tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73152621558588007342024-03-13T22:58:06.489-04:00Seen Through a GlassLew Bryson's blog: beer, whiskey, other drinks, travel, eats, whatever strikes my fancy.Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.comBlogger1651125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-26681541918341818242023-01-04T10:25:00.000-05:002023-01-04T10:25:04.573-05:00This Isn't the Seen Through A Glass podcast...But You Can Get There From Here<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://seenthroughaglass.podbean.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="2365" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshTB_54R_O0hp15G53bT37t7PxKaVTP-2hrmr38d2AJrOEjXm3ajySl5ur20dZfsY9EC0xhhIMdzf9ZeEuaUIU2wmlSB8c422b6dUZNZ5-LoPtNfhrb5WsAD9BS45SRX1xDypVGi1q9a3zCcixtDLgSJg-gAJXeQhyQXNnEzizgO6kBnt_p4NoK1D/w400-h236/STAG%20LOGO%20RESIZED.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />You're almost there...<p></p><p>If you're looking for my new podcast, Seen Through A Glass, about drinking and eating and such in central Pennsylvania, well, you've found its namesake, my old blog. You're welcome to stick around and have a look, but if you want to get to the podcast, that's <a href="https://seenthroughaglass.podbean.com/">here</a>. Or you can search for it on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher, if you prefer those channels.</p><p>Thanks for dropping by!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkH8AK5oop5wSXnIY20SCni-2Q_vymPx1fmBg74Vuo4vJNQ2KAqz8n3IBHesTq1nd9YfpRgXAAKOovgkOXyoYwlUWa0xUSqBhgUzTfOu-_q-qEITRNUrbDXbDdkAIto0rk2Qbis78OhaXhFQOW9N4U-nJ7rDjYRo37hjZE4yJR34p23PtNqMKUfGS/s3264/IMG_20220924_112334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="1836" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkH8AK5oop5wSXnIY20SCni-2Q_vymPx1fmBg74Vuo4vJNQ2KAqz8n3IBHesTq1nd9YfpRgXAAKOovgkOXyoYwlUWa0xUSqBhgUzTfOu-_q-qEITRNUrbDXbDdkAIto0rk2Qbis78OhaXhFQOW9N4U-nJ7rDjYRo37hjZE4yJR34p23PtNqMKUfGS/s320/IMG_20220924_112334.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-56044722544392187202021-01-01T10:59:00.004-05:002021-01-01T10:59:45.300-05:00New Year. New Post. Again. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTUfg9eYCCCJzkQB0Bd9r6trw0nMU3hz6zXKYuTNIFoJXkxFYH8X6j9GhadD_6njECqVlI48wuKRLqnEhwOdyOdnJxcf6fOIyqSW_LKaCtOXw3j5dLEfSRHCrMabJt0UJ8FBbZIbosSQ/s3200/IMG_20201028_130740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3200" data-original-width="2400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTUfg9eYCCCJzkQB0Bd9r6trw0nMU3hz6zXKYuTNIFoJXkxFYH8X6j9GhadD_6njECqVlI48wuKRLqnEhwOdyOdnJxcf6fOIyqSW_LKaCtOXw3j5dLEfSRHCrMabJt0UJ8FBbZIbosSQ/w240-h320/IMG_20201028_130740.jpg" title="Remember me?" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember me? </td></tr></tbody></table><p>No apologies, no excuses. Here's why I'm here. I did a lot of writing on social media the past three days about the FDA trying to suddenly charge small distillers a fee for making hand sanitizer. And as I was putting up a final post this morning, I thought; this is kinda long-form. I'd have been blogging this ten years ago. <i>Why not now? </i>Because the problem with social media is that it reminds me of Keats's epitaph: "written in water." You can't find it, you can't go back and refer to it. I mean, you <i>can, </i>but it's not easy. </p><p>I'll try this again. I hate wasting my writing. </p><p>Here's what I wrote this morning on Facebook. </p><p>So...just a final follow-up to the whole small distillery FDA fee fiasco over the past three days. <b>To recap</b>: FDA suddenly announced Tuesday evening that the distillers who stepped up and made hand sanitizer (at cost, or as a donation) were going to have to <b>pay a $14,060 fee </b>as OTC drug manufacturers. There was a <b>huge outcry</b>, and then the <b>chief of staff of the HHS Secretary </b>(FDA reports to them) got involved and <b>squashed it, hard</b>. We win! </p><p>But...I've since seen people <b>blaming Trump </b>for this, and much as I'd love to hop on that bandwagon, because <b>screw that guy</b>, it's just not the case this time. <b>Facts matter</b>, we keep saying about the crazy things Trump and his merry followers say...which means <b>they matter for us, too. </b></p><p><b>Here's the deal</b>, and I'm pretty sure about all of this. I know this for a fact: Congress decided years ago that <b>FDA cost too much </b>(WHAT? How much is safety worth?), and Big Pharma really needed the FDA, and Big Pharma had lots of money, so...they started <b>making FDA a fee-funded agency</b>, and <b>cut their budget</b>. I suspect that this led to a small bureaucracy within a bureaucracy at the FDA that was dedicated to <b>finding new sources of revenues</b>; i.e., creating new fees. Inevitable, really. </p><p>So if you want to <b>blame </b>someone -- I know I do! -- <b>blame Congress</b>. Don't bother with a party -- they're <b>almost always </b>both complicit in under-the-radar stuff like this -- and <b>oddly enough</b>, don't blame Trump, for a change; it was actually the HHS Secretary (a <b>Trump appointee</b>) that had his chief of staff squash this so rapidly. As <b>my mom </b>says, even a <b>blind hog </b>finds an acorn once in a while.</p><p><b>Let's keep it honest.</b> It's a new year, that's a good place to start.</p><p><i>Maybe I'm back, maybe I'm not. We'll see. It's a new year, that's a good place to start. </i></p>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-77065655009349618462020-02-26T17:38:00.000-05:002020-02-26T17:38:38.055-05:00Iron Hill Newtown: At Long LastI live near Newtown, Pennsylvania. I tend to tell people I live in Philly; if they're familiar with it, I say northern suburbs; if they ask where, I usually say "Langhorne," because that's my mailing address. But I don't actually live in Langhorne, and we do almost all of our grocery shopping, hardware store runs, takeout food pickup, and post office stuff in Newtown, I go to church in Newtown.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First bright tank off the truck</td></tr>
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So a brewpub coming to Newtown, finally, after almost 30 years of living here, is a Big Deal. (No offense to <a href="https://www.newtownbrewingco.com/" target="_blank">Newtown Brewing</a>, but a tasting room isn't the same as a brewpub.) It's even better that it's an <b><a href="https://www.ironhillbrewery.com/newtown-pa" target="_blank">Iron Hill</a></b>. I've been pumped ever since I heard about it. And when I found out that the brewhouse was arriving today, well, I wanted to go see.<br /><br />At least it wasn't raining or snowing. Pretty gray day, but the team was already at work when I got there, just taking the first bright tank off the truck. "The team," by the way, is all Iron Hill brewers. They get certified on the equipment, and rig it all. They knew I was coming, greeted me, got me in a hardhat and blaze yellow vest ASAP, and I was introduced to the new head brewer, <b>Pete Corbett</b>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete was pretty stoked</td></tr>
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Pete was the brewer at Iron Hill North Wales before. But Newtown already knows him, and not because he already lives in Langhorne. Pete grew up here; he's a Newtown homeboy. "I graduated from Council Rock [high school] in 1997," he said, and grinned. "Back when it was <i>just</i> Council Rock." He was referring to the school district having split into CR North and CR South.<br />
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It's not the first time he's worked here, either. Pete originally trained as a chef at the Restaurant School in Philly, and did his apprenticeship at the <a href="https://thecountinghouse.net/" target="_blank">Brick Hotel</a> here in Newtown. He also tended bar at Marita's Cantina (where <a href="http://www.elbarriocantina.com/" target="_blank">El Barrio</a> is now), which means he probably served me a few beers over the years. Funny how things work out. Anyway, after some more cooking ("I still like to cook, but I don't know how chefs do it. I burned out.") he turned to bartending, which is how he wound up at Iron Hill, six years ago.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving that mash/lauter vessel!</td></tr>
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He worked his way up to brewing from serving, which is The Iron Hill Way. "I loved bartending, but homebrewing was a passion," he told me. "Then one morning I woke up, and realized I needed a career change. I didn't want to be a 60 year old bartender. I could be a brewer! It's like that old saying, love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life."<br /><br />Pete started sticking his head in the brewery whenever he could. His homebrewing was getting better, and he won an award with a Belgian type ale he did, Blame It On The Dog (and that's a homebrew name, right?). Iron Hill encourages homebrewing by giving employees free grain, hops, and yeast; "All I had to provide was the equipment, water, and propane," Pete said. <br /><br />Then Iron Hill had a contest: the server who sold the most mug club memberships got to brew a batch on the house system, to be sold at the brewpub. Pete was motivated, sold like mad, and won. When brewer Doug Marchakitus told him they'd have to come up with a recipe and formulate it, Pete handed him the recipe for Blame It On The Dog, already scaled up. Which kind of made today inevitable, in a way.<br /><br />Because today is the day that Pete Corbett takes over as head brewer at Iron Hill Newtown. He's running the brewery now, and no longer making the commute to North Wales. "It's only 15 minutes, and no tolls!" He told me with positive glee.<br />
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The beer list will have the signature Iron Hill beers like Light Lager, Vienna Lager, Philly Special IPA (a New England IPA, but we beat New England, so it's a PHLIPA), and Pig Iron Porter, but the wheats will be called Farmhouse Wheat and Farmhouse Berry. There will also be about a dozen specials. "I'm opening with a South Eagle IPA (the brewery is on South Eagle Rd.), and the Russian Imperial Stout," Pete said. "We always have five different IPAs on, a fruited sour, a pale lager, a second dark beer. Always two seasonals: I'll be opening with Lemon Cerveza, a Mexican-type lager with lemon juice and zest, not overpowering. And we'll have our Rivet Hard Seltzer, on draft." (Yes, I winced, but I did say brewpubs were different.)<br />
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The Iron Hill menu will be largely the same -- all made from scratch at the Newtown kitchen -- but there will be some changes. The menu's gotten a bit long, and they'll be trimming a few items. There will be a beer garden behind the brewhouse (away from the plaza), and roll-up windows in the bar area, which sounds wonderful.<br /><br />Pete said they're currently on schedule for an April 29th opening, just two months away. If you're looking for a job, be aware that Iron Hill standards are high, and the training program for servers is intense. It works, though: service levels at Iron Hill are high. "That's the Iron Hill Way," Pete said. "Don't cut corners, no doing anything half-assed. Quality is the most important thing."<br /><br />I'm looking forward to opening day. Cheers!<br />
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<i>I haven't written this kind of "a new brewery is opening in our town!!!" story in decades. I realize it won't be of much interest to most of my readers, but I'll tell you: after 30 years of waiting, it's pretty exciting for me. </i>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-63847968918230863402020-02-21T17:18:00.001-05:002020-02-21T17:19:16.865-05:00Back to Work: Egan's Centenary and Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Irish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I mentioned, I'm getting through a bunch of samples that came in while I was sick. One of those is today's <b>Egan's Centenary Irish Whiskey</b>, packaged in a stunning black bottle (one of 5,995) with the image of Henry Egan on the front. The Centenary marks the 100th anniversary of Egan's passing in 1919; he was the co-founder of Egan's maltings and distillery.<br />
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The other whiskey I'm tasting today is one that just came in on Tuesday, <b>Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.</b> It gets to jump the line because, frankly, the first <b>Kilbeggan Small Batch</b> ('<b>Not</b> a <b>Single Pot Still </b>Because <b>The Law Is Stupid </b>And We Put <b>Too Much Oats </b>In It') (<i>my name, not theirs!</i>) was <i>so damned good</i>, well, I didn't want to wait. So let's see if it was worth it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My shot: through a bus window on a misty day.</td></tr>
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<b>Egan's Centenary 46% </b>-- It's a blend of Irish single malt and single grain whiskeys, finished in XO cognac casks of French oak. Egan's is an old name in Irish whiskey (their malting house still stands in Tullamore; see to the right), but they've been quite open that this is sourced whiskey. The whiskey is non-chill filtered.<br />
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The nose is so rich you could live off it. Plentiful fruit: golden raisins, pear, quince jam. Cookie sweetness, sugar cookies with fresh raisins on top. The barest hint of oak, but that hint is stern; this far, and no further, it says, you'll not get anything more until you tilt the glass and taste it. That's not fiction, folks, it's what this whiskey speaks to me.<br />
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Taste it, then. The oak blooms on the palate, and you can see what you have from it. It's a banquet the oak has spread, on a firm, wide oaken trencher. Taste that fruit, taste the sweet cereal, and get the French oak all through it, a beautiful integration. As we come to the finish, the oak flexes, takes control, and lifts you into a long embrace. This is quite fine and pleasant.<br />
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I have come to believe that there is something about Irish whiskey and Cognac wood that is especially suited. I'll be looking for more like this.<br /><br />
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<b>Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 43%</b> -- Double distilled, and proud of it. 2.5% oats in a mixed mash of malted and unmalted barley, and damned proud of that. Kilbeggan is testing the boundaries with some whiskeys that were tested some years back. I can only hope that the results encourage them to continue, because as I said above, the earlier release was just brilliant. I have high hopes for this one.<br />
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Quite a different nose from the Egan's. This is edgey, brittle, with a daring conjunction of sweet hard candies -- spicy Christmas candies, fruit pastilles, herbal lozenges -- and a dry minerality. As it warms, the fruit candy is transitioning to fruit puree: berries, crisp nectarines. It started off a bit sour, but quickly became sharp with berries.<br />
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Let's try this. <i>Wow</i>. So different from the Egan's malt and grain: this mixed mash single pot is singing and stinging; this is a lot of flavor, barely restrained. Oily fruit and a fresh grassiness spread on the tongue. I'm used to creaminess in beers with oats in them, and I'm wondering if that's what I feel here. But the oak puts some straight edges on the sides, and lays some tannin down the middle, which keeps the sweet fruit in check. The finish is there before you know it, oaky, sweet, and <i>there's </i>the fruit...but it's all fading away, like the end of an amusement park ride, slowing to a stop, and do you want to get in line and go again?<br />
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This <i>is</i> what I liked so much about the previous Kilbeggan Small Batch: excitement. Every sip of this is like when I'm sight-reading a fast piece of music, but doing it well: I'm barely staying ahead of the flow, but the music is so good, so well-written that you don't notice the effort, just the joy of the ride...and you're breathless and grinning at the end.<br />
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Coming up: beers, at long last.<br />
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<a aria-label="Photo - Portrait - Mar 8, 2016, 11:35:01 AM" class="p137Zd" href="https://photos.google.com/search/ireland/photo/AF1QipNfyVnuY32WfNapfDXfGkyysBUjKMZWcNMZdC5a" jsaction="click:eQuaEb;focus:AHmuwe; blur:O22p3e;" tabindex="0"><div class="RY3tic" data-latest-bg="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HuVevVVT4Onolbx8-AqDZXFhc__4ZWtnVGJJ7TsBjCe4PyRTQ-bYhB7yx-gDiC4QIs_9xph5TQGccpoCoQneq1CNvxejuUWJzCdtVTum-xnbKRjtsmXnp4PuJ6xDlsoXcsRP8Ofk6295SZ3Pl38rSHYYjKWZkeqMb2mEjNRy28BNC06Apgeo4bCTl_ThZ1M0K0RPI2Vjb0OO6dMJDc60dgf8_KXBAfmbRxcB4SLqVXFMv0Te1c4GqIdKhGlraMrWWwUsGKLKQ4WaraOQlS7DCwaEJ43PfzvFM_o_94zfmeMiZI7NbBfCddWRmcg1wC5nVWPNps4BTz6jbz6nJR5Lg8T5Pl7tNfO1Ou19wVV6lVufz-bVNX1gxnhRIAgfpaJ73CJ7dMGyvTqc3C1DMhP4BJZwr8kHyHmZaazkk_POhb4CoXaDVSxW2PuRvh0dssCt6QQ0VxzStQbx6fha0Bp7Y1i_BBl8CM6T6uB_tlAaYUzIdIaCCgZkUdRVuc4vER_5TlAtoHw3GbvwPAh0abk_QEOgXM_O7AF1khUae1bq-vrIWp3jg1RYCVuDugmSfqqnB2LxafjfUvl_c4ujRMLmbhKrujAPPDTVNtXAQbr7In3MmVnNcT0ZzGYgkfuY5NdzKSN1s5t_zglh4ADsE3Odlc-r5YKFrC65MWxUvjjYje5G5Yhd6maIoisL=w165-h220-no" style="background-image: url("https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HuVevVVT4Onolbx8-AqDZXFhc__4ZWtnVGJJ7TsBjCe4PyRTQ-bYhB7yx-gDiC4QIs_9xph5TQGccpoCoQneq1CNvxejuUWJzCdtVTum-xnbKRjtsmXnp4PuJ6xDlsoXcsRP8Ofk6295SZ3Pl38rSHYYjKWZkeqMb2mEjNRy28BNC06Apgeo4bCTl_ThZ1M0K0RPI2Vjb0OO6dMJDc60dgf8_KXBAfmbRxcB4SLqVXFMv0Te1c4GqIdKhGlraMrWWwUsGKLKQ4WaraOQlS7DCwaEJ43PfzvFM_o_94zfmeMiZI7NbBfCddWRmcg1wC5nVWPNps4BTz6jbz6nJR5Lg8T5Pl7tNfO1Ou19wVV6lVufz-bVNX1gxnhRIAgfpaJ73CJ7dMGyvTqc3C1DMhP4BJZwr8kHyHmZaazkk_POhb4CoXaDVSxW2PuRvh0dssCt6QQ0VxzStQbx6fha0Bp7Y1i_BBl8CM6T6uB_tlAaYUzIdIaCCgZkUdRVuc4vER_5TlAtoHw3GbvwPAh0abk_QEOgXM_O7AF1khUae1bq-vrIWp3jg1RYCVuDugmSfqqnB2LxafjfUvl_c4ujRMLmbhKrujAPPDTVNtXAQbr7In3MmVnNcT0ZzGYgkfuY5NdzKSN1s5t_zglh4ADsE3Odlc-r5YKFrC65MWxUvjjYje5G5Yhd6maIoisL=w165-h220-no"), url("https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HuVevVVT4Onolbx8-AqDZXFhc__4ZWtnVGJJ7TsBjCe4PyRTQ-bYhB7yx-gDiC4QIs_9xph5TQGccpoCoQneq1CNvxejuUWJzCdtVTum-xnbKRjtsmXnp4PuJ6xDlsoXcsRP8Ofk6295SZ3Pl38rSHYYjKWZkeqMb2mEjNRy28BNC06Apgeo4bCTl_ThZ1M0K0RPI2Vjb0OO6dMJDc60dgf8_KXBAfmbRxcB4SLqVXFMv0Te1c4GqIdKhGlraMrWWwUsGKLKQ4WaraOQlS7DCwaEJ43PfzvFM_o_94zfmeMiZI7NbBfCddWRmcg1wC5nVWPNps4BTz6jbz6nJR5Lg8T5Pl7tNfO1Ou19wVV6lVufz-bVNX1gxnhRIAgfpaJ73CJ7dMGyvTqc3C1DMhP4BJZwr8kHyHmZaazkk_POhb4CoXaDVSxW2PuRvh0dssCt6QQ0VxzStQbx6fha0Bp7Y1i_BBl8CM6T6uB_tlAaYUzIdIaCCgZkUdRVuc4vER_5TlAtoHw3GbvwPAh0abk_QEOgXM_O7AF1khUae1bq-vrIWp3jg1RYCVuDugmSfqqnB2LxafjfUvl_c4ujRMLmbhKrujAPPDTVNtXAQbr7In3MmVnNcT0ZzGYgkfuY5NdzKSN1s5t_zglh4ADsE3Odlc-r5YKFrC65MWxUvjjYje5G5Yhd6maIoisL=w54-h72-k-rw-no"); opacity: 1;">
