having this "spiritual resurrection" of an otherwise derelict distillery that might have faded into history. The explicit intention was always to create a bourbon fit for sipping like a single malt, not for mixing with coke, and the stills used were made at Fosyth's of Rothes in Scotland.

So what is Four Grain? Typically, bourbon is made with three grains, corn (at least 51%), rye, and barley. The fourth grain here refers to the addition of wheat and in this case the mash bill recipe is based on one from 1903, according to the distillers. This liquid was launched in 2005 in a worldwide release of just 250 cases.

For more distillery info and to see other Woodford Reserve whiskey tasted on the mission, click HERE.

Thanks to GS for opening this puppy to share. Sharing is caring. And you do. So thanks.

TASTING NOTES:

Grainy and sweet, root vegetable (parsnip, carrots, even turnips) and a floral note with cherry pie, a drop of vinegar, and some Chinese 5-spice.

Hot and oaky, rye toast, brown sugar granola, sushi nori and sticky rice, cinnamon buns, with a bundle of baked and sweetly spiced notes in the finish.

SUMMARY:

Flavourful but somehow thin, light, and lacking body or structure. That being said, perfectly refreshing with a mellowed sweetness that would be well suited to accompany the zip/zing of spiced bbq, korean food, or curry.

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Malt Mission 2009 #342

Buffalo Trace
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
45% abv
$23

Continuing my week of American whiskey on the Malt Mission, and it seems the lads over at Caskstrength are on a similar kick.

I think it is safe to say that American whiskey is booming. Sure, the LCBO still carries more Irish than American, but when one cannot count on liquor control to represent the spirits market or cater to consumer demand(!). Since 2003, premium bourbon and American whiskey has seen huge increases domestically and worldwide, and in 2007 whiskey exports exceeded $1billion dollars for the first time which indicates that value has been added to a category that has for so long been under-appreciated and drowned in Coke.

Buffalo Trace has been a leader in this regard raising distribution of its award-winning straight bourbon as well as introducing antique (fine & rare) releases on an annual basis.

Buffalo Trace, as a brand, was introduced in 1999 and is produced at a distillery of the same name but that was previously known as O.F.C. Distillery or George T. Stagg Distillery. The distillery washbacks/fermeters are the largest in the industry and their website indicates that the best maturing casks are found in warehouses C, I and K, and only from the middle racks. This is a less common practice in Scotch whisky because in America more warehouses are climate controlled. In the case of Buffalo Trace, they pump steam into the warehouses during the winter months. They've been using this technique since 1886 and were the first to do so.

TASTING NOTES:

Lemon peels, apple sauce, red licorice and jelly beans with a richly vanilla-ed oakiness backing it all up.

More candied fruitiness, red licorice again, with the spice of rye and sweetness of corn in complex but pleasing balance.

SUMMARY:

A tasty sipping whiskey with great balance and approachability. And with a friendly price tag to boot.

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Malt Mission 2009 #341

Ezra Brooks 90 Proof
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
45% abv
$15

My expertise(1) is in Scotch whisky and I have never pretended to know about bourbon or American whiskey. As a result, this blog has seen very few posts featuring the American spirit. Since moving to the USA last June, however, I have been reading, attending tastings, and conducting "field research" in order to increase my knowledge and understanding of American whiskies. I am not there yet, but with the help of some friends, libraries, and distilleries, I hope to gain a wider appreciation for American whiskies and feature more on the Malt Mission. The web provides a pretty flimsy resource for information about the history of the spirit that isn't corporate or commercial, but content is growing every day. In this regard, I ask for your help and guidance. If there are any errors in my coverage of American whiskey, please correct me. Cheers.

It is said that in the 1830s there were over 2000 distilleries in Kentucky, certainly most of them were illegal. In the decade before prohibition there were some 200 distilleries. Today, there are 9 (thank you Sku!). Most of these distilleries produce a wide variety of brands, and this Ezra Brooks is one such example. Owned by Luxco, a company that produces spirit in St. Louis, this whisky is likely sourced from Heaven Hill thus earning the label "kentucky striaght bourbon".

More American whiskey to come in the next few posts.

TASTING NOTES:

Spicy with rye and kimmel seeds, maybe some black pepper. Starchy like raw corn. A sweet, smoky note like charred barbecue sauce and a good licking of oak in there, too.

