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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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Straight Rye Whiskey
45% abv
$26
Sazerac Rye whiskey comes from Buffalo Trace Distillery, the production site and innovation teams responsible for what can most simply be called great American whiskeys and bourbons. More HERE.
In 1803 A.A. Peychaud created a cocktail based on cognac/brandy that was popularized in the 1850s and christened a Sazerac in the 1870s, once whiskey replaced cognac as the primary spirit ingredient.
As America's first cocktail it had to fight typically American oppressions, unfair taxation of imported spirits driving brandy out of the recipe of "America's first cocktail", The Noble Experiment, and the outlawing of one of the drink's ingredients (absinthe), driving the drink deeper into the melting pot, adapting to its new surroundings of 'freedom' under the heavy hand of religion and government. Ah, America; you contradiction, you.
Sazerac cocktail
1.5 oz Sazerac Rye Whiskey
1 tsp. Absinthe or Pernod
1 tsp. sugar
3 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters
Ice
Coat a chilled glass with the Absinthe/Pernod by swirling it around being sure to touch the sides and bottom of the glass. In a cocktail shaker, add ice, rye whiskey, sugar and bitters. Shake, then strain into the absinthe/pernod lined glass.
John Campbell of Laphroaig ordered me a Laphroizerac in Philadelphia, a drink where the absinthe/pernod is replaced by Laphroaig. Delish. And weird.
TASTING NOTES:
Herbal with a honey sweetness. Dentist office minty-ness, some coconut milk and vanilla, and a green vegetal sharpness that keeps it fresh.
Orange rind, spice, honey, sweet vermouth and unsalted Triscuits. Dry oakiness to finish.
SUMMARY:
Loved the nose, unusual (to me), sweet and odd. The palate was dry, and lacking... something. It was pointed, edgy. Which can be cool, I suppose. This whisky is allegdly 6 years old, three times the legal minimum, but I conclude that this is a whiskey better suited to mixing in fine cocktails than sipping straight. The spiciness and edge can also be attributed to the nature or rye whisky, I suppose.
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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.
Malt Mission #341
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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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