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</a>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-53506912813009229762020-02-07T22:33:00.003-05:002020-02-07T22:33:20.705-05:00Overproof Day Part 2: Booker's 2019-02, 03, 04 Shiny Barrel, Country Ham, & Beaten Biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Vc_85xudoZeDWadSAT1rCFyqZLqbhNP7pK7dBiSTgVgdLGg1wfwya41Li0HgB8Y2-xiuk6ITLME26MOYA03pxsZYHoYPNNuMn-dI4ssjp0QIpaL_yeCJSsfj128WmkLmw5V4L_2sFZE/s1600/Booker%2527s+By+The+Numbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Vc_85xudoZeDWadSAT1rCFyqZLqbhNP7pK7dBiSTgVgdLGg1wfwya41Li0HgB8Y2-xiuk6ITLME26MOYA03pxsZYHoYPNNuMn-dI4ssjp0QIpaL_yeCJSsfj128WmkLmw5V4L_2sFZE/s400/Booker%2527s+By+The+Numbers.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Look, you all know what <b>Booker's </b>is, right? <b>Uncut, unfiltered bourbon</b>, pretty much right out of the barrels, <b>"the way I drink it,"</b> as The Man himself said, and now you get different batches four times a year -- <b>because tickers?</b> Well, gee, <b>I dunno</b>, I just <b>drink the stuff </b>-- and they're all different because <i>that's how bourbon works, damn it</i>, and if you <b>don't understand </b>that, you <b>need <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1558329811/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1" target="_blank">my new book</a></b>.<br />
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<b>Got that? </b>Right. So here's the scoop -- <b>uncut, unfiltered </b>-- I <b>liked drinking </b>those <a href="https://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2020/02/overproof-day-larceny-barrel-proof-and.html" target="_blank">two barrel proof whiskeys</a> so much a few days ago, <b>I decided to do it again</b>. It's Friday, so <b>what the hell</b>.<br />
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<b>2019-02 Shiny Barrel Batch, 124.0° proof, 6 years, 5 mo., and 1 day old</b>: Sweet Red Hots candy and <b>vanilla extract</b>, right out of the <b>little brown bottle </b>in the spice cupboard, <b>cornmeal in the bag</b>, and hot caramel. And for 124° proof, it ain't exactly <b>burning out my nose</b>, either; this is <b>pretty pleasant </b>and almost gentle. I suspect that's not going to be the case once I <b>tip it up</b>. We'll see.<br />
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<b>Cherry cough medicine</b>, oaky vanilla, <b>brown butter</b>, fizzing brown sugar, <b>bananas foster and cinnamon</b>, rye spice and oiliness. Oh, and did I mention <b>the heat</b>? No? It's <b>hot</b>, but as my <b>Uncle Don </b>said about the <b>suicide wings</b>, that night in <b>upstate </b>when all the yokels were leaning in, "Not bad. <b>Could be hotter</b>," and then licked the <b>leftover sauce </b>off his fingers. Because <b>hell yeah</b>, I'm going back for <b>more</b>.<br />
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The <b>fire roars higher </b>in the finish...then <b>peaks </b>and splits, like a hot-air balloon <b>on fire </b>rises high above the <b>burning basket </b>on the ground. There's heat <b>high </b>in my mouth, heat <b>all over </b>my tongue, but the fire's <b>gone away </b>in the middle, and things settle <b>enough </b>that you can <b>take another lick</b>, and the more you do, the <b>sweeter </b>it gets, and the <b>fire </b>sits down in the <b>easy chair </b>of your palate, and says, "<b>There, now that's not so bad, is it?</b>" And he's right. In fact, it's pretty much <b>all </b>right.<br />
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<b>2019-03 Booker's Country Ham, 124.7° proof, 6 years, 4 mo., and 2 days old</b>: I've heard some <b>great stories </b>about Booker's <b>hams</b>...but they're not <b>my stories</b>. I only have stories about his <b>pork chops</b>, so that will have to wait till <b>that batch </b>comes along. Let's <b>get to work </b>here.<br /><br />There's <b>brown sugar and cinnamon </b>(lighter this time), <b>sweet vanilla</b>, <b>dried </b>buttercream frosting (you know? Like it's been <b>sitting out </b>for a day, and got kind of <b>crunchy </b>on top?), and just a <b>tiny hint </b>of <b>funky raunch</b>, warehouse candy-style. And now that I <b>think </b>about it, I'm kinda <b>surprised </b>I don't associate that with a <b>big brawly 6 year old </b>like Booker's before. Beam's had a <b>deft touch </b>for picking the rounded barrels: <b>hats off</b>.<br />
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All right, I'm <b>ready</b>. Tip it.<br />
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<b>Damn, folks</b>, this one might need a <b>touch of water</b>. No, I'm okay. But the heat is <b>by God up front </b>on this one, <b>cracking on </b>before it even properly spreads on the tongue. Rye's coming through <b>hard</b>, but so's the <b>sweet</b>, which is real big, and <b>cushions </b>that hot, spicy stuff. This is where <b>Booker's beguiles </b>you. Sure, it's <b>hot</b>, but the flavors are <b>so big</b>, so enveloping, so <b><i>much, </i></b>that you are <b>okay </b>with the <b>heat </b>because you <i>want more of that stuff</i>. Mmmm, cinnamon and <b>orange</b>, brown sugar and vanilla, <b>crackling caramel</b>, and that <b>hard-working rye </b>skinning it back with a <b>spicy, oily note </b>that reels in the <b>oak </b>and dries it up into a <b>way long </b>finish.<br /><br /><b>Jeez</b>. Is this stuff <b>getting on top of me?</b> Only one way to find out. <b>Punch through </b>to number 3: Beaten Biscuits. The <b>strongest</b>, and <b>oldest </b>of the three.<br />
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<b>2019-04 Beaten Biscuits, 126.1°proof, 6 years, 6 mo., and 19 days</b>: Hmmm...I did pour a <b>bigger </b>sample. Maybe there is something <b>going on</b>. There's <b>cinnamon roll </b>in the nose, tell you that, with some nice <b>dough </b>notes, but there's <b>fresh-split oak </b>log in there, too. The <b>Red Hots </b>are there, and a hint of <b>red hot woody</b>, the toothpicks soaked in cinnamon oil, and some <b>brittle sugar </b>cookie. It just <b>opens up </b>more and more, the <b>longer </b>I go at it; a little <b>anise</b>, some hot mint... That's <b>damned good</b>.<br />
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<b>Bring it on</b>. Ha! I don't even know <b>where the heat went</b>. (Maybe all that scar tissue on my tongue has something to do with it, but if that's the cost...) This one's <b>oak forward</b>, with vanilla and a little <b>King Syrup</b>, and the cinnamon's <b>hiding in a corner </b>of my mouth because the <b>oak's </b>banging around like a <b>drunk in the basement</b>, hollering and thumping. <b>Old Mister Rye's </b>having his say, <b>fiddling </b>his <b>wild tune </b>and it's <b>slicing </b>through the room, setting the <b>tempo </b>for this hoe-down. <b>Finish? </b>No, there's <b>just the oak</b>, taking a breath long enough for me to <b>take another hit</b>, and he's <b>stomping </b>again. You don't <i>want </i>the finish, you just want this <b>party </b>to keep on <b>rocking</b>. When it comes, it's <b>oak</b>, clogging and <b>stepping</b>, and away he goes, with the <b>roll </b>of the heat.<br />
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<b>Well, that was silly</b>, but by golly, that was a good<b>, good </b>whiskey. Third bottle's the <b>charm</b>: this one's the <b>winner </b>tonight.<br />
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Booker's is not just a <b>good </b>whiskey. This is an <b>iconic </b>whiskey. If there's any <b>validity or value </b>left to the old idea of something that "<b>separates the men from the boys</b>," Booker's is <b>it</b>. Big, and just a <b>bit wild </b>with it, and unapologetic for <b>every ounce</b>. An altogether <b>appropriate </b>bottle for a <b>wake</b>, a great bottle for a <b>snowbound weekend</b>. Booker's.<br />
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<i>*</i><i>Yes, these full-bottle samples were sent to me by Beam Suntory (or their agents). I have received no other compensation, and Beam probably thinks I'm a skunk for sitting on these for almost a year before reviewing them. I promise you as an ethical writer that I don't really give a damn about another bottle of free whiskey, because when you have so much of it you don't have room for more...it don't matter if you piss off someone with an honest review. Even Beam. Even Booker's. Yes, I know it's unfair that I have three bottles of free Booker's. It's also not fair that I'm going to put in three hours or more work on this and not get paid a dime. Figger it out. </i>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-20529425568379141472020-02-06T08:33:00.000-05:002020-02-06T12:32:34.217-05:00Overproof Day: Larceny Barrel Proof and Stagg Jr. Batch 13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4SghtzcG3hv6iZN0owfLUm_B0Xwl-zEG0IhTQy5oMwqonWjGyDgqEorwoB2bOgihEAw_syzrSuY0FtgFGAUyykZPuNM26haByrHLlrH7w8tYAYqhxXAHk-cNPWpvXtzGBMR3tIpF-2o/s1600/LarcenyBP1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4SghtzcG3hv6iZN0owfLUm_B0Xwl-zEG0IhTQy5oMwqonWjGyDgqEorwoB2bOgihEAw_syzrSuY0FtgFGAUyykZPuNM26haByrHLlrH7w8tYAYqhxXAHk-cNPWpvXtzGBMR3tIpF-2o/s320/LarcenyBP1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Two barrel proof, cask strength, overproof whiskeys</b> to taste today as I struggle to clear the tasting table (because <b>Cathy wants it clear</b>). I got the <b>Larceny </b>a while back, but the <b>Stagg Jr. </b>was just last month, so hey, <b>practically immediate</b>, that one. (And before I forget...<b>thank you</b> to both Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace for <b>not putting any damned wax on these bottles!)</b><br />
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Why barrel proof? I think <b>Booker Noe </b>said it best: so <b>you </b>can taste it the way <b>he </b>tasted it, the way a <b>master distiller </b>or blender tastes it -- <b>full-bore</b>, uncut, unfiltered, <b>untouched</b>. The only thing they do to this stuff is <b>screen out the chunks of char </b>and pick which barrels to pour in the dump trough.<br />
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No sense wasting any more time. <b>Let's rip these open.</b><br />
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<b>Larceny Barrel Proof Batch A120, 123.2° proof:</b> No backstory, only this: <b>wheated bourbon</b>. No mash bill is given; <b>guesses </b>are that it's around 20% wheat, but take that with a <b>grain of salt</b>. The label says these are whiskeys <b>between 6 and 8 years old</b>. The batch number is pretty simple: A120, with “A” representing the <b>first batch </b>of that year, “1” representing <b>January</b>, and “20” representing the year <b>2020</b>.<br />
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<b>It's poured and waiting</b>, and I can smell it from <b>a foot away</b>; sweet, <b>smokey</b>, vanilla, <b>evocative </b>of the <b>deep hollers </b>of the mountains. Get the nose in there, and you'd <b>swear </b>you were in <b>the warehouse</b>, it's that rich. <b>This one isn't shy</b>, unlike some other wheaters I've had. I can almost pick out <b>some of that brawling character </b>of the old <a href="https://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2019/11/heaven-hill-bottled-in-bond-three.html" target="_blank"><b>Heaven Hill Bonded 6</b></a>. There's a lot of <b>caramel</b>, an edge of burnt sugar, <b>crème brûlée</b>, all those <b>hot, browned sugar </b>things. But there is also a <b>brightness </b>-- a <b>berry acidity </b>-- and <b>unsalted peanuts</b>, with a nip of <b>oak bark </b>following on behind. <b>Intense</b>, but, hey, that's what you get from these <b>heavyweights</b>. Let's <b>pull the trigger</b>.<br />
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<b>Heat</b>, for sure, but <b>not killing</b>, and there sure is a lot else there. All that <b>browned sugar</b>, leaning more heavily toward the <b>darker </b>sides, and hot vanilla; that crème brûlée is really <b>coming on strong</b>. But there is some <b>corn </b>now, Indian pudding, the <b>concentrated sweetness </b>of parched corn. There's a <b>big smacky paddle of oak </b>behind it, too, and that pretty much <b>lifts you </b>into the finish, where it <b>dominates </b>that sweet caramel/corn.<br />
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<b>Boys and girls, we're looking at a different Larceny here</b>. Even at the standard 92° proof, <b>Larceny is soft-spoken</b>. This wheater is <b>laying it down</b>, and, maybe, is ready to go <b>toe-to-toe </b>with <b>The Wheated Warrior</b>: Mr. William Larue <b>Weller </b>(who, you'll note, delivers that <b>same kind of crème brûlée </b>and corn pudding richness...with <b>less oak</b>). If you've been <b>looking </b>for a wheater with <b>the backbone </b>of a big rye bourbon, <b>this here bottle does it</b>.<br />
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<b>Stagg Jr., 13th batch, 128.4° proof</b>: Did someone say "<b>big rye bourbon</b>"? Well, <b>hello </b>there, little fella! And I do like this bottle style: <b>fireplug short</b>, broad-shouldered, <b>solid heft </b>of whiskey in your paw. This one's a bit older overall than the Larceny ("eight years old" by the press release), and darker in color.<br />
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Pop it open, and you <b>know </b>it's a <b>different whiskey</b>. Every bit as <b>bold </b>as the Larceny, but <b>without </b>the <b>cushioning </b>sugar-caramel sweetness. Stagg just <b>steps right up </b>and <b>sucker-punches </b>you, <b>BOOM</b>, with a <b>honker full </b>of oak, a touch of wax polish, and <b>bitter rye notes</b>, like a rye bread without the <b>butter or jam</b>. It's <b>lean</b>, it's rippling, it's ready.<br />
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<b>Me too</b>. And there's a <b>shock</b>: there's a <b>ton of sweetness </b>lurking behind the <b>austere aromas</b>. Sure, it <b>spreads </b>on your tongue like a wave of <b>blue flame</b>, but now you taste the <b>corn sweetness</b>, the caramel, and the <b>buoyancy </b>of it all makes the heat <b>bearable. </b>The rye notes are like an <b>iron core </b>everything's anchored to, like the <b>supports </b>in an old brick building. Rye <b>shoots through </b>the sweetness, <b>contrasts </b>with it, <b>works </b>with it, and by the time we get to the finish, it's <b>freakin' well waltzing </b>with it.<br />
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And you know, after <b>half an ounce of each of these</b>, I'm <b>feeling like dancing </b>too. Two <b>really good whiskeys </b>here, each at a <b>not unreasonable list price</b> -- MSRP is <b>$49.99</b>, for each whiskey -- for a bottle of <b>barrel proof bourbon</b>. I can't tell you what you'll <b>see on the shelf</b>, of course, which is <b>half the fight </b>anymore.<br />
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<b>Good luck!</b>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-23483649038328565482020-02-04T17:38:00.003-05:002020-02-04T17:38:14.944-05:00Bell's Light Hearted Ale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll admit it: I <b>shamed </b>Larry Bell into sending me a sample of this beer.<br />
<br />
<b>I am not embarrassed to admit that.</b> I saw this beer on my friend John Holl's Facebook timeline, and I <b>lusted </b>for it. So I said in a comment, "Hey, Larry Bell! <b>Where's the love,</b> brother?" and tagged Larry. And sure enough, he sent me a sweet little sixpack, tightly-packaged, <b>a thing of compact beauty</b>, and a mere 110 calories per 3.7% 12 oz. can.<br />
<br />
<b>But let me tell you something. </b>It wasn't so much the beer that made me want it, or John's loving description.<br />
<br />
<b>It was the <i>name</i>. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Bell's Two Hearted Ale </b>has been a favorite of mine for years. When it came out in cans, my wife and I giggled with glee, and bought cases of it. Then the <b>Double Two Hearted Ale </b>came out: <b>YOW!</b> I loved it, too, but <b>damn</b>, watch out, you know?<br />
<br />
And then... <b>Light. Hearted. Ale.</b> Had to happen. Had to have it. So pitter patter.<br />
<br />
Gorgeous light amber, big <b>billowy </b>head. <b>Yum</b>, say my eyes. Fresh bread and <b>sweet citrus </b>aromas. <b>Damn</b>, says my nose. <i>Shut up and drink!</i>, says my mouth.<br />
<br />
<b>It <i>is</i> light</b>. Light in feel, <b>light and bright </b>in taste, light and <b>crisply bitter </b>on the finish. It is clearly <b>Son Of Two Hearted</b>, and on a hot day, <b>this is going to be a crusher</b>. And with me looking to <b>lose weight </b>right now? I may have found my moving buddy. It <b>drinks easily</b>, it's bitter without being <b>gaggy </b>(which, sorry, in too light a beer can definitely happen), and the flavor is <b>light and rolling</b>, very, very pleasant. I like the idea of a 110 calorie beer that has some real pale ale flavor.<br />
<br />
<b>Thanks, Larry </b>(and thank you, <b>John</b>). I appreciate the sample, and I'll be sharing the other five around. This is <b>good stuff</b>, keep making it!Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-64272643678811416182020-02-04T09:02:00.000-05:002020-02-04T09:12:43.557-05:00Integrating the Party: tasting The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 6 (plus Batches 2-5), with David Stewart<b>I got a couple <i>extra</i> samples of The Balvenie's Tun 1509 </b>on the occasion of the release of <b>Batch 6 </b>of this series. It wasn't really <b>supposed </b>to happen that way, but fun things sometimes come along. I'll quote from the release:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Balvenie has announced the release of Tun 1509 Batch 6, the latest expression in the highly acclaimed Tun 1509 series. Produced by revered <b>Malt Master David Stewart</b>, The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 6 was married in <b>21 rare and precious casks </b>from The Balvenie’s aged whisky stocks and <b>comprised in several different butts</b>, for a remarkable flavor profile and finish.<br />
A marriage of 21 casks which have <b>spent 3 months in a traditional marrying tun</b>. The batch is comprised of whiskies from <b>sherry refill butts, doublewood refill sherry butts and ex bourbon American oak barrels</b> - all aged <b>21 years and older</b>. Only 3480 bottles released in the U.S. <b>Non chill filtered, ABV of 50.4% (MSRP $399.99)</b></blockquote>
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When I read that, I thought...<b>wait a sec</b>, I think I saw some early Tun 1509 <b>samples</b> when I was <b>shifting bottles </b>about in the <b>Bryson Whiske/y Cellar </b>(i.e., trying to make some room in my basement office). I went down and dug around a bit, and sure enough, there were samples of <b>Batch 2 and Batch 3</b>. So I replied to the press release, telling them I'd like to have a sample of the 6 to taste beside my earlier samples. And didn't the <b>good folks </b>at William Grant & Sons send me samples of<b> Batches 4, 5, <i>and</i> 6! </b>(Samples: <b>50 ml airline bottles. Unlabeled. Hand-filled. Not for re-sale. Which is fine with me, I don't do that shit.</b>)<br />
<br />
Better, they sent responses from <b>Malt Master David Stewart </b>to a <b>couple questions </b>I had posed. Let's have a look at those first.<br />
<br />
<i>What's going on in the Tun over the course of weeks and months that doesn't take place as soon as Tun is pouring in the barrels? Physically, how is the liquid added to the barrels? Gently? With a lot of splashing? One at a time? Does that also make a difference in flavor and profile?</i><br />