Hot, cinnamon gum, red licorice, then mellows into a nice black licorice lozenge with vanilla cream and raspberries.

SUMMARY:

Not at all disappointing, and it must be admitted that I came into this with far more pre-judgement than I like to on the mission. Not great, but quite good. Worked well in a Manhattan over the weekend, too.

Have you ever been told or shown the technique of trying a whisky without drinking it whereby you pour some of the spirit into your hands, rub it in until most of the alcohol evaporates, and then take a whiff of your cupped palms? I DO NOT recommend this technique with this drop unless you want to induce vomiting or turn someone off whisk(e)y for life. Sour and rotten smells came of my hands, though that may say more about my hands than the spirit...

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Malt Mission 2008 #305

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16yo
Bourbon Whiskey
45.5% abv
£80
$190 (USD)

As it is July 4, I thought I would taste an American whiskey. I really have not done the due exploration that this whole realm of spirit deserves. I hope to in time now that I am an Alien of Extraordinary Ability residing in the U S of A.

Yeah, America starts with the letter A (the theme of the past week of drams), and so does this bourbon. Distilled in 1974 at the now closed Michter's distillery in Schaefferstown, Virginia, and dedicated to one of the very few men named Adolf worthy of our admiration, Hirsch 16yo is, their website tells us, "the oldest available bourbon made from the time honored pot still tradition."

Quite a great history to the distillery and its craftsmen, too. Go read more HERE. Or HERE. And do NOT confuse this drop with Hirsch Canadian whisky. Speaking of which, why does the bourbon suck so bad at the LCBO? That's not very neighbourly, eh?

This drop is considered by many to be the epitome of bourbon and each remaining bottle represents a sort of time capsule of a craftsmanship in American Whiskey making that, arguably, remains unparalleled today. There have been three bottlings of this expressions (as well as a 20 year old version), and once this batch is gone, that'll be the end of this baby.

Happy Independence Day, or whatever one says on the 4th of July. Don't be stupid around fireworks or booze and motor vehicles.

TASTING NOTES:

Stewed fruits. Honey or no, maple syrup. Perhaps even maple itself, woody. Vanilla and oak with a pleasant bitterness like orange peel and rye.

Wow, strange, and somehow mouthwatering. Juicy like fruitella or something. Grapefruit, but the gentlest pink assortment. Crispy underbelly of sugary cookies. Slightly minty now. The flavours turn and turn in your mouth. Real flavourwheel stuff.

SUMMARY:

A warm and warming bowl of flavours in wonderful balance, a liquid whose aromas are synchro swimming in the pool of my perceptions. Really, quite beautiful. As with most bourbons, and maybe this what makes me a barley spirit addict, the palate pulls too much in the direction of oak and drying tannins. Here however the experience is saved by a gorgeous mouthfeel and flavour development combination that really softens that effect. I read a turn of phrase I really liked in another tasting note online, "explodes with the force of a mouses sneeze." While I never experienced an explosion as such, the flavours turned and moved against my senses like a wind-blown salsola/tumbleweed, that iconic image from a western movie. Now there's that bit of Americana I was digging for to close this paragraph.

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Malt Mission 2008 #238

Woodford Reserve (batch 79)
Small Batch Straight Kentucky Bourbon
45.2% abv
£24
$45.60 (CAD)
$28 (USD)

Two hundred and thirty eight (238!) Malt Missions and FINALLY, Dr. Whisky is having a bourbon. I am sure I will expand in this area if I ever live in the US. It is a vast whisky/whiskey world out there, and I intend to continue to tackle it one dram at a time...

It is said that the key to bourbon maturation is the Kentucky climate: the cold winters and the hot summers. Maturing casks of whiskey expand and contract with these temperature changes forcing the spirit to suck up the flavours in the new charred oak barrels. Having lived in Scotland I feel comfortable in saying the climate is much less extreme. I have called it perpetual spring/autumn and it is really not that far from the truth. That being said, the weather is the most unpredictable thing one can encounter in Scotland. Where Kentucky has 4 distinct seasons over the span of a year, Scotland can have four over the span of a day. This is just one reason why bourbon and Scotch single malt whisky can taste so very different from one another.