<br />
<b>David Stewart: </b>We generally fill the Tun with the <b>next expression </b>around December each year so that we are in a position to <b>bottle the following spring</b>. Once we have <b>emptied </b>the Tun we will then <b>fill with young Balvenie </b>so that the Tun doesn't <b>dry out</b>. The Tun contents, as you mentioned, is filled into barrels to be taken to our bottling hall. From there, we <b>carefully </b>fill these barrels one at a time so that we don't lose any of this precious liquid; so that <b>filling the barrels doesn't influence the flavour.</b><br />
<br />
<i>How does the character of the whisky change, and – if it's known – why does it change? Does the marrying process add to the cost of producing the whisky, or is it just another step? When you choose the barrels for Tun 1509, are you looking for consistency with previous editions, or a difference? How much of a range of ages in barrels are we looking at this time?</i><br />
<br />
<b>David Stewart: </b>We are the only Scotch whisky company that has these <b>marrying casks </b>called Tuns. Most of our single malts are left to <b>marry in </b>for a period of <b>three months </b>prior to bottling. This marrying period allows the various constituents to mix and settle together. <b>We have many thousands of these casks </b>in our marrying warehouse at the distillery and we feel that this process is valuable; <b>even with the extra labour and double handling involved.</b><br />
The selection of each Tun expression is created initially in our sample room. We will request many samples to be drawn from individual casks from our warehouses at the distillery. We will <b>sample </b>each individually and then decide on the <b>combination of ages </b>and American and European oak casks. Once we <b>made up the vatting </b>in the sample room, we <b>compare it </b>with <b>previous Tun </b>expressions as we want each one to have its own <b>individual </b>character. Once we are happy, we give the distillery the cask numbers and ages so that they can physically fill the Tun. Generally there could be around ten years or so between the <b>youngest whisky and the oldest</b>.<br />
<br />
<i>Is there something that makes this particular batch of marriage special?</i><br />
<br />
<b>David Stewart: </b>Yes, Tun Batch 6 was created by exploring the Speyside distillery’s aged and precious stocks to find <b>21 unique casks </b>to marry the batch in. The liquid was left to marry for three months before being bottled at the distillery. This rare technique created the perfect environment for the different casks to weave together – allowing each of their composite qualities to mix and create a unique single malt Scotch whisky.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>To be honest</b>, not quite the <b>in-depth responses </b>I was hoping for, but that's what I get for sending questions by email! Let's move on to <b>tasting </b>these whiskies.<br />
<br />
<b>The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 2 (50.3%)</b>: A nose of <b>orange slice candy</b>, some oaky spice, a whiff of <b>pine needles</b>, and warm wildflower honey. The whisky on the palate reminds me of the <b>Parker Beam quote </b>I always use ("I make it with <b>corn </b>and age it in <b>oak</b>, and when I taste it, <b>I taste corn and oak!</b>"): I taste <b>malt</b>, and I taste <b>oak</b>. Open the mouth and <b>breathe</b>, though, and the <b>whisky lights up </b>with a cooling touch of <b>menthol</b>, dark brown sugar, more <b>orange honey</b>, and a hint of dried fruit. The finish is more <b>oaky</b>, touched with vanilla and spice.<br />
<br />
<b>The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 3 (52.2%)</b>: Noticeably <b>softer</b>, sweeter nose. Malty, <b>pastry shop </b>(<i>German</i> pastry shop, to be <b>annoyingly </b>specific), sweet dough, <b>light wood </b>(balsa? Maple?), and a hint of <b>cough drop</b>. Don't be <b>lulled </b>by that. Quite <b>spicy </b>on the tongue, but sweet, warm, herbal, and tall, <b>very tall in the space</b>. The finish is quite warm, a touch tannic/grippy, and more of that oaky spice. A dram that <b>delivers a lot more </b>than that relatively <b>unassuming nose </b>promises.<br />
<br />
<b>The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 4 (51.7%)</b>: Fruity nose, with a sugar wafer cookie crunch to it. Dried fruit, <b>light aromas of potpourri</b>, and some light preserves, like quince, or pear. <b>Sparkly </b>on the palate, like little pops of warmth going off. More of the potpourri, deeply dried fruits, some <b>milk chocolate </b>and honeycomb, with drying oak spice lightly present. Like <b>polyphonic music</b>, there's a lot going on here that <b>seems </b>at first to be going in <b>different directions</b>. But on third or fourth sip, you realize it's <b>integrated and aimed</b>. Indeed, this has the <b>most focused finish </b>of the three I've had so far: oak, vanilla, and a touch of dried flower.<br />
<br />
<b>The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 5 (52.6%)</b>: Nose <b>hearkens back </b>to Batch 3, but with more <b>insistence</b>. Honey-soaked phyllo, almost like <b>baklava </b>but not as <b>overtly nutty</b>. There are fruits, but so light that they're almost <b>floral</b>, and with just a slight acidity. Oh, <b>beautifully light </b>on the tongue! Honey, and <b>honeysuckle nectar</b>, and bright <b>sun-warmed </b>spring flowers, and <b>ichor!</b> Makes me think of a line from a <b>favorite poem </b>from my childhood, <b>"The Fish,"</b> by Elizabeth Bishop:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"...everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! </b></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>And I let the fish go." </b></div>
</blockquote>
And as I let <b>this fish </b>go, it <b>rewards </b>me with a <b>finish </b>that <b>flashes sunshine and glory </b>from my teeth down my gullet all the way to the pylorus. Sorry to be so <b>non-specific </b>about exactly what I tasted here, but <b>damn</b>, it was just so <b>experiential</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 6 (50.4%)</b>: Finally, the <b>reason </b>for all of this. Warm <b>cereal </b>nose, with fruit; almost like <b>breakfast</b>, only with the <b>booze heat </b>turned on, and some oak in there. There's a welcoming <b>malt wave</b> that pours across the tongue, then as the <b>heat </b>of your mouth takes hold it <b>ignites </b>like an oven burner coming on. You can almost feel the<i> whoosh!</i> It wasn't just the <b>first time</b>, either, it keeps doing it every time. Guy could get to like that. <b>What's in the whoosh?</b> Reconstituted dry fruit, lively, but still with that <b>concentrated character</b>. The warm cereal, only in a <b>ladle </b>instead of a <b>spoon</b>. Needling oak shoots through it like a strafing run, but the cereal cushions it. The finish rolls <b>on and on</b>, with the oak finally getting a real say, wrapped in vanilla and more fruit, and some <b>solid heat </b>there on the end.<br />
<br />
<b>Interesting, varied </b>whiskies. As I like to point out to people who are <b>obsessed </b>about the <b>exact percentages </b>of a <b>bourbon mashbill <i>(hint hint: this is a <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Whiskey-Master-Class-Ultimate-Understanding/dp/1558329811" target="_blank">Whiskey Master Class</a> reference)</i>;</b> Scotch whisky has a <b>very simple mashbill </b>-- 100% malt -- and the distillers manage to make <b>quite different </b>whiskies with it!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What does the Tun bring to that</b>, what's the common thread here? Upon <b>reflection</b>, I believe <b>Batch 4 is the key </b>to that: <b>integration</b>. The Tun, and the <b>marrying</b>, brings <b>integration </b>to what could have been an <b>out of control mess of flavor</b>. Things aren't <b>hammered </b>into lockstep, <b>overpowered </b>by a <b>huge first-fill character.</b> They're <b>introduced</b> to each other, given a <b>chance to cooperate</b>, without <b>losing </b>their personality. It's like <b>Richard Paterson's</b> characterization of <b>blending whiskies </b>as putting together an <b>invitation list </b>to a good <b>cocktail party</b>; some authors, some actors, <b>some bikers</b>, some doctors, a few <b>blue-collar poets</b>, and a <b>supermodel </b>or two.<br />
<br />
Marrying is a process that <b>adds cost</b> to a whisky. But it also adds strength, <b>union</b>, roundness, integration. It's a <b>decision</b>, and a <b>powerfully subtle tool </b>in the blender's kit.<br />
<br />
<b>That was a lovely two hours.</b> My thanks to David Stewart for the work on this project over the years.Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-91478611728661128632020-02-01T15:36:00.001-05:002020-02-01T15:36:27.869-05:00Michter's 20 Year Old Bourbon (Bottle 329 of 440, Batch 19H1439)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>I have a long connection to Michter's</b>. The original Michter's in Pennsylvania was the first distillery I ever visited, way back in late December of 1982. I've also visited both of the "new Michter's" distilleries in Kentucky, making me a member of a <b>pretty small club of folks </b>who've been to <b>all three </b>while they were operating. We should get a challenge coin made. Or maybe just a hat.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I've lost <b>any resentment </b>toward the new Michter's and its driving force, <b>Joe Magliocco</b>. That's largely due to two things: the <b>passion </b>Joe and his team have for simply finding, blending, aging, distilling (and, importantly, filtering; more on that later) the <b>very best whiskey possible</b>; and, well, the whiskey they produce is <b>simply phenomenal</b>.<br />
<br />
When the news came out that they were releasing another <b>batch of 20 year old</b>, I asked Joe if I could get a sample. Suggested retail is $700; I asked for 50 ml. Joe wasn't having that, and sent me a full bottle. So yes, I got a free bottle. I get a lot of those. I also am not a huge fan of really old, woody whiskey, so I was going to give this the treatment.<br />
<br />
But I also told Joe that if I was going to review the whiskey, I wanted to talk to Andrea Wilson about it. Andrea is Michter's Master of Maturation, the person who oversees the aging process, does the blending, the person who takes the sourced barrels Michter's bought (prior to 2015) and what master distiller Dan McKee makes and turns it into whiskey. I did a presentation on American whiskey history and production with Andrea at the Smithsonian last October, and we worked well together. I was looking forward to talking whiskey with her again.<br />
<br />
After getting healthy, we finally set a date and talked this past Wednesday: Andrea, Joe, and myself. I had a pour of the 20 year old handy, as did Andrea; Joe was chagrined to find there was no 20 year old available at his New York office!<br /><i>(As is usually the case, I talked to Andrea and Joe on the phone and took down what they were saying as fast as I could...but some of this is direct quote, some of it is paraphrase. When I had problems, I asked them to repeat things. I did the best I could, but it is not a direct transcript.)</i><br />
<br />
<i>Is there anything you can tell me about where this came from? It's all Kentucky, and it's all at least 20 years old. Anything else? </i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Joe Magliocco:</b> We talk about the three phases*; obviously, <b>this is Phase I whiskey</b>, before we were cooking in someone else's kitchen. <b>This is whiskey from a long time ago</b>, when we were going around Kentucky buying things. We had to sign a confidentiality agreement. The environment in those days was much different<b>. People were just happy to unload stuff.</b><br /><br />
The Phase I sourcing was me going around with Dick Newman*...and Steve Ziegel (Joe's long-time head of sales). Like me, Steve's not a production person, he just likes whiskey. We wanted to pick something we liked. This was in the late 1990s, and there was plenty of good stuff available. We didn't know we'd ever get to the point where we could produce by ourselves, but we wanted to pick a style we liked and could emulate. It's rich, a lot of flavor, and also interesting: a flavor experience, on the front, different on the palate, and different again in the finish. Steve said, <b>we want it to warm, but not burn.</b> This fit that bill.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(We talked here about how a 20 year old gets picked, and when they decide to do one.)</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>JM: </b>A lot of people visit us and ask <b>why do you have steel drums [for storing whiskey]?</b> It's one of the things we do that makes our older stuff special. Andrea?<br />
<br />
<b>Andrea Wilson</b>: We have a Quality Control system, and part of it is the drums, <b>like mini-tanks</b>. If we taste something, a barrel, that's at peak, and we don't think it's going to get better, we'll take it out and put it in the drums. <i>(Transferring to stainless steel drums halts aging, preserving the whiskey.)</i> We'll use that as a tool. <b>Not every barrel </b>goes through that process, but we use it so we have a <b>uniform</b>, delicious final product. <b>Everything </b>we're doing here is to produce the <b>best American whiskey</b>. We've had to <b>look after these barrels </b>for many years, and we're known for that, for not letting them get over-oaked. <i>[This was news to me; I didn't realize Michter's was buying new make and aging it in their barrels. Makes sense, in retrospect.] </i><br />
<br />
<b>JM:</b> If Andrea feels that a barrel is good, and <b>not going to get better</b>, even if it's 19 years old, we'll take it out and that <b>stops the clock</b>. But we don't want these whiskeys to be <b>wood bombs</b>. When it gets to our older offerings, <b>we don't really know what we'll have</b>, because we don't know what's going to <b>fit our protocol</b>. Some years <b>we don't offer 20 year old</b>, we don't offer a 25 year old, because <b>we don't have it every year</b>. When people get a 20+ year old from Michter's, it's going to be really good, not <b>just 20 years old and maybe </b>it's good or not.<br />
<br />
<i>You have a barrel-by-barrel approach all through the process. </i><br />
<br />
<b>JM:</b> It was [former Michter's master distiller] Willie [Pratt]'s idea to maximize the size of the tanks to the contents of <b>24 barrels</b>: <b>maximum</b>. Even our <b>small batch </b>products, like the <b>US-1</b>, they're <i>very </i>small batch. And if you have <b>one bad barrel </b>out of 15 or 20, it's <b>going to taste terrible</b>. If every barrel isn't <b>just right</b>, they can't use it. And if we have a bad one, it gets sent to a company that <b>re-purposes it as fuel alcohol</b>. We don't <b>blend it off</b>, or sell it as whiskey, it gets <b>rejected</b>.<br />
<br />
<i>How do you select the barrels to do a 20 year old? Who's involved, and when? Is it just you, Andrea?</i><br />
<br />
<b>AW:</b> We have a tremendously skilled team. We don't make decisions in <b>isolation</b>. The <b>collective experience </b>of the team is leveraged to make those decisions. Joe always has <b>focused </b>on the importance of <b>having a great team around you</b>. That's a critical factor of the <b>success </b>of Michter's. We've tried to <b>encourage a culture </b>here. <b>You don't leave things to chance</b>, there's a control. We have people in our department who have <b>the mentality of a chef</b>. They test <i>everything</i>, they have a <b>discipline </b>and an artistry. <b>We talk a lot about chefs here. </b><br />
<br />
<i>The bottle you sent was #329 of 440, Batch 19H1439. What does all that tell me? </i><br />
<br />
<b>AW:</b> 19 is the year of the bottling, 2019. H is the month, August. And 1439 is a <b>proprietary bottling code </b>for us.<br />
<br />
<i>Is the code a tracking code?</i><br />
<br />
<b>JM:</b> You could say that's what it is.<br />
<br />
<i>How many barrels went into this batch? </i><br />
<br />
<b>JM: We don't talk about things like that. </b>When you get stuff that's really old like this, you may get <b>a barrel that's almost empty</b>. I know from experience, you can have a barrel with very, very little left.<br /><br />
<b>AW:</b> That's why we evaluate every barrel <b>individually </b>to get the ones that are going to <b>work well together</b>. It's part of the artistry of blending. It's about creating a beautiful product. We talk about the art and science of what we do; <b>this falls into artistry</b>. It's like making perfume. You can have a lot of <b>beautiful floral scents</b>, but they won't necessarily <b>come together </b>to make something beautiful. It's about assembling a <b>symphony </b>of flavor.<br />
<br />
<i>What kind of bourbon do we have here? Wheat, rye, a combination? </i><br />
<br />
<b>JM:</b> We're not going into the <b>mashbill</b>. Some people will tell you every detail. Willy always felt that <b>some things should be secrets. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4x3rRD34c3lwACpX3rr3wKaQ2gZ9R8tUkWQhtiDeQtGZYRonmxvDeskH5Y2-5OjHojr-j2VChIkdam81bDsmZ2SKBuH1KLtMJEmli9mc28rZf-jH1wx2apqjRBAGBSvc49avHflQzGw/s1600/IMG_20191017_182650_100+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="636" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4x3rRD34c3lwACpX3rr3wKaQ2gZ9R8tUkWQhtiDeQtGZYRonmxvDeskH5Y2-5OjHojr-j2VChIkdam81bDsmZ2SKBuH1KLtMJEmli9mc28rZf-jH1wx2apqjRBAGBSvc49avHflQzGw/s320/IMG_20191017_182650_100+%25281%2529.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrea and I after wowing the Smithsonian.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Andre</span><i>I know you're very particular about filtration.** What do we have here in those terms? And why? </i><br />
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<b>AW:</b> <b>They do get their own custom filtration</b>. They're very old whiskeys, with a tremendous amount of complexity, but they're <b>very delicate</b>. So we use a <b>looser grade of filter</b>, and add <b>very little water</b>. It's a very careful set of decisions.<br />
<br />
<i>Is that why 57.1%? Is that barrel proof? </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>AW:</b> The complexity of the <b>bonding </b>of the flavors is much more... <i>[long pause here]</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>What do you mean by bonding of the flavors? </i><br /><br /><b>AW: </b>When you are working with older whiskeys, the <b>complexity of the chemical bonding </b>of the whiskey is much <b>tighter</b>. When you add <b>water</b>, you <b>risk breaking the bonds </b>that took <b>years to develop </b>in the aging process, and it's <b>something to be mindful of. </b><br />
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<i>How long is it going to be before we see a Phase III 20 year old? I hope I'm still allowed to drink by then!</i><br />
<br />
<b>JM:</b> Let's think about this. 2035, right Andrea?<br />
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<b>AW:</b> That's right, we started distilling in 2015.<br />
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<b>JM:</b> You want to buy a few bottle futures?! <i>[general laughter ensues]</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Tasting --</span></b><br />
<br />
<i>I gotta say, the color is just gorgeous. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>AW:</b> We had samples lined up on a table, and the color...it was just stunning.<br />
<br />
<i>It smells sweet. Can a thing </i>smell <i>sweet? That's a taste, isn't it? </i><br />
<br />
<b>AW:</b> Sweet is a <b>taste </b>more than an aromatic, but there are scents that <b>come forward from sugar</b>, from butter, from cream, that make you <b>smell </b>sweetness.<br />
<br />
<i>It's lush, sweet, caramel, creamy on the palate. There's a berry brightness, too. Some nice nut aromas. </i><br />
<br />
<b>AW:</b> I don't get berries in bourbon. I get cherries. <b>Everyone's different</b>. Reminds me of <b>being in Savannah </b>and having pecans; <b>roasted, candied pecans. </b><br />
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<i>Not a lot of heat for the proof. Soothing on the tongue. </i><br />
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<b>AW:</b> It does have a really long finish, like a <b>syrup experience</b>, where it coats a bit.<br />
<br />
<i>I've really only had a few whiskeys at this proof that were this smooth, not hot. That's special. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>[That was all we had to say. I thanked them for their time, and got to work on this. And then today, I revisited the whiskey.]</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Clearly an older whiskey with the spires of oak soaring through the nose, but the spires don't overshadow the hall packed with a full array of bourbon aromas below. This has maintained its youth well: roasted sweet corn, vanilla, that buttery creaminess, and okay, berry <i>and</i> cherry, and roasted nuts. That is a treasure chest full of delight, that nose.<br />The palate is easily recognized from the aroma, but to my surprise, there's actually some fresh grassy character there! How does that happen with a 20 year old? The finish rolls on after, a runaway freight car rolling down a seven-mile incline that just cannot be stopped, only receding into the distance.<br />This is going to be a hard bottle to save and savor. I want to have more later tonight, let alone tomorrow. Well done, Andrea; well done, Joe, Dick, and Steve. Well done, Phase II.<br />
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<b>Oh, and by the way, my Dry(-ish) January is over. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<i>*Michter's is following a plan of whiskey production. Phase I, the earliest bottles they put out, were whiskeys that Joe, Dick Newman (former CEO of Austin, Nichols (which owned Wild Turkey) and the head of the Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow, and Old Taylor brands when he was at the old National Distilling), and Steve Ziegler (Joe's head of sales) selected barrels for bottling. As Joe said, things were different then, and whiskey was easily found and purchased. </i><br />
<i>Phase II involved Joe and his distillers going out to distillers with excess capacity and having them make distillate to their specifications (which they'd honed in those years of buying Phase I barrels). Again...back then there were places that were happy to make some money making spirit for someone else. </i><br />
<i>Phase III came about when the market heated up, and it was clear that the line moving up labeled "Does it make sense to build our own distillery?" and the line moving down labeled "Does it still make sense to stake our future on buying spirit from others?" were going to cross pretty soon. So Joe and his brothers (silent partners) built a distillery just outside of Louisville (an historic distilling area, near Stitzel-Weller and Early Times), and since 2015, they've been making their own spirit...which is going to be ready fairly soon. No 20 year old Phase III for a while, though!</i><br />
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<i>**Willy Pratt experimented with different types of filtration, and found that not only did they result in different flavor/aroma effects on the whiskey, but they affected whiskeys differently based on how old they were. It sounds like bullshit, frankly, but I've blind-tasted it at Michter's and it's pretty clear. </i><br />
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<br />Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-23943827656787258682020-01-27T21:44:00.002-05:002020-01-27T21:44:13.965-05:00Some Whiskey Master Class NewsI've got some news about events around <i>Whiskey Master Class</i>, and I'm going to pass that on, but the first thing I have to tell you is this:<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now's the time to pre-order the book!</span></span><br />
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If you haven't already done so, the clock is ticking on the bonus material that you can <i>only</i> get if you order it <b><i>before </i></b>the release date, <b>February 18</b>. Follow the instructions <i><a href="https://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2019/11/forgot-to-mention-youd-better-pre-order.html" target="_blank">here</a></i>, and you can not only get your copy of this illuminating manuscript, you'll get a bonus PDF full of material that didn't make it in the book (because of space limitations, not quality!), like making whiskey from beer, and a baker's dozen of extra tasting notes. Once February 18 rolls around, that stuff's gone, you can't get it. <b>So get it!</b><br />
<b><br />
Now, about the events.</b> I've been busy setting up events the past couple months (with help from my buddy, Marty Duffy, the North American rep for Glencairn whisky glasses (no sponsorship, Marty's just a helpful guy, and I do like the glasses)), and it's time to let you in on it. So I've created a page, <a href="https://lewbryson.blogspot.com/p/events.html" target="_blank">here</a> (or accessible through the Events tab at the top of the blog page), with <b>all the currently scheduled events</b>. I'll update it as more are added, and as details are filled in.<br />
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<b>Come out to an event!</b> I'll happily sign your pre-ordered book, and we'll have tastings at a lot of these. I'm always happy to meet readers; you guys are what makes this worth doing. Hope to see you soon.<br />
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Remember: <b>pre-order <i>now!</i></b>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-8712997779378614282020-01-25T12:08:00.000-05:002020-01-27T21:08:48.794-05:00Some Whiskey RoyaltyGot some whiskey royalty today. I've got <b>Chivas Regal 18 year old</b>, the latest – and last? – release of <b>Crown Royal XR</b>, and the newest wrinkle in the rags-to-riches Elijah Craig story, the new <b>Elijah Craig Rye</b>.<br />
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<b>Crown Royal XR </b>– We've been thrilled by the XR releases since 2012, when I had the opportunity to taste this exceptional whisky at WhiskyFest New York. It was one of the <b>short-list</b>, fingers-on-one-hand, if-you-only-have-one-tonight pours of that festival. Crown XR is blended using the <b>very last barrels </b>produced at <b>Crown's LaSalle distillery in Montreal</b>, which closed in 2003. These are old barrels, and we're told they're <i>“the last of the last, the best of best. The barrels are empty, the final bottles are filled, the remaining traces of this spirit never to be tried again.”</i><br />
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They even sent out special glasses with this sample, the <b><a href="http://shop.sempli.com/products" target="_blank">Sempli Cupa-Rocks</a></b>. I have to admit, it may be helping launch this pour into the air, because I'm smelling caramel and dried fruit already. <b>Time to get to it. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Crown Royal</b> always smells <b>rich and sweet</b>, but the XR has been blended with those LaSalle whiskies to a deeper level, a <b>more complex composition</b>. These whiskies are the master works of the Crown Royal blenders, and the results are obvious. There's light caramel (no burnt sugar, just browned), sweet nut aromas verging on marzipan, and a <b>blend of wood aromas</b>: cedar, aged oak, a hint of cherry. The sweetness that comes across in waves is a melange of the caramel, vanilla, salt water taffy, and a teasing hint of Juicy Fruit gum, like a cocktail in a candy store.<br />
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<b>That is one of the sharpest Canadians I've ever tasted.</b> This Crown doesn't <b>pillow </b>your palate, no lush sweetness to fill your mouth. No, the first thing that hits your mouth is <b>structure</b>, a squared wooden framework for the whisky to follow and fill. There's a heat and spice that would be expected in other whiskeys, but comes as a <b>bit of a shock </b>for Crown Royal. The rye is forward, the oak is firm. But the familiar Crown lushness, the beauty of the blend is there, behind <b>closed doors </b>that teasingly open as the whisky warms on your palate. There's a <b>long finish </b>that is warm, peppery, and lined with more of that oak, verging on astringent but not quite reaching it, then relaxing to a lingering note of cedar and, right at the end, some dry cocoa.<br />
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<b>If you avoid Canadians </b>because you find them too soft, or one-dimensional, if you find them too <i>apologetic</i>... this may be what you're looking for. It's almost unCanadian, but in a most beguiling way. <b>Farewell, LaSalle</b>. You did your work well. (The glass is fun, by the way, but the way it spins on the table requires some thought about where you set it down!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxmxaX88VSQfOes8_XvU1w2c3ggaJqUYL3ufxsHM15H7JO467YKOpazREg1ysNKMjFq6xA4TcQh0VWqdmYVcIu_hA1dK-FZLqbtt5pIdd2r_Xxgee2uMtZbaFhMJ2glQ5svwB5kxvLd0/s1600/Linquist+Pippin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxmxaX88VSQfOes8_XvU1w2c3ggaJqUYL3ufxsHM15H7JO467YKOpazREg1ysNKMjFq6xA4TcQh0VWqdmYVcIu_hA1dK-FZLqbtt5pIdd2r_Xxgee2uMtZbaFhMJ2glQ5svwB5kxvLd0/s320/Linquist+Pippin.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom, the Chivas, and Pippin</td></tr>
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<b>Chivas Regal 18 </b>– This bottle of Chivas just showed up in my mail back in December, unexpectedly. Usually I get samples with the expectation that I will try to write about them somewhere (hey, it's not my fault if these people<b> can't manage their expectations</b>), which I either do or don't; stories <b>happen</b>, they can't be forced. When I queried what was up with this – re-launch, new cocktail recipes, change in concept? – I was told, <b>quite pleasantly</b>, that no, they'd just sent it for me to enjoy during the holidays.<br />
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<b>Well, I did</b>, sharing a pour with my buddy Tom Linquist while <b>smoking some salmon </b>for our Christmas celebration. It was good, but shortly after that I was hit again with the sinus infection that's been at me since November. Now that I'm clear, I thought I'd <b>have another look</b>. Good blends are a good thing. (The Chivas 18 Gold Signature has a suggested retail in the $60-$70 range, so we're <b>definitely not </b>talking about buying it because it's cheap.)<br />
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<b>Layers of fruit in the nose</b>: dried pear, a bit of berry brightness, even a hint of <b>quince jam</b>. There's some chocolate-honey brickle in there as well, fresh and sweet, along with the maltiness – and just <b>a bare wisp of smoke </b>that I <i>thought</i> I smelled while doing that salmon, but how could one be sure? – that would have <b>Ron Burgundy </b>mumbling about scotchy-scotch-scotch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDW05uUra-p4URpdoMKQnwA-2xipI3PqyJlaV2YcZtXCxc35HKXH47hDLLBvtlPYrq0FCKy2Rs1QYxmETEqQ0fsiK2l_lbV43hXXVrwXlaIgBmlpCxS42dpnc79DrzzuXC1y1BZun418A/s1600/Scotchy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDW05uUra-p4URpdoMKQnwA-2xipI3PqyJlaV2YcZtXCxc35HKXH47hDLLBvtlPYrq0FCKy2Rs1QYxmETEqQ0fsiK2l_lbV43hXXVrwXlaIgBmlpCxS42dpnc79DrzzuXC1y1BZun418A/s1600/Scotchy.gif" /></a><b>Smooth and roly-poly on the tongue</b>, this has a bit of <b>heft </b>to it, not light and skittish. The malt <b>bedrocks </b>things, with a light woodwork of oak about it. There's heat, and <b>that tap of peat</b>, just a <b>nudge </b>to let you know it's there. But you know what I like about this? A <b>quality </b>I've noticed in the <b>Jameson 18</b>, and, come to think of it, in the <b>Wiser's 18</b> – is there something about <b>18 years</b> in the barrel? – that could be called <i>roundness</i>, or <b>integration</b>. There's nothing that gets in the way of your enjoyment here, nothing that calls out “Looka me over here, isn't this cool?!”, nothing that irks or particularly pleasures to the point of distraction. Like those other two bottles, I could <b>drink this stuff all day</b>, and never get tired of it, or bored. There's something to be said for that. Actually, there's <b>a lot </b>to be said for that. That's well-made whisky.<br />
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<b>Elijah Craig Rye</b> -- Elijah Craig bourbon has been part of my regular drinking rotation for a long, long time. It was the first whiskey I <b>"discovered"</b> on my own, without it being recommended to me, and I told <b>a lot of people </b>about it. I was accidentally responsible for getting it booted out of the PA State Stores for about a year, 10-odd years ago, and for that, I <b>apologize </b>(less said, the better). It's one of the few whiskey's I've <b>"bunkered"</b>: when the change was made away from a <b>12 year age statement</b>, I bought some up (I have one bottle left). It's a <b>favorite</b>, and I've watched every change.<br />
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<b>This one is clearly a big change</b>, bringing out a rye under the EC label. I've always seen this as a <b>"step up" line </b>for Heaven Hill, and we'll see if it's a step up from Rittenhouse and Pikesville. Heaven Hill sent samples out with a <b>small loaf of rye bread</b>, which is cute, and interesting. It's also kind of special, because the bread was baked by their <b>master distiller, Conor O'Driscoll</b>. (I've had his baking chops independently confirmed; this was not a stunt.) I noted on Twitter that when I took a bite of bread, and then a sip of whiskey, that "The whiskey positively <b>detonates with flavor </b>when it hits the bread; first time was shocking…now I'm hooked." Lets get a bit more detailed.<br />
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I'm out of the bread; too good to waste. The whiskey, however, does smell like Heaven Hill: lean, pared down, <b>Parker Beam-style</b>. The rye is there, with the <b>mint and spicy hard candy </b>notes I'd expect, and some oaky flooring under it. There's some sweetness that comes with the hard candy, but it's <b>bright </b>and almost brittle.<br />
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<b>The rye flavor really blows up on the tongue</b>, but it's not hot, <i>even at 94° proof</i>. The Crown XR at 80° is hotter. This rye is <b>quite pleasant</b>, actually, <b>bouncing </b>around your mouth with bountiful <b>mint</b>, grass, <b>rye oil bitterness</b>, and oaky spice. The finish goes <b>on and on</b>, barrel-rolling flavors as you <b>breathe it home</b>: mint, now rye, now oak, <b>now spice candies</b>, back to mint, more candies, and finally <b>whispering away </b>on dry mint and oak.<br />
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<b>Folks, I gotta tell ya...</b>at an MSRP of $30, I may have <b>found my new house rye</b>. I'll have to try this in an Old Fashioned, but I'm feeling like Bo Peep in <i>Toy Story...</i><br />
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<i>*You asked for Conor's recipe, and Heaven Hill was good enough to send it. Enjoy!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
1.5 cups rye flour<br />
3 cups unbleached bread flour<br />
1.5 tsp salt<br />
1.75 tsp instant yeast (1 sachet)<br />
1 to 1.5 tsp caraway seeds (optional)<br />
1 tbs molasses<br />
2 tbs butter, melted<br />
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature<br />
0.25 - 0.5 cups water at room temperature<br />
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<b>Method</b><br />
<br />
Mix both flours, salt, yeast, and caraway seeds in the bowl of an electric mixer.<br />
Add melted butter, molasses, buttermilk, and 0.25 c water<br />
Mix with the paddle attachment until the dough comes together in a rough ball. Add another 0.25 c water as necessary to ensure all the loose flour is collected in the ball.<br />
Switch to the hook attachment and mix on medium-low speed.<br />
Continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes. The dough should be elastic and tacky but not sticky.<br />
Lightly oil a bowl with oil, then transfer the dough to the bowl. Roll the ball in the bowl to coat it with oil.<br />
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to ferment at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours. The dough should double in size.<br />
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Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to degas.<br />
Form the dough into a loaf shape, then transfer to a lightly-oiled and floured loaf pan. The dough can also be formed into a boule for subsequent baking on a pizza stone.<br />
Loosely cover the loaf with plastic wrap. Dust the wrap with flour first to prevent it from sticking to the dough.<br />
Proof the loaf at room temperature until it doubles in size and rises a couple of inches above the rim of the pan.<br />
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and position a rack on the middle shelf.<br />
When the loaf has proofed, bake it for approximately 45 minutes, rotating it front-to-back about halfway through.<br />
Remove the loaf from the pan as soon as it is finished baking. It should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool the loaf on a rack for at least an hour before serving.<br />
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<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-15077012890459559922020-01-18T16:26:00.001-05:002020-01-18T16:50:01.172-05:00Crap in my Freezer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our refrigerator is running out of time -- repairs that mean a new fridge, but don't make it unusable -- so we're taking our time shopping for a new one. It's a welcome luxury, really.<br />
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That allows is a reasoned, calm approach to emptying the freezer, rather than just grabbing everything and shoving it willy-nilly into the full-size freezer we have downstairs. That's a chance to get rid of things like blocks of quickly labeled "EMRGNCY BEAN SOUP -- 2/11" and several bags of lima beans I bought on sale in...2013?<br />