By law, bourbon must be made in the USA, must be matured in NEW charred oak barrels, must be made from at least 51% corn, must be natural (ie. no added anything, save water), and must be distilled to no more than 80% abv. All of these factors create a spirit that is darker in colour than typical Scotch whisky and that carries more of a toffeed, caramel sweetness from the new oak than Scotch. Most bourbons reach maturity after 4 years in oak (and can be called "straight bourbon" after just two). Scotch whisky can mature from 3 to 63 years, but bourbon can become over-oaked at a much younger age. That being said, there are a some excellent 6-20 year old bourbons on the market today, but 20+ really is ancient for bourbon.

Woodford Reserve represents not only the renaissance of one old-time Kentucky distillery but of the renaissance that ALL bourbon has experienced over the past decade. In 1994, Brown-Forman (owners of Jack Daniels) bought the derelict Labrot & Graham distillery. This was the location of Old Oscar Pepper distillery and was where Scotsman James Crow effectively created the sourmash process in the production of what we know as bourbon.* Woodford is made using pot stills (unusual in bourbon-production) and they even triple distill it (even more unusual). Further, the mashbill (recipe of grains) includes wheat, rye, barley, and corn (most bourbons use only three). By law, the staves of the new oak barrels are charred, but Woodford uses charred cask heads as well. To further enhance aging, Woodford Reserve is matured in a heated, stone-walled warehouse (a tradition in Bourbon that has precedent as early as 1892). With this much care for production, a whole generation of drinkers were fostered to appreciate bourbon as they would a single malt, not just a spirit to enhance Coca Cola.(i think he's talking to yoooo)

This small-batch bourbon has developed a loyal following, is one of the fastest growing spirits in the world, and has received critical praise winning Gold medals at the 2001 and 2003 IWSC and Double Golds at the World Spirits competition. I think it is a well-suited drop to be the first bourbon on the mission.

Tasted with KK, her notes appear in quotes.

* - Dave Broom, Handbook of Whisky, (Octopus Publishing Group: London) 2000, p. 128

TASTING NOTES:

Sweet, and spicy with grain. Floral. Complex but soft. Red BigFoot gummies, "yeah, candy, like Sours." Sour coated wine gums.

Sweet and sour. Jelly beans. White grapes. Lemony. Orange peels, or sweeter; clementines. Upon swallowing it all changes. Rich and full with an explosion of alcohol, dark chocolate, faint mosquito repellent. "Very drying, like dry wine." Finish gets sweet and perfumy after time, more like the initial palate, with marzipan and strawberry shortcake. Lovely perfumed flavours linger.

SUMMARY:

I am the first to admit that Scottish whisky is my area of whisk(e)y "expertise". That is this doctor's specialty. I have 5 solid years of real tasting experience. With bourbon I have next to none, so I do not pretend (like so many bloggers and forum lurchers out there) to be evaluating something which I am only beginning to understand. These are not whisky reviews. In fact, even after years of experience and self-training (with guidance from Charlie Maclean, Robin Laing, RHicks, RP, DR ...), Dr. Whisky doesn't really evaluate, he just tries to describe.

I learned a great deal about bourbon while drinking this whiskey and I felt I finally understood how it was functioning flavour-wise by the time my glass was empty. I will do more reading and "research" away from the Malt Mission and come back with more bourbon in the future.

Kristin thinks this would benefit from soda. If you don't know her, before you say anything or dismiss her comment, remember she is the Ardbeg freak in this family and her favourite region is 'cask strength'. "Yeah, cuz whisky [Scottish single malt] I would have on its own, its bigger somehow. This would need something to, to sprite it up." I suggest Sprite. "Yeah, or just soda. It feels like its lacking something, could use something else, which I think it would benefit from. But this wouldn't carry smoke and peat. (Scotch) Whisky doesn't need anything. I like (Scotch) whisky cuz it is fuller."
(pause)
"But hey, I finished it, so I must like it." She did. And quickly.

I like how prominent the grains are in the nose and the big oaky toastiness with all the sweet citrus, caramel and vanilla tones. In the mouth the flavour intensity increases becoming very oaky and bitter like chocolate-covered coffee beans or candied orange peels. For me, the highlight is the finish and beyond. I really liked it about 30 seconds after swallowing, when just the flavours (no tannins, no alcohol) lingered in my mouth, which they did for about 3 additional minutes. I do like a Manhattan and the spiciness and orange peel zest here would suit such a drink very well.

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