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Because I'm a whiskey writer, I also found three spherical ice molds, a Corkcicle Whiskey Wedge glass (still full of ice!), a set of Han Solo in carbonite ice cubes, and, inevitably, a bag of Whisky Stones. The one set of smaller sphericals are already on their way to the house in Millheim, the Corkcicle has a fresh charge of ice (waiting for this damned Dry January to be over). The Whiskey Stones? Already in the trash, because DEATH TO WHISKY STONES!!Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-9799497378270609322020-01-14T22:07:00.002-05:002020-01-14T22:22:05.452-05:00Sierra Nevada is 40 -- an interview with Ken Grossman<b>Sierra Nevada Brewing is 40 years old this year.</b> They've released a 40th anniversary beer (6.0%, 65 IBU), I suspect there will be much hoopla later in the year, even for a company such as this that is still using labels that look almost exactly the way they did 40 years ago.<br />
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Ken Grossman has been at the helm from the beginning, and running things solo for over half that time. He's starting to step back now (more about that below), but make no mistake: Ken made Sierra Nevada what it is, what it became, and what it's been. There have been huge contributions from other folks, but Ken's hand is on the tiller.<br />
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I got an opportunity to interview him today, and I wanted to get that right up. I also sampled the 40th, and tasting notes are at the end of the interview. <i>(As is usually the case, I talked to Ken on the phone and took down what he was saying as fast as I could...but some of this is direct quote, some of it is paraphrase. When I had problems, I asked him to repeat himself. Generally, though, he was pretty thoughtful and slow.)</i><br />
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<i>I'm in italics,</i> Ken is in plain type. I didn't do my usual <b>bolding</b> except for the first few words to make it easier to pick out when things stop and start, and a few things I found exceptionally interesting, like the statement on Sierra Nevada hard seltzer, and one of the "argued over" issues, and the Sierra Nevada whiskey that never happened.<br />
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<b>Ladies and gentlemen: Ken Grossman, founder and owner of Sierra Nevada. </b></div>
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<i><b>Congratulations on 40 years!</b> I've been drinking Sierra Nevada on the regular since 1987, and enjoying the hell out of the ride. But my favorite Sierra Nevada beer is still the Pale Ale, which I never tire of (my wife splits her fave: Celebration when it's in season, Torpedo when it's not). Do <b>you </b>have a favorite year-round or annual from the line-up?</i><br />
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<b>I drink Pale,</b> but I don't stick with one style. I drink through the portfolio pretty regularly. In the past few weeks, I had Porter, 40th, Bigfoot, Pale, and some of our new Kombucha. I went over to [the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room in] Berkeley and tried some of the small batch beers there. I try to always keep tasting and enjoying everything. I'll rotate through the seasonals when they first come out. I really enjoyed the Bigfoot this year. You know, I get that question a lot, and I usually tell them it's like trying to pick your favorite child.<br />
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<i><b>Yeah, sorry,</b> people ask me my favorite whiskey all the time. But it brings up a sadder question: which Sierra Nevada beer that didn't make year-round or regular annual status do you miss the most? For me: <b>Glissade</b>, a wonderful lager we still talk about. How about you?</i><br />
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<b>Glissade, that was a great beer.</b> There are plenty of them, but the realities of the market, the support you need from wholesale and retail involves a certain velocity. So even if the beer's fantastic, if the volume's not enough, the retailers will pull it, the wholesalers see that, and we're supporting something that, for whatever reason, isn't making it. Do we want a brand that's not in a good growth mode, or something that's more where the consumers' tastes are? And it might be tastes, might be the branding, or it might be something else. <b>Hazy Little Thing took off more than we expected last year,</b> it was 98% growth. It caught us a bit off guard. We'd predicted 40,000 bbls. First year doubled that, and then doubled that again.<br />
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<i><b>The 40th seems to be a very Sierra Nevada beer:</b> a 3C (Cluster, Cascade, Centennial hops) IPA, relatively dry, and a very drinkable 6%. But what about the oats and acidulated malt? Is that a regular thing that I just don't know about, or is it something different for this beer?</i><br />
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<b>We do oats in quite a few beers </b>for the mouthfeel; in intentionally hazy beers we use a lot of them. We do use levels of acidulated malt in a number of beers, just for balance of acid. It's a malt that goes through a lactic step before kilning, it helps with pH balance, gives a softness in the flavor.<br />
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<b>The hops</b>...we were trying to go back to 1980. Cluster was the American hop, Cascade wasn't quite as popular then as it would be, and then Centennial would come later, the super-Cascade.<br />
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<b>You know, Cluster never really got a fair shake in America.</b> It's been around for years in variants. This aromatic hop, it was so different from what the German brewers were used to using, those subtle Noble hops. The American brewers were mostly German trained, so they weren't used to that in-your-face aroma. But it was considered an acceptable source of bittering, not as an aroma hop. As more aggressive, higher-alpha (acid) hops were bred, the Clusters fell to the wayside. It has a unique character, and we've played with it in various formulations. It's about 6% Alpha, and you've got bittering hops with triple that now. It doesn't yield that well (per acre), and doesn't have a competitive place as a bittering hop. We've grown some Cluster, and we've gone out and <b>picked wild Clusters </b>outside of Chico [in the area of an old hop farm]. It adapted to the climate down here and does well for what it is. It seemed like a no-brainer.<br />
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<b>Cascade we used in a lot of our early beers,</b> and Centennial is just a great all-round hop. You've probably heard of beers that are focused on Centennial that are in the top few beers in the country.<br />
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<i><b>It's hard </b>being an established and large craft brewer these days. It hardly seems fair, to have done the hard pioneer work, to be making some of the best beers you've ever made, and see attention and sales go to new, small, "cool kid" brewers. Is there a path to continued success as a large craft brewer? Do you just keep making good beer?</i><br />
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<b>That's table stakes. </b>The majority of the small brewers are now making good beer. To be considered in the competitive set when people pick a beer to buy, we have to make <b>great beer.</b> We've been innovating, spreading our wings. <b>We're looking at other alcohol beverages than beer</b>. We just put on our first hard kombucha. We've got a great team put together for using bacteria and other yeasts.<br />
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<b>We're about to release Wild Little Thing,</b> a lactic, somewhat tart beer, should be out in a few months. Just tasted the latest batch. We want to appeal to a wider band of beer drinker. Hazy Little Thing appeals to people who are not necessarily core Sierra Nevada drinkers, may not even be aware of the traditional Sierra Nevada beers.<br />
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<b>And we're working in alternatives</b>: Kombucha is one, and we're looking at others. <b>I don't know that we'll do an alcoholic spritzer. We'll want it to have some more meaning and soul, more in line with what we are than just fermenting sugar and putting flavor in it. </b>The Kombucha we hope will appeal to a similar consumer. We worked really hard at making it, the cultures are ones we intentionally put together. Most of them are combinations of yeast and bacteria that just happened, passed on from a friend's uncle. We've been purposeful about that: a little funky but not a lot, lower alcohol, organic. I think it has a lot more to offer a drinker that wants something that's better for them. We wouldn't call it a health beverage, but the things people are concerned about: carbs, alcohol, it meets those needs in an organic package.<br />
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<b>But to get back to your question?</b> Just make great beer and keep up with the changing drinker. We have to, you know. The younger folks drink more than us as we age.<br />
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<i><b>Looking back on all that you've done </b>-- starting a successful family-owned business, creating the American pale ale and American barleywine styles, pioneering estate brewing and wet hop brewing, going solar, creating 100s of jobs -- what things are you the most proud of having accomplished?</i><br />
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<b>There is a lot.</b> The industry is nothing like what I thought it was going to be 40 years ago, more than 40 years ago, when I was trying to raise money. (Brewing industry pundit) Bob Weinberg was predicting <b>the beer industry would be down to 2 or 3 breweries in 1990</b>.<br />
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<b>I'm proud </b>we were part of the <b>revolution that changed the face of beer in America</b>, and set the stage for a change of beer on a <b>global scale</b>. The breweries here weren't innovating, didn't have the cachet of countries like Czech, Germany, UK. And now it's come full circle, we're known for beer more than those people. <b>I played a part in that transformation, and I'm proud of that.</b> Some of our early labels and tools are in the Smithsonian, from our fledgling industry. <b>And with Boulder (Brewing) closing, we're the last man standing, and haven't been sold, so we're the oldest of the pioneers. </b><br />
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<i><b>Any regrets?</b> Anything you wish you'd done, or Sierra Nevada could have made happen, or in the way craft brewing has turned out?</i><br />
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<b>I wouldn't say regrets.</b> I talked to Fritz Maytag about this when I saw him at the Smithsonian. One of the things I wanted to do in 1980, and I still have the copper pot I was going to do it with: <b>I was going to make an American scotch whisky in 1980. </b>We did supply some wash for St. George back in the late 1980s. One of the guys was just saying a couple months ago, 'If you'd done that when you first got here, you'd have 30 year old whiskey now!' <i>(Would you, though? Would you have kept some that long?!) </i>I like to think we'd have kept at least one bottle!<br />
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<i><b>You've always seemed like a very 'no drama' kind of guy,</b> and Sierra Nevada reflects that: solid, continuing brands, packaging that rarely changes, beers that clearly pay homage to classics, but often make solid advances. Why has Sierra Nevada been so steady all these years, still the same beers at the core, still the same colors and graphics? Is it because of your company culture and your personality, or is it something you could do because you were in this very, very early? </i><i>Is that a strategy you've followed because it worked, or because it's the way you know? </i><br />
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<b>Several times over the years </b>we've hired firms to do a major refresh of the pale ale. It ended up being the artwork for the XXX package. That's one of the versions that was done for refreshing Pale Ale. There was internal angst about such a big shift – and I love that label – but our family argued over that. <b>That statement on the sixpack; that's one of the things we argued about! </b><br />
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<b>We see other brewers </b>– what's the industry saying, every time you do a package refresh you get a 5% sales bump? But I've seen some brewers go through a half dozen or more in ten years and I think it can do damage to brand equity. I don't think it's all upside. Some brands need a refresh, but every year or two seems like a lot. A homebrewer friend did the original labels, he was in the Maltose Falcons club. <b>Chuck Bennett.</b><br />
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<i><b>You've got 40 years in,</b> more than that, counting start-up. That's a career for most people. Are you looking to hang up your boots any time soon? Is there an exit strategy for Ken Grossman, and what does the company look like on the other side of it?</i><br />
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<b>We hired a CEO,</b> promoted the COO Jeff White into that last year. I've been slowly unloading stuff that I'd rather not be doing. I'm working less, trying to work myself out of the job. <b>I like the technical stuff, so I still play a role in that</b>. I've got <b>two children </b>involved in the business out here. <b>Brian</b> oversees the customer experience side at all three places. <b>Sierra </b>is on the people side and in the leadership group.<br />
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<b>I'm just trying to stay out of people's way</b>, and I stick my fingers in where it makes sense. My wife is always after me to work less, so I took a bike ride this morning, I only have one meeting after this, and then I'll head home. I have a woodshop and a metalshop at home. I bought a welder and a lathe, <b>first pieces of equipment I bought, and I've still got 'em both. </b><br />
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<i>Thanks, Ken. For everything. </i><br />
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<b>Tasting Notes on Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale</b> -- Oh, that beautiful fresh yeast smell. Nothing like a Sierra Nevada ale. Beer's a little bit hazy, with an apricot nectar color and a crunchy white head. Noses pine and pith, with a bit of orange candy. It plays slick but sharp on the tongue, with firm hop flavor -- that pine and citrus again -- but not the gripping bitterness of a Celebration.<br />
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<b>In fact, this is a beautiful feat of brewing:</b> they've taken the basic building blocks of their brewing, a brewing tradition (you can certainly say that after 40 years of it) that includes Pale Ale, Bigfoot, Celebration, Torpedo, Tropical Torpedo, and Hazy Little Thing...and once again they've taken those basic ingredients and created a beer that slides into that formation without infringing on any of the others, and yet clearly belongs in that formation. These are all beers that are individuals, and only Bigfoot does that by being hugely different. 40th does it almost all with mouthfeel. <b>Well done!</b><br />
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<br />Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-68072952004303510702020-01-07T16:46:00.000-05:002020-01-07T17:09:43.687-05:00Booze Tariffs Are Going To Affect YOU<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hey!</span></b><br />
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I'm about to <b>start tasting notes again</b>, finally. But <b>this comes first</b>, because it's <b>important </b>and there isn't a<b> lot of time </b>left. For what? For <i>you </i>to help stop the <b>crazy booze tariffs </b>that are looming.<br />
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There's so little time left, less than a week, that I'm going to tell you what to do <b>first</b>, and then you can read the explanation below. But trust me: DO THIS NOW. Send a (pre-written) email to the US Trade Representative <b><a href="https://p2a.co/5pQrWCE" target="_blank">here</a></b>, telling them to knock off this unfair, job-killing action (this is easy, and all you need to do is add your name and address to it, <i>like I did</i>). Then go <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USTR-2019-0003-2518" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and drop a comment directly in the Trade Representative's face, official-style. Click on the "Comment now!" button in the upper right corner, and <b>leave your comment</b> in the next screen that pops up. It can be as simple as "<b>I oppose the imposition of tariffs on European wine and spirits in this action. Such tariffs will directly hurt US companies, and US jobs.</b>" (<i>That's what I submitted</i>.) Or you can get more ideas <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/opinion/wine-tariff-trump.html?" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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Okay. Did you do that? <i>NO?</i> <b>The deadline for comments is January 13! Let's go, step it up! </b>Do it, now, and <i>then </i>come back here and read the <b>explanation </b>below.<br />
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<b>Here's what's going on. </b><br />
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Tariffs of 25% on single malt Scotch and Irish whiskies are <i>already in place</i> (and if you haven't <b>felt </b>them, well, <b>thank your friendly importers</b>), similar taxes (yeah, <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff.asp" target="_blank">tariffs are taxes</a></i>. Anyone who tells you differently is <b>lying or stupid</b>) are already in place on European wine.<br />
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But that's not all. The EU has <b>retaliated </b>against US-imposed tariffs (that's why they call it a <i>trade war</i>) on European steel and aluminum by throwing <b>a 25% tariff on American whiskey</b> (among other things). And the US government has let it be known that they are contemplating <b>significant increases </b>on booze tariffs: <b>100% on champagne</b>, unspecified increases on whiskies.<br />
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I'll be honest. I stood aside on this because <b>these tariffs were sanctioned by the World Trade Organization</b>. <i>What? </i> The WTO saying, "Sure, go ahead, <a href="https://youtu.be/Z8Jd281xrAU" target="_blank">lay that tariff down</a>, momma" ?? Well, it's because of <b>this</b>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdNRQD_IJ2sGC_iem7DXNdy9b3-gXR6iVqgxLFbJsLHJYDMYjgbeHInR3QaT4J5zOOeMGyWDtFWPf8Ar-wyJgTV14WBhuotHZcDWkp4sLKnPyVGqjcs6qIQNduwX8c4bbv9-NSnFEA0U/s1600/airbus+tariff+flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="678" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdNRQD_IJ2sGC_iem7DXNdy9b3-gXR6iVqgxLFbJsLHJYDMYjgbeHInR3QaT4J5zOOeMGyWDtFWPf8Ar-wyJgTV14WBhuotHZcDWkp4sLKnPyVGqjcs6qIQNduwX8c4bbv9-NSnFEA0U/s640/airbus+tariff+flight.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's that wind under our wings? <i>EUROSUBSIDY, mon ami!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After several years, the WTO has finally <b>decided </b>that <b>Airbus </b>was being <b>unfairly aided by subsidies </b>from European governments. (Indications are that they will rule that Boeing was also being subsidized, but that hasn't come out yet.) The remedy was an invitation to the US government to impose billions in tariffs on European goods.<br />
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So I stayed out of this, because say what you will about Trump's other tariffs, this one was actually sanctioned, allowed, righteous, and <b>deserved</b>. But someone from the <b>Distilled Spirits Council of the US </b>called me this morning, and asked me <b>why the hell I wasn't on board</b>.<br />
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Well, <b>Airbus</b>, I said. This is <b>justified</b>.<br />
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<b>Really</b>, she said? Subsidies on <b>aircraft </b>should be equalized by tariffs on <b>whisky?</b> And think about it: some of those <b>European whiskies </b>are owned by <b>US firms </b>(like Brown-Forman), imported and <b>sold </b>by US firms, and directly <b>create </b>American jobs. <b>And they aren't airplanes, are they?</b><br />
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She had a hell of a good point there. <b>This is bullshit</b>. And I don't care if you like the President or not, remember this: <b>he's a rich teetotaler</b>. It ain't gonna hurt him at all.<br />
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But it IS going to hurt you. <b>Directly</b>, because everything is going to <b>cost more</b>. That's simple, and easy to understand. But <b>indirectly</b>, because if the price goes <b>up</b>, sales will go <b>down</b>, and guess what? <i>We don't get the allocations anymore. </i>Because France, and Taiwan, and Canada, and Germany, and Japan are all going to be buying up the <b>good stuff </b>because suddenly we aren't, and the <b>distillers </b>are going to be all, hey, why should we <b>send anything nice </b>to America? <i>They screwed us</i>.<br />
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So...if you haven't actually sent the email (it's so easy!) and left your comment (please feel free to use mine), would you please go do that? <i>Thanks!</i><br />
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<br />Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-23659480645534270012019-12-03T11:06:00.004-05:002019-12-03T11:07:25.936-05:00Yeah, Still SickI really hate to confirm this, but...I am still sick. The hot toddies feel good, and open me up for a bit, but pretty soon the crud comes back.<br />
I can't smell, I can't taste (well, the chili I made yesterday; I could taste that). So, no tasting notes. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, fingers are crossed.<br />
I <i>may</i> put up some stuff about my trips. I went to Bushmills two weeks ago, and I did an Aberlour event in Chicago the week before. This Friday I'm going to Denver to experience the annual Stranahan's Snowflake bottling release. So maybe some of that, because there's definitely some interesting stuff from the Bushmills trip.<br />
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See you soon. I hope.Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-59276391373626056952019-11-18T09:00:00.000-05:002019-11-18T09:00:09.739-05:00Hot Whiskey MedicineI had some <b>whiskey tasting planned </b>for this weekend (see the <a href="https://twitter.com/lewbryson/status/1195080946887929856" target="_blank">tweet</a> to the left), but nature interfered; <b>I caught a rotten cold</b>. I complained, and <b>cigar box guitar virtuoso Shane Speal </b>(get his music <a href="https://shanespeal.com/shop-music" target="_blank">HERE</a>, and do it NOW) made a <b>brilliant suggestion</b>: blog about <b>hot toddies</b>. Two birds with <b>one stone</b>: great post material, and <b>feel better</b>, too. Because I did!<br />
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Herewith: <b>three hot whiskey drinks</b>, two classics (-ish, I did the <b>best I could </b>at my remote site) and one of my own. Feel free to try them as <b>cold weather </b>attacks.<br />
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<b>Hot Whisky</b>: <b><a href="https://food.catskillprovisions.com/" target="_blank">Catskills Provisions honey</a></b>, (they make an excellent <b>honey flavored whiskey</b>, too, <b>try it!</b>) boiling water, two big half-slices of <b>lemon</b>, and a fat 2.5 ounce pour of <b>Glenlivet 15 French Oak</b>. Because the <b>cork broke</b>, so I just <b>emptied </b>the bottle. Hey, I'm <b>feverish</b>, and not <b>responsible </b>for my actions.<br />
<br />
This was <b>good</b>, and the honey and the whisky and the lemon <b>blended </b>up well. This <b>should</b> have <b>whole cloves </b>spiked in the lemon, but I'm working with what I've got. <b>I'm sick, </b>remember. There was <b>too much whisky </b>in the drink, and I <b>mentioned </b>that, and <b>my wife sez</b>, 'So add more water.' <b>No</b>, I wittily responded. I said there was <b>too much</b>, I didn't say <b>I didn't like it that way</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8Z6OINsq_XZx8-zKES9QTadd8J4dCB8pSDR9JDiHeC0AHiapjrpStKF2dJ_-t68JoVbEC0jEE0pQZ3IOHacT1p5TdWMiUGarFLAdO2DXYXhZI5cDfrW_7WPiQn92OnvvzMSLSLr2IdE/s1600/IMG_20191115_191235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8Z6OINsq_XZx8-zKES9QTadd8J4dCB8pSDR9JDiHeC0AHiapjrpStKF2dJ_-t68JoVbEC0jEE0pQZ3IOHacT1p5TdWMiUGarFLAdO2DXYXhZI5cDfrW_7WPiQn92OnvvzMSLSLr2IdE/s200/IMG_20191115_191235.jpg" width="150" /></a>Next up: the Scottish classic.<br />
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<b>Whiskyskin</b>: sugar, <b>boiling water</b>, <b>swatch </b>of lemon peel, good dose of <b>Speyburn 15</b>. I'm no <b>snob</b>; I <b>like </b>Speyburn, especially <b>for the money</b>. I like this <b>drink</b>, too. I think it's because the peel is so much <b>sharper </b>by itself, especially when it's <b>squeezed </b>a bit. This is <b>opening up my nose </b>more, which is kinda the point. <b>I like.</b><br />
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I was strongly tempted to have another. But duty called.<br />
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Duty...and <b>bourbon.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4z7thoLEkhJzSP_cmItWznYmVYY9knYxv2gogc_nLvdiKqd20YVbaF_16_zeYiArxwwmaBUPWjYDzofqtbya6o-vJoN-NskyXN1E9rzx9sm7akKdhBy_bymKc0Z90bxcu-zB9HxHXXdE/s1600/IMG_20191116_220140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4z7thoLEkhJzSP_cmItWznYmVYY9knYxv2gogc_nLvdiKqd20YVbaF_16_zeYiArxwwmaBUPWjYDzofqtbya6o-vJoN-NskyXN1E9rzx9sm7akKdhBy_bymKc0Z90bxcu-zB9HxHXXdE/s320/IMG_20191116_220140.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Hot Medicine</b>: My own magic <b>elixir </b>that I've been loving since my <b>grad school </b>days, when I <b>flirted briefly </b>with <b>over-serving </b>myself, before realizing that would <b>never serve me well</b>. I stick to <b>one </b>of these a night now, because of the <b>strong relaxant power</b>. Hot Medicine is <b>two bags </b>worth of strong tea, made with a <b>pint </b>of boiling water. Let the tea steep <b>at least ten minutes</b>; <i>nothing </i>about this is about making a <b>'proper' cup of tea</b>, it's about making a <b>monster infusion </b>that can <b>stand up </b>to the following additions. Add two teaspoons of <b>sugar or honey</b>, and <b>4-5 ounces of bourbon</b>. I added 4 ounces of <b>J.T.S. Brown Bonded </b>tonight, because...<b>bonded</b>.<br />
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<b>The Hot Medicine cleared me up</b>, at least for long enough to get to sleep. I blew my nose <b>profusely </b>as I started drinking it, but that's done, and I feel as if just spent <b>half an hour</b> in a <b>sauna</b>. Bed time... <b>thanks, Shane</b>, great idea!<br />
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Whiskey. As <b>Davey Crockett</b> said, "It keeps you warm in the winter, and cool in the summertime."Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-60131338983803580912019-11-11T17:44:00.000-05:002019-11-12T11:47:21.335-05:00Forgot To Mention: You'd Better Pre-Order The Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Let's talk about book pre-orders</b>. It's a pretty simple discussion: <b>you want </b>to buy my book. <b>I want </b>you to buy my book. But I <i>really </i>want you to buy it before it's actually <b>available</b> (currently projected release date is <b>February 18, 2020</b>). </div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>It takes an extra effort to pre-order a book.</b> I get that. There's no <b>instant gratification</b>; not even the Amazon-instant gratification of knowing you'll have it in <b>a day or three</b>. No, you look at that <b>picture </b>of the cover, and read those <b>glowing comments </b>by other authors, and get to look at a <b>couple pictures </b>that may or may not be in the book, and you think, <b>"Yeah, what's the rush?" </b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiya2RFKETq5gPIAJGAa0Yr8kLqeBJB_na_tgFTt7YrxrL6pAHeQ7dZHvjf1SLuLjwEiIDbEcXfSehWZpu2WL17pWdV-JIac2UjPSfzfn4AcFg4wPjr4o1SVOZ78jVssGuVmpuy2It0cKc/s1600/WMC_Jacket2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiya2RFKETq5gPIAJGAa0Yr8kLqeBJB_na_tgFTt7YrxrL6pAHeQ7dZHvjf1SLuLjwEiIDbEcXfSehWZpu2WL17pWdV-JIac2UjPSfzfn4AcFg4wPjr4o1SVOZ78jVssGuVmpuy2It0cKc/s640/WMC_Jacket2-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>All four of these pictures are in the book. I swear this to you. </i></td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>We get that.</b> But pre-orders are what make the<b> book-selling world go around</b>. Pre-orders mean <b>bigger orders </b>from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you pre-order from <b>your local indie bookstore</b>, that can be even <b>better</b>, especially if you get some kind of <b>excited </b>when you do it, because then the people at the bookstore will get <b>excited </b>about it and tell other people about it. (And maybe even <b><a href="mailto:lew.bryson@gmail.com" target="_blank">invite me to do a signing event</a></b>, I mean, why not, right?)<br />
<br />
<b>Pre-orders </b>are the key to the <b>best-seller lists </b>(well, for books about things that get on the best-seller lists, but a <b>guy can dream</b>), and pre-orders are the <b>quickest way </b>for <b>me</b>, your <b>old buddy </b>the whiskey writer, to <b>get paid</b>. You want <b>all that to happen, right?</b><br />
<br />
<b>So do I, and so does my editor. </b>We came up with a plan. If you <b>pre-order</b>, we have some <b>bonus material </b>for you. See, I was constrained by the word-count on this one, and my math was not up to snuff. <b>I overwrote</b>, and there were a<b> couple thousand words that didn't fit</b>. There's a section on <b>making whiskey from a craft-type beer mash </b>that got cut, and about <b>a dozen tasting notes</b>, including a <b>couple nice long comparatives</b>. I was maybe going to try to <b>sell that to a magazine </b>or website, then the editor says, '<b>hey, wait a minute</b>...'<br />
<br />
<b>You can get this bonus material </b>(in PDF form, as a download you can read on your smartphone or tablet)<b> if you pre-order. </b>Once the book's out though (currently <b>February 18</b>), <b>offer's over</b>, and the stuff's <b>gone</b>. But if you <b>do </b>stir yourself, and <b>your credit card</b>, you can get <i>Whiskey Master Class...<b>Plus!</b></i><b> </b>And don't worry: if you've <b>already pre-ordered,</b> you will <i>also </i>receive the <b>bonus material</b>. Of course you will. <b>And thank you!</b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_juzzegys7HfCRtv16MLczG-av0tfcQIVhRPlvLhQFCWvuP5BZk5ivw42xqVUhc5SoL_ZW4X7oWtry5IDeXxgn4CuhPvTT19JD1wH-fbJLOjWhRFcGQl-bY7uyWyOEgYBzXZNwZhFk-M/s1600/That%2527s+beautiful+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="400" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_juzzegys7HfCRtv16MLczG-av0tfcQIVhRPlvLhQFCWvuP5BZk5ivw42xqVUhc5SoL_ZW4X7oWtry5IDeXxgn4CuhPvTT19JD1wH-fbJLOjWhRFcGQl-bY7uyWyOEgYBzXZNwZhFk-M/s200/That%2527s+beautiful+baby.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's beautiful, baby. Yeah.</td></tr>
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(We <b>don't have to </b>ask you<b> not to share/post</b> the PDF once you've received it,<b> right?</b> Because you<b> respect copyright,</b> and the idea of a<b> creator </b>making a <b>fair living</b> for their work, and don't want to create any <b>negative waves</b>? Thought so. <b>Thanks!</b>)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Here's how it works.</b> It's going through the publisher, so it's a bit hand-made, not all slick and Amazony, but it works.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First, order the book before February 18! </b>Next, <b>email </b>your <b>proof of pre-order purchase </b>-- see the Amazon <b>example </b>below, which you'd want to <b>copy </b>out of your Amazon order and <b>paste </b>into the <b>email</b>; if you pre-ordered at a bookstore, <b>snap a photo of the receipt </b>and send that along with the <b>name of the book, the store, and date showing</b> -- and send it to us at <a href="mailto:whiskeymaster@quarto.com"><b>whiskeymaster@quarto.com</b></a> with a subject line of "<b>Whiskey Master Class Bonus Offer</b>". Easy-peasy. Copy the proof of purchase, paste it in an email, send it to us, and we'll send you the PDF. <b>Done.</b><br />
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<b>COPY AND PASTE THIS PART:</b><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Arriving:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><b><span style="color: #009900; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Tuesday, June 11</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C%3D3JTDOSORXPWJG%26K%3DH33NV40QIEZE%26M%3Durn:rtn:msg:20190608165605c231b3e6e07b4085b482a6f1df40p0na%26R%3D3253T2AILIQ8G%26T%3DC%26U%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.amazon.com%252Fgp%252Fcss%252Forder-details%253ForderId%253D113-5877026-4278628%2526ref_%253Dpe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_od%26H%3DPMGLNNCEZMAFVM49ZTA8WDMRFWGA%26ref_%3Dpe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_od&source=gmail&ust=1573595416056000&usg=AFQjCNGpv_iX_btyC5hLDqhrEoIBskyBNg" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=3JTDOSORXPWJG&K=H33NV40QIEZE&M=urn:rtn:msg:20190608165605c231b3e6e07b4085b482a6f1df40p0na&R=3253T2AILIQ8G&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fcss%2Forder-details%3ForderId%3D113-5877026-4278628%26ref_%3Dpe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_od&H=PMGLNNCEZMAFVM49ZTA8WDMRFWGA&ref_=pe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_od" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><img alt="Your Orders" border="0" class="CToWUd" height="47" id="m_-9056151109361007259_x0000_i1125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgMgqe23n9iGh2L0M6QqTxH-6nE7mfaL1GEuv7iMkDx0-7BQOb5OTCjTe_pNg_w-U6EpVIjNw9htkiRpBIetIiNzWMhloTngkp89cCwuisGOT4LSEAdZmmmv8poGABDs5-rrfhYcYKCQTxXKqYYIyQK8muaojI1daKW8_kr_Nl0Dv41pUjcCmhalbjhCgt0RgnywkRrk3_Qdq1I_yqm7qkQ6cYrKHK1W_6Q0nsIfc4ljcOPX64vQqUaxEthYD8yMJ5NQhJnCqS1HYT0aTm714EGghpUGtzFyU7qafqon3JIPYs7NDMRkHlCR4jtL4vehMLVFMjf_5n-DkeP11dkm1os7AvFHbw_aXQ9tOq9682kccTaMVUcZiBWTLyy2seTpbqyvewXrmYOfZFBCK5dD_-G=s0-d-e1-ft&c=E,1,DnpmQoz2IMYQ-t2Jr1YZLDeGBjbbdwXl65cuRuyZbpdUxGaWpZuK8fAz_cbWYUo0zY3k5--AZJzaBli6vT-fSL72haSNiAJXJy-X4YyS6hY,&typo=1" style="height: 0.4861in; width: 2.3125in;" width="222" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ship to:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><b>Amy Lerseth<br />750 CORTLANDT DR...</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Total Before Tax:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Estimated Tax:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Order Total:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">$13.38</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">$1.04</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">$14.42</span></b><span style="color: #848576; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(or less)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C%3D3JTDOSORXPWJG%26K%3DH33NV40QIEZE%26M%3Durn:rtn:msg:20190608165605c231b3e6e07b4085b482a6f1df40p0na%26R%3D3PVZUO7Z6ZBER%26T%3DC%26U%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.amazon.com%252Fgp%252Fhelp%252Fcustomer%252Fdisplay.html%252Fref%253Dpe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_guarantee%253FnodeId%253D201133130%2523guarantee%26H%3DQO3Y8LLH5U4ZOI5QYYPFWSBPDESA%26ref_%3Dpe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_guarantee&source=gmail&ust=1573595416057000&usg=AFQjCNEt7UCTQoL61k_1CjJMR1dFfxOAyA" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C=3JTDOSORXPWJG&K=H33NV40QIEZE&M=urn:rtn:msg:20190608165605c231b3e6e07b4085b482a6f1df40p0na&R=3PVZUO7Z6ZBER&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fhelp%2Fcustomer%2Fdisplay.html%2Fref%3Dpe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_guarantee%3FnodeId%3D201133130%23guarantee&H=QO3Y8LLH5U4ZOI5QYYPFWSBPDESA&ref_=pe_2640190_232748420_TE_simp_guarantee" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Why?</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b>But here's the BEST part!</b> If you pre-order and <b>send in your proof of pre-order</b>, we'll send you <b>the bonus material right away! </b>(Okay, as soon as the editorial assistant can <b>get to it</b>, but <i>real soon!</i>). So you can start enjoying <i>Whiskey Master Class</i> <b>right now</b>. That's pretty cool, right?<br />
<br />
<b>So help me out here</b>. You'll get the <b>book</b>, plus the <b>bonus material</b>. You'll be assured of getting it <b>as soon as it comes out</b>, so you can start <b>learning about whiskey flavor creation</b> right away. And you'll be <b>helping me get paid</b>, which is a <b>noble </b>gesture on your part, <b>thank you </b>very much!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnt1a-9J1jmOOp831u3IJjoaPvEurkB4lodtCs6r9otppaG3qT0jU2iiXJ7lgdOnSpg811-rtZzqXRB1CDzKMXQvTTFxHoElYXvNXlys_JtnsvkVdvvhYHHNZUiaMvxYFxJSpPgMiCNY/s1600/Pip+at+the+pond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="772" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnt1a-9J1jmOOp831u3IJjoaPvEurkB4lodtCs6r9otppaG3qT0jU2iiXJ7lgdOnSpg811-rtZzqXRB1CDzKMXQvTTFxHoElYXvNXlys_JtnsvkVdvvhYHHNZUiaMvxYFxJSpPgMiCNY/s320/Pip+at+the+pond.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">How about it? Pippin likes people who pre-order.</span></td></tr>
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Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-15813968504877853992019-11-08T18:07:00.000-05:002019-11-08T18:07:35.967-05:00Genesee Schwarzbier, 2019 return!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBiZnMe0LzPkc0vseZBJM8gWEPgIribOMWJZh2FS8JWdb2EwTY-WC1GTvU6vg-ELbjGAUaTqkoH4bWzA9n-s3kNfF-Rrmyx9KVoDxH9JFKtWKRh2rypmfEDmiY5JssrFRaQeJZL5wnW8/s1600/schwarzbier-hans.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="233" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBiZnMe0LzPkc0vseZBJM8gWEPgIribOMWJZh2FS8JWdb2EwTY-WC1GTvU6vg-ELbjGAUaTqkoH4bWzA9n-s3kNfF-Rrmyx9KVoDxH9JFKtWKRh2rypmfEDmiY5JssrFRaQeJZL5wnW8/s200/schwarzbier-hans.png" width="200" /></a></div>
I don't know what I love more about this can illustration. Is it the closed eyes, signaling relaxed enjoyment? The full face beard and red flannel of the mountain man? The jaunty pipe -- a PIPE, on a beer label, oh my God! -- with the little design on the bowl?<br /><br />
No, it's gotta be the BIG GLASS OF BEER! The dude is loving that beer. Happy to be here, folks, having a big old schwarzbier.<br />
<br />
And so am I, now, and I'm a happy fella. I've been waiting for months for the reappearance of Genesee's Schwarzbier. Yeah, really, a canned seasonal from a lumpy old regional brewery in upstate New York, and it is a happy day that it has returned. My wife brought some home from a visit to her mother outside of Rochester, and I can only hope that it trickles down to Pennsylvania soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PFnlBskHJgeVy3PwliyTb-LuNrbw8l_MeL0mRyNlUYTOYOB2qBXzbYPf_-E2Wm-liOUV7P4OyhrvmL2JPtDneGliNdI1gtOR-9HiJGwhoWbT20ZRTNXk8qXn0_jVkOfp-EnL4wi7ipE/s1600/genesee-schwarzbier.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PFnlBskHJgeVy3PwliyTb-LuNrbw8l_MeL0mRyNlUYTOYOB2qBXzbYPf_-E2Wm-liOUV7P4OyhrvmL2JPtDneGliNdI1gtOR-9HiJGwhoWbT20ZRTNXk8qXn0_jVkOfp-EnL4wi7ipE/s320/genesee-schwarzbier.png" width="182" /></a></div>
Schwarzbier has always been a favorite of mine. Dark, flavorful, mild, and utterly drinkable in large quantities. I recall the first time I brought a case of Kostritzer's classic home. I opened one, and started making dinner...and 40 minutes later Cathy came through the door, and somehow 5 bottles were empty.<br />
<br />
But it's fairly temperate, so it's all good. Take a big lager-brewed swallow: smooth, creamy mouthfeel, a roasty and chewy flavor, a just slightly tangy finish of black malt, and hurra! We're ready for another!<br />
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I'm taking a sixer along to dinner -- Figs, a BYO Mediterranean place in Philly -- and it's going to be welcome. I still recall being at a busy German-tapped bar one night, when a woman came up and asked for "your lightest beer." Give her a Kostritzer, I called, and they did. She looked at me as if to say, 'you're blind,' and I urged her to try it. It WAS the lightest beer they had: the black beer.<br /><br />Thanks for the winter gift, Genesee!Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-60140627648034803002019-11-08T14:20:00.000-05:002019-11-08T14:20:31.213-05:00Heaven Hill Bottled In Bond: three glasses<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBsI9d0Jh_E2teEgwX3T6s6Pnk-euHOfkObsXJQyxL1QMDxSRTT3ndoN-0HKL77abgWRFwVikBhw4TjoLkGk08n70Eu0CejWeIqyxSEvAmGJifxJ9tSZICfhRcCI60jT-v8iSUkMAHkA/s1600/IMG_20191108_100604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1197" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBsI9d0Jh_E2teEgwX3T6s6Pnk-euHOfkObsXJQyxL1QMDxSRTT3ndoN-0HKL77abgWRFwVikBhw4TjoLkGk08n70Eu0CejWeIqyxSEvAmGJifxJ9tSZICfhRcCI60jT-v8iSUkMAHkA/s320/IMG_20191108_100604.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 year old; The Six; the new 7 year old</td></tr>
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<b>I've always been a fan of Heaven Hill</b> because of the value of their whiskeys. <b>Evan Williams</b>, in the familiar black label, the Bonded, and Single Barrel bottlings, is the benchmark for bourbon value. <b>I will admit</b>: I didn't get the value prospect when I first started seriously drinking bourbon. I <b>perversely </b>wanted to <b>spend more money</b> on my whiskey. When I found <b>Elijah Craig 12 year old</b> for $14 (20 years ago!), I changed my mind.<br />
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So one of my favorite bottles was the <b>Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 6 Years Old</b> in the white label. I liked the way that bottle poured down the long neck, I liked the <b>smack in the face </b>of its unapologetic big corn/big oak character, and I sure did like that $14 (or less) price tag. That and Wild Turkey 101 were the bourbons that led me to realize that <b>I preferred bourbons </b>on the <b>low side of 12 </b>years old.<br />
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I felt <b>betrayed</b> when Heaven Hill <b>pulled the Bonded Six</b> from the market last year. That's a little harsh; <b>it makes sense</b>. Why put such <b>great whiskey </b>in a bottle for <b>$14</b> ($21 for a handle!), when whiskeys that <b>aren't even as good </b>are selling for <b>four times </b>that? It simply no longer made sense for Heaven Hill, even with their <b>long and loyal </b>practice of supporting markets that had supported them (in this case, the bottom shelf bandits, I guess). I get it.<br /><br />
But now we get <b>Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7 year old</b>, and it's <b>$40 </b>a bottle. Where's that rise in price come from? An <b>extra year </b>of age, and I guess the Bottled-in-Bond <b>hyphens </b>aren't free, and that is a very <b>snazzy </b>new bottle and label. But <b><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/You_Know_Me_Al/KnE9AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0" target="_blank">you know me Al</a></b>: how's it taste?<br />
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I just went through the process of <b>sorting </b>all my bourbons and ryes, so I knew I had <b>not only </b>the <b>Bonded Six </b>and the new bottling, but a 'pint' bottle of <b>Old Heaven Hill Bonded</b>, a 4 year old that I believe is still out there. <b>Let's taste them</b>.<br />
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<b>Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond — </b>No age statement, but I'm guessing this probably isn't <b>much over 4 years old</b>. Sweet corn on the nose, some hot oaky alcohol, and some <b>pleasantly delicate </b>nuts and fruit pastilles there as well. <b>Simple but well-built </b>on the tongue: everything the nose <b>promises</b>, with a bit of <b>creamy sweetness </b>as well, and maybe a hint of green corn. Decent finish. <b>Better than I remember</b>, to be honest.<br />
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<b>Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 6 Years Old</b> — Given the <b>age </b>of this bottle (I found it <b>buried </b>in the back of my liquor cabinet), it was <b>likely </b>laid down by <b>Parker and Craig Beam</b>. In Parker's honor, I'll note that I smell <b>corn, and oak!</b> I also smell lots of spicy candy, <b>coffee cake streusel</b>, and sweet <i>stollen </i>dough. Big entry: <b>hot corn pudding</b>, Red Hots, <b>peppermint </b>oil, and a <b>beginning </b>of the oak that will build through the finish. The <b>heat </b>is a <b>rock-em sock-em </b>kind of thing, a punch, but a <b>gloved </b>punch that's not going to<b> knock your palate out</b>. Instead, it brings you back <b>for more</b>, like the soothing <b>pummeling </b>of a massage. I want to <b>finish </b>the sample, but I'll have to <b>come back </b>to it.<br />
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<b>Heaven Hill 7 Year Old Bottled In Bond</b> — Trying hard to <b>clear my head of expectations</b>... The nose has <b>more candy </b>-- orange nougat, butter mints -- but also <b>lots of cornmeal </b>and dusty seed corn, along with <b>whiskey-wet barrel oak</b>. Quite <b>different </b>from the <b>Bonded Six </b>on the palate: <b>smoother</b>, more cornmeal and dried corn, the <b>Red Hots are lighter </b>and not as sweet. That's it: it's a <b>lighter, almost brittle sweetness </b>over a richer corn and oak underlayment, almost like a <b>crème brûlée kind of structure </b>(not flavor; structure). The end of the palate and into the finish is more <b>austere</b>, and shorter.<br /><br />
When I <b>go back to the Bonded Six </b>after this, it seems a <i>lot</i> <b>sweeter</b>, until that <b>finish</b>, which <b>piles on the oak</b>. That's where I think the <b>Bonded Six has the advantage</b>; the <b>finish </b>on the 7 Year Old is <b>shorter</b>, and less...<b>magnificent</b>. The 7 has a <b>more interesting nose</b>, it has more balanced flavor that we'll call <b>'separate but equal</b>,' but that Bonded Six <b>finish </b>is something I'm going to <b>miss</b>.<br />
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Is the Heaven Hill 7 Year Old Bonded <b>worth $40?</b> At 100° and 7 years old, baby, <b>most definitely! </b>Especially when I <b>look around </b>at what else is <b>going for $40 </b>these days. Hell, get a <b>bottle of this </b>and a bottle of <b>New Riff Bonded </b>for about the <b>same price</b>, and you'll have <b>$80 well-spent</b>; catch the right store pricing, and you'll have <b>enough left over </b>for lemons, superfine sugar, and chips for a <b>whiskey sour party </b>you won't soon forget. This steps <b>lightly and brightly</b> along the <b>edge </b>of <b>young bonded power </b>and <b>mature whiskey sophistication</b>, a young boxer who just got his <b>first silk suit</b>.<br />
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Are the days of <b>punch-in-the-face bourbon</b> gone? There are<b> always 4 year olds </b>that will <b>slap </b>you: Beam White, Jack Black. There are <b>8 to 12 year olds </b>that will <b>body-slam </b>you: Russell's Reserve, Knob Creek. But when I go looking for the solid <b>haymaker </b>to the chops that was the Bonded Six...I'm<b> not sure </b>it's going to be out there. Maybe I <b>need to get </b>out Jimmy's Remedy: <b>Turkey 101</b>. I'll let you know about that.<br /><br /><br />
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<br />Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-50573949715843208302019-10-30T01:02:00.000-04:002019-10-30T01:02:02.340-04:00Another German malt: SlyrsI never expected to be doing notes on <b>two German malt whiskies</b> in the first month of the new blog, but here we are. How'd it happen? Fairly simple: we took my son to dinner for his birthday. We went down to <b><a href="https://www.brauhausschmitz.com/" target="_blank">Brauhaus Schmitz</a></b> on South Street in Philly; Thomas said he felt like German food, and that's a <i>great</i> place for it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfqKTM1zcJr1kIQYn1qwHRoJL-nsH1aouLQKPyWhb5o1LWQ1LGT9pKblQ7866djSOJjNAOJMIQ-wfTa9EfOAim0TJUeh4xN59xRxXKj5ldc1flZjDl-eCoXnGBMcNLyTMWU8BmPnRT1Q/s1600/IMG_20191030_000338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfqKTM1zcJr1kIQYn1qwHRoJL-nsH1aouLQKPyWhb5o1LWQ1LGT9pKblQ7866djSOJjNAOJMIQ-wfTa9EfOAim0TJUeh4xN59xRxXKj5ldc1flZjDl-eCoXnGBMcNLyTMWU8BmPnRT1Q/s400/IMG_20191030_000338.jpg" width="300" /></a>When I'm at Brauhaus, the foremost thing on my mind is <i>beer,</i> and at this time of year, it's Oktoberfest beer, <i>festbier, Märzen!</i> I got a half liter of house Traunstein fest going, and things looked decidedly rosy. Then the owner, <b>Doug Hager</b>, came over to the table. He had a small bottle with him.<br />
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As you can see, it was labeled <b>Slyrs Single Malt Whisky. </b>There was also some writing on the masking tape holding the cork in.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRIl703QX3n-nm5HtI0JMso3My-LSc_hjmKh3BkW0sa7FEb_h8HKsCeGEQWRHQPT5TucUY39NcVxbl9Nb4uNbRwpkhtClFmoegiq7sj1jRz306hv1s2SAbqbZyClUyM_r1kw0uP02FXI/s1600/IMG_20191030_000351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRIl703QX3n-nm5HtI0JMso3My-LSc_hjmKh3BkW0sa7FEb_h8HKsCeGEQWRHQPT5TucUY39NcVxbl9Nb4uNbRwpkhtClFmoegiq7sj1jRz306hv1s2SAbqbZyClUyM_r1kw0uP02FXI/s200/IMG_20191030_000351.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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Can you see that? "<b>Lew's Mouth Only!</b>" Doug said it was to help keep from drinking it all himself; the Slyrs is, he said, his <i>favorite</i> (German) <i>whiskey!</i><br /><br />I've known <b>Doug </b>for quite a while, ever since he sang a <b>silly little beer song </b>for the judges at the Philly Beer Geek competition ten years ago (just before Brauhaus opened). This was the first time I knew he was a whiskey drinker. Thanks for thinking of me!<br /><br /><b>Slyrs </b>is a 43% non-age statement bottling, thought to be around five years old. That would be young for Scotch, but Slyrs is aged in new charred American oak barrels, like bourbon, so it ages faster, picking up color and flavor faster. Let's see how that worked out.<br />
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There's a <b>fruity</b>, almost Juicy-Fruit gum aroma to it, along with a <b>firm oak spine.</b> It's sweet, <b>grainy-doughy </b>sweet, but there's some <b>prickly spice </b>as well. The mouth is <b>hot </b>for the proof, but the <b>sweet malt </b>and <b>vanilla-oak </b>comes through <b>quickly </b>and puts the heat in the <b>background</b>. Slyrs is <b>young and lively</b>, not a smooth-tempered contemplative dram. The <b>malt </b>is sweet, the <b>fruit </b>is there, but the <b>oak </b>chases it around the mouth, <b>smacking it on the ass </b>with a barrel stave right into <b>the finish</b>, which is oak-dominated and fairly long.<br />
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This could use some more age, though how that would go in new oak is a question. <b>Slyrs is energetic and fresh</b>, but it borders on busy, Might want to take a cube with it.<br />
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By the way...this whole "single malt" thing gets me a bit peevish. "Single Malt" seems to be aimed at leading one to believe that this whisky is like Scotch, maybe a lot like Scotch. I feel the same way about American "single malt." Distillers tell me it's because it's all malt, made from a single distillery, just like single malt Scotch, but this conveniently overlooks that Scotch came up with "single malt" to differentiate from the much more widely-sold blended whiskies. "Single malt" is Scotch whisky blended from casks of all-malt whisky, all from the same distillery...a distinction different from American and (presumably) German malt whisky distillers, since the Scots do blend from more than one distillery on a regular basis, something American distillers do not, to the best of my knowledge, do except for the very rare collaboration. We'll be talking a LOT more about <b>American single malt whisky </b>this Saturday, Nov. 2 at <b>Julio's Liquors</b>, in Westborough, Mass.: the <b>American Single Malt Symposium</b>, with people from Balcones, Westland, Virginia, and Sons of Liberty distilleries. If you're anywhere near...get a ticket, come on by!<br />
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I've got nothing more German coming up, but you never know...Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-68080907200299720292019-10-25T18:06:00.000-04:002019-10-25T18:06:58.592-04:00I Can't Wait: Maker's Mark RC6I have a <b>table full </b>of whiskey samples waiting to be tasted. I'm working through them. But every now and then...something shows up that I find <b>exciting</b>, and I just have to try it ASAP. That's what happened when I brought home <b>a box</b> that turned out to contain the new <b>Maker's Mark RC6</b>.<br />
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RC6 is the 'code-name' of the type of <b>stave </b>used for <b>extra-aging </b>the whisky. Maker's Mark has been working with <b>Independent Stave Co.</b> on a <b>series </b>of staves that can be hung (on special structures of food-grade plastic and stainless steel) in barrels of aged whisky. The staves have been <b>heat-treated </b>in a number of different ways: toasted, charred, infra-red, slow broils. RC6 is a selection by Maker's wood master, <b>Jane Bowie</b>: ten virgin <b>toasted </b>American oak staves.<br />
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But what <b>interested </b>me (in the context of having just written <i>Whiskey Master Class</i>) was a note from my Maker's Mark contact that "Jane Bowie spent years <b>perfecting the finishing proof</b>, and it's really special." <b>Proofing</b>, the act of deciding what proof the whiskey should be <b>cut to</b> before entering the bottle and then <b>executing </b>that decision. Here's what I said in the <b>upcoming book</b>:<br />
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Adding water changes the alcohol level, which changes the aromas that come forward. More alcohol will carry oak tones; lower the alcohol and the oak backs down, allowing the richer vanilla notes to come out. Distillers will proof whiskeys to different levels to find the optimum aroma profile or to find the level that brings out the particular flavor they’re looking for.<br />Adding water doesn’t change what flavor components are in a whiskey, nor does it take them away or add them. Adding water changes how whiskey presents itself to your senses, shifts what you sense first or more intensely.<br /><b>It’s like a person changing her wardrobe. The person is the same, but your perception of them is different.</b></blockquote>
Jane decided that this whisky, finished with <b>9 weeks of cold-conditioned RC6 character</b>, was<b> best-dressed</b> at 108.2° proof. Let's find out.<br />
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The heat's there, packed full of Juicy-Fruit gum, nutmeg, light clove, and dry cocoa. I drew in a big snoot-full, and got stung by the fire; <b>beware</b>. Light and frisky on the tongue: more <b>spice</b>, sweet pastry dough, and <b>brighter fruits</b>. The alcohol fire is there too, and I wonder...<b>let's add some water</b>. Call me a <b>philistine</b>, but that's lush with the water, more <b>spready </b>on the tongue. To me, it is...<b>yummy</b>, to use Bill Samuels's target phrase.<br />
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These limited offerings will be coming out once a year. Should be an interesting class in oak innovation.Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-41738293838143126402019-10-23T09:00:00.000-04:002019-10-23T09:50:18.655-04:00Stories, Legends, and Lessons: The Duke, a smoky German, and Wild Turkey's Master's Keep RyeI can't keep up the level of the <b>Little Book extravaganza </b>every post. I do have more <b>fun ones </b>coming, but there are a LOT more of these <b>straight-up reviews</b>; mostly whiskey, but some <b>beer </b>as well, and maybe a <b>tequila or cognac </b>as they come over the transom.<br />
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Without further ado, then.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Duke Kentucky Straight bourbon</span> </b>- <a href="http://www.dukespirits.com/" target="_blank">Duke Spirits</a>. Since "Duke" is <b>John Wayne</b>, you know there's going to be a <b>story </b>here. Stripped to its <b>essentials</b>, Wayne <b>liked </b>bourbon, and his <b>son Ethan </b>recently found a collection of all his old scripts and <b>old bourbon bottles</b>. He took the bottles to someone who <b>knows whiskey</b>, and <b>apparently </b>asked them if they could <b>figure out </b>what Duke liked, and <b>blend up a bourbon </b>like that. This is the result: a <b>5 year old </b>Kentucky straight bourbon at 44%.<br />
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Well, <b>you know</b>. Interesting story, and even an interesting <b>idea </b>to recreate what bourbon John Wayne liked by blending up something from the <b>evidence </b>of his drinking. But to then call that an "<b>original recipe</b>" dating from <b>1962</b> is more than a stretch.<b> It's a story, </b>little better than the "<b>grampa's family recipe</b>" stories that the marketplace is <b>littered with</b> in these times.<br />
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In this case, <b>the whiskey </b>should have been where they <b>put the emphasis</b>, because it's <b>not bad at all</b>. There's a nose full of spicy old-timey hard candies and hard oak. It lands well with a good firm mouthfeel, and a mouthful of blueberry cobbler, cough drops and brown sugar. A bit thin on the finish, but I almost feel like I'm searching for a problem. That's pretty good for a 5 year old bourbon. <b>Lean on that.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Palatinatus Single Malt -</span> <a href="https://www.destillerie-sippel.de/de/destillerie/" target="_blank">Destillerie Thomas Sippel</a>, Pfalz, <b>Germany</b>. Aged in American oak, peated malt, distilled in 2014<br />
This time <b>the story is mine</b>. I got an email from an old high school friend, <b>Don Hershey</b>. He'd been to Germany on <b>vacation</b>, and they decided to take in a distillery tour. While doing the tour, he saw a copy of <i>Tasting Whiskey</i>, and mentioned to the tour guide that <b>he knew the author</b>. One thing led to another, and they asked him to <b>please take me this bottle </b>to taste.<br />
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Don agreed, and <b>met me </b>for a (perfectly conditioned) <b>glass of bitter </b>at <a href="http://www.atthesutter.com/bullshead.html" target="_blank">Bulls Head</a> pub in Lititz, PA. He told me <b>the story </b>and gave me the <b>bottle</b>, we got caught up, and I went home to try this <b>German malt whiskey. </b><br />
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45%. It pours a pale gold. The nose is a <b>fruity smoke</b>, with hints of menthol and <b>leaf smoke</b>. Light and youthful, but <b>not green</b>. Sweet and light on the palate, with <b>bacony smoke </b>up front that backs off to allow a <b>clean maltiness </b>to come through and again, the <b>fruitiness</b>. This is <b>light and pleasant </b>at 5 years, and I'm <b>curious </b>where aging will take it. It could <b>use </b>more <b>integration</b>, and that's <b>exactly </b>what time should bring. The Germans are doing a <b>lot of whiskey</b>-making, and they <b>certainly know their malt</b>. Keep your eyes on them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbLqywJ2gB0Djh1BfWJEwSNXKisEXoTlBa3v7ZyBDaSnjqQhjDDgLNcHlfsVOfY8Hz_krOm33upk1Uz0Ovu0L4f1Foy8qOv4P2rlSRJesCPSnPHQwDc760lMqqUZchYA0hpki40wl3OA/s1600/Turkey+Keep+Rye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1018" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbLqywJ2gB0Djh1BfWJEwSNXKisEXoTlBa3v7ZyBDaSnjqQhjDDgLNcHlfsVOfY8Hz_krOm33upk1Uz0Ovu0L4f1Foy8qOv4P2rlSRJesCPSnPHQwDc760lMqqUZchYA0hpki40wl3OA/s320/Turkey+Keep+Rye.jpg" width="203" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Wild Turkey Master's Keep Cornerstone Rye</span><br />
-- <a href="https://wildturkeybourbon.com/product/wild-turkey-masters-keep-cornerstone-rye/" target="_blank">Wild Turkey Master's Keep collection</a>. If <b>this </b>is the one you <b>opened </b>the blog post <b>for</b>, well, I'll be honest: <b>me too</b>. I've been a <b>Turkey fan </b>for years (though I've <b>called them out </b>when they take a wrong turn), and this just sounded <b>like a killer</b>. "...a <b>backbone </b>of 9 year old barrels <b>married </b>with a selection of <b>very rare </b>11 year old barrels."<br />
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This is <b>Eddie Russell's </b>selection, <b>his whiskey</b>, and <b>proof </b>that he's <b>learned </b>what I believe is his <b>father's best lesson</b>: old whiskey <b>is just old whiskey</b>. Some folks seem to think <b>rye is just getting started </b>at 9 and 11 years old. <b>Hogwash</b>, and this stuff gives them the lie. Don't buy into that <b>narrative</b>. Taste and see <b>for yourself</b>.<br />
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54.5%. Hello, nose. <b>Baked goods </b>(vanilla, honey, nuts, <i>baklava?</i>), fruit pie crust, <b>bit of anise</b>. Open up: I'm tasting <b>spicy hard candy</b>, more honey, hot but <b>not breathless </b>heat, some of that <b>pastry </b>- well-baked and browned - and <b>dry peppermint pastilles</b>. Oak is present but <b>doesn't intrude</b>. Finishes long, with <b>dried fruit, oak, </b>and spices. At 52% rye, this almost drinks more like a <b>high-rye bourbon</b>, but the <b>dryness of the rye </b>makes it different, and delicious.<br />
<br />
A great addition to this Master's Keep collection.<br />
<br />
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Just to keep you interested. While I was tasting whiskeys, Pippin was tasting rawhide. He found this 4 month old American beef hide quite tasty.Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-36944287371062477712019-10-18T10:54:00.000-04:002019-10-19T07:49:29.271-04:00Little Book: Tasting the 3 Chapters with Freddie "Little Book" Noe<h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapters 3, 2, 1; left to right</td></tr>
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<b>Pulling Apart Beam's Little Books</b></h3>
<div>
<i>Just a warning: we've got seven whiskeys to get through, plus comparisons, plus some reflections on blending. So why not get a drink before starting? </i><br />
<br />
Beam Suntory (hereafter referred to simply as "Beam") turned out three surprising and excellent whiskeys over the past few years. The <b>"Little Book"</b> bottlings are named for the man who blended them, <b>Freddie Noe</b>. Freddie is the son of Beam master distiller <b>Fred Noe</b>, the grandson of distilling icon <b>Booker Noe</b>, and the great-great grandson of <b>Jim Beam</b> himself. He's said to take after his grandfather, and so he's been known as "Little Book." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's all interesting Beam family and company history, up to the point of the release of the first "chapter" of Little Book. Because at that point, two things happened. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>First, "American blended whiskey"</b> took a huge leap upward in respectability. We were used to thinking of things like Kessler's, Four Queens, and the old, pre-Kirin Four Roses, and Seagram's 7: a little bit of whiskey and a lot of grain neutral spirit. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's <b>not what Freddie had in mind </b>with these <b>blended </b>whiskeys. He wanted to try things, work with <b>different characters of spirit</b>, while maintaining <b>full transparency </b>for the drinker. While <b>Four Roses </b>has been blending their ten <b>in-house bourbons </b>for years, we don't really think of Four Roses as <b>blended whiskey</b>. Freddie didn't <b>dodge </b>that label, and the industry has responded.<br />
<br />
<b>"It's new stuff," </b>he told me a couple weeks ago. We were on the telephone for an hour or so, each of us with a supply of these three whiskeys, and the component whiskeys of Chapter 3 (more on that later). "Our competitors are talking to us and each other, asking questions. It's been <b>real cooperative</b>."<br />
<br />
Freddie's been using his position as Fred Noe's grandson to take advantage of tasting widely of what Beam has to offer. "<b>I have a curious palate,</b>" he said. He's been tasting whiskeys in the warehouses for years. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"<b>I get to taste the whiskey through its full lifecycle</b>; I know what they're like at different ages," he said. "I see <b>all the levers </b>you can pull for flavors." It was interesting to hear that; "pulling levers" is a bit of jargon I've started hearing in the last two years from blenders and distillers alike. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>That's the second thing. </b>When that first Little Book hit, those of us who were watching immediately started taking Freddie seriously. He was obviously more than just Fred Noe's son working on a vanity project. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Freddie started <b>talking about age, and time</b>. "There's a lot of time in blending," he said. "I'll spend a lot of time <b>working </b>on the blends, and then spend a lot of time <b>not working </b>on them. Step away. You have to be <b>able to get away </b>so that the whiskey isn't just your expectations. I have to make sure that the levers we pull <b>still make it Beam. </b><br />
<br />
"And that means that <b>you've got to know what defines your whiskey</b>," he said, sounding awfully damned experienced for his age. "Even <b>new distilleries have a history</b>. We're all doing it for a cause, a tradition, or a passion."<br />
<br />
Then you can take what Freddie called <b>"asset liquids,"</b> the core barrels that contain the <b>classic components </b>of Beam whiskeys, and start putting them together in different ways. "A <b>strong base drives the blend</b>," he said. "A younger whiskey will quickly fall behind an older, bolder whiskey. I'll start with equal parts and <b>let the whiskey drive the blend</b>. See what's driving the flavors you like, and move toward that.<br />
<br />
"Then I focus on <b>details</b>: a longer finish, more vanilla up front," he said. "I love the process. <b>Blending is a tool</b>, though. I'm a distiller at heart, I will not stick to just blending."<br />
<br />
We did some tasting.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 1</b> -- 120.4°, a blend of 4 YO straight <b>bourbon, rye and malt </b>whiskeys (both at 6 YO) and a 13 YO <b>corn </b>whiskey. You've got a bourbon, and the component grains of bourbon; it seemed like a good place to start, since you <b>already know </b>they go together well. The nose is <b>full of oak</b>, dusty grain, and vanilla. It's a <b>full, gentle entry </b>on the palate, almost lush, and smooth for the proof. There's a <b>big fat heart </b>of sweet cereal, orange slice candies, and fresh-cut oak. Tasty, juicy bourbon <b>without restraint </b>until the whiskey rolls off the tongue and <b>the finish sets in </b>and dials up the oaky, spicy heat a bit.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 2 </b>-- 118.8°, a blend of 8 YO Kentucky straight rye, <b>40 YO</b> (that's right, 40!) <b>100% corn Canadian whisky</b>, and 13 YO Canadian rye whisky (which I'm guessing is <b>probably Alberta Distillers 100% rye</b>); definitely the lightest in color of the three bottlings. Freddie admitted this one was <b>difficult</b>. "Not every blending idea <b>works out</b>," he confessed. But he'd tagged along on a trip to Alberta Distillers and tasted through their inventory. "I picked up a fruity, floral note, and made a note to work with Canadian whisky. I was interested in whether our aged rye would <b>dominate </b>the Canadian." It is <b>floral and sweet on the nose</b>, with vanilla and caramel, if not the heavy Canadian caramel. Taken on the tongue, it's <b>roly-poly sweet</b>, with grassy rye mint, cinnamon candies and oaky spice on the back end. There's a <b>long finish</b>, especially for a Canadian: oaky, hard candies, and horehound drops. The spice of rye is definitely there, and the <b>lazy sweetness </b>of that 40 YO corn whiskey is like a <b>comfy blanket </b>on a cold night.<br />
<br />
Then we tasted the <b>four component whiskeys </b>of Chapter 3.<br />
<br />
<b>Knob Creek 9 YO, 117.4°</b> -- Knob has a place in <b>my whiskey heart</b>. The first whiskey I had as a pro was Knob Creek. Took my breath away, bulged my eyes a bit. <b>But damn!</b> Freddie said the Knob is a lot of the flavor of Chapter 3. "It's not the predominant <b>volume </b>in the blend," he said, "but it <b>does add a lot</b>. Booker spoke about its boldness." There's a lot of vanilla up front, with crackling, <b>'two-legged oak,'</b> my notes say. "Young Knob is more corn forward," Freddie noted. "Watching it <b>transition </b>to more oaky is an eye-opener." On the tongue, there's a lot of <b>cracked corn </b>and more vanilla with a good dose of oaky, almost smokey heat.<br />
<br />
<b>Basil Hayden 9 YO, 123°</b> -- There's a <b>big hit </b>of rye spice in the nose; it's <b>weirdly delicate </b>without being shy. "The Basil has <b>twice </b>the rye of Knob," Freddie points out, "but younger Basil has less rye aroma. And this <b>barrel proof Basil</b> is so different from the Basil Hayden bottling." And it is. There's a big wall of sweetness around the inside of my mouth, almost like a <b>firebox lining</b>, with all that spice and oak heat kept inside. "I like to have a bit of a '<b>Kentucky hug</b>,'" Freddie said. "I like it to squeeze me back." Weird to taste <b>big boy Basil Hayden</b>, but welcome.<br />
<br />
<b>Baker's 12 YO, 126.6°</b> -- I'm a <b>huge Baker's fan</b>, and was excited to taste this <b>overproof </b>version at five extra years of age. (This was before I knew about the <b>new single barrel Baker's and the 13 YO version</b>...separate post to come on that!). You can smell and taste the <b>extra age</b>: a lot of barrel char here, and the corn is like a <b>roasted </b>cornmeal cornbread (like <a href="http://haldemanmills.com/cornmeal/">Brinser's Best</a>, the roasted cornmeal my family has used for at least three generations). It's just a <b>darker, deeper </b>version of a bourbon that's <b>already dark and deep</b>. The corn and oak cling and grip to the palate, exemplifying how the barrel changes and, really, <i>transmogrifies</i> the simplicity of corn spirit. Baker's is a <b>master class </b>in itself.<br />
<br />
<b>Booker's 11 YO, 129.2°</b> -- I got a <b>few other Booker's</b> samples out (I get samples of most of the releases, which is an <b>embarrassment of riches</b>, and I'll be <b>sharing more of those</b> now that the blog's back up) and compared them to this one. I was very <b>surprised </b>with how <b>fresh and vital </b>this whiskey smelled at almost twice the average age of the others. Hot caramel, lively spicy oak, and <b>prickly blackberry </b>fly right into your nose on this one. All that, in spades, on the tongue, but now you get that <b>big sweetness </b>wrapping it all up. The finish is long, with a good tannic grip. Booker's at 11 years old is <b>quite a bird</b>.<br />
<br />
And finally...the whiskey we came to taste:<br />
<br />
<b>Little Book Chapter 3: The Road Home, 122.6°</b> -- <b>So Beam, so Booker</b>: Full-bore bourbon, hot corn, polished oak, vanilla, Red Hots, and dried cherries. <b>Two-stepper </b>on the tongue: the <b>first hit </b>is all hot, sweet corn and spicy, firm oak (can't help thinking of my favorite Parker Beam quote here: "I put <b>corn </b>in my bourbon, and I age it in <b>oak</b>, and when I drink it, that's what I taste: <b>corn, and oak!</b>"), but then it's like <b>the pressure lifts </b>and a big shot of <b>dried fruit </b>comes through, <b>bright and almost juicy</b>, with baking spices. As it fades into the finish, the oak and vanilla come back, and float you off. <br />
<br />
<b>Can I taste the component bourbons?</b> Well, <b>yes</b>, and <b>no</b>. Yes, in that I taste that <b>big vanilla </b>from the Knob, the grip of the Baker's, the sweetness of the Basil, and that long Booker's finish. No, in that I <b>don't really taste them that way</b>; I taste a bourbon that <b>has </b>all those things, and more. That <b>distinct two-step palate</b>; the dried fruit, the subdued baking spice. Like Knob, but <b>smoother</b>; like Baker's, but <b>not as dark</b>; like Basil, but richer; like Booker's, but even more drinkable at the full proof. A <b>damned good blend</b>.<br />
<br />
And so, <b>overall?</b> Chapter 1 is a <b>new blender</b>, having fun, making a tasty, sweet bourbon out of pieces (<b>Lego Bourbon?</b>). Chapter 2 works with <b>new components</b>, quite different ones (40 year old corn-built Canadian!), and creates something <b>completely new </b>from them. The aptly-named Chapter 3, "The Road Home," is an epiphany, where the blender takes <b>known whiskeys</b>, at full proof, and makes something <i>more</i> out of them, when it would have been <b>easy to screw up</b>, and make something that wasn't really as good as any of them alone. Chapter 3 is <b>a blender coming into his own</b>. Chapter 3 is leveled-up from Chapter 1. </div>
<div>
<br />
<b>This was a lot of fun</b>, and a learning experience. I continue to <b>gain respect </b>for the work of <b>blending</b>, and I'm glad to see distillers working with more imaginative blends. Did the whole thing start with High West's Rendezvous Rye, a young and old MGP rye blended together? No, but <b>maybe </b>the <b>modern era </b>of American blending did.<br />
<br />
I'm just <b>not that excited </b>to see some blenders <b>jumping the gun </b>entirely and blending <b>completely different spirits </b>together -- bourbon and rum, cognac and tequila, gin and mezcal -- when there's <b>so much to be explored </b>without stunts like these. Am I an old fart? <b>Sure</b>. And things like that don't excite me. But neither do <b>CBD drinks </b>or hard seltzers or <b>juniperless gins</b>. Traditions aren't <b>prisons</b>; they're playgrounds, <b>sandboxes</b>. Play <b>within </b>the rules, and see what you can do that others haven't. <b>That's exciting.</b><br />
<br />
My thanks to Freddie Noe and the folks who put us together.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(All whiskeys tasted were samples, delivered by Beam to me. I'll always tell you where they came from.)</i> </div>
Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-46258401922189589662019-10-16T11:37:00.000-04:002019-10-16T13:10:00.843-04:00Seriously...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And that's as political as we're gonna get here.<br />
(It's a joke, BTW.)</td></tr>
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<b>Boy, it's dusty in here. </b><br />
<br />
Hard to believe I used to post every day, for four years. That passed, and then I tried to start it up again in 2016, but blessedly, I got busy, and the blog came in dead last in my priorities.<br />
<br />
<b>Things change</b>. I have a book to support, and <b>free rein </b>to do that, so I'm <b>starting up the Inferno again</b>...no, sorry, <a href="https://www.templetons.com/ty/stig/6/6stig03.html" target="_blank">wrong reference</a>. I'm going to <b>start blogging again.</b><br />
<br />
It's going to be a bit more <b>whiskey-focused</b> this time, since there's that <b>book </b>I'll be flogging. But there's still going to be beer, and food, and travel, and probably <b>pictures of my dog</b>. And I'll be sticking to the <b>original principles </b>of the blog, explained in full <a href="http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2016/01/seen-through-glass.html">here</a>; briefly, though, I'll be writing <b>criticism</b>, not snark, and recognizing that <b>none of us know everything</b>. So whiskey reviews, and industry overviews, and personal profiles will be written with <b>care</b>, with charity. <b>That doesn't mean "I love everything" reviews</b>, it just means that the negative reviews will try to understand what happened, and I probably won't review the real train wrecks. If you want to revel in deliciously cruel reviews of the whiskeys you love to hate...<b>look elsewhere.</b><br />
<br />
There are going to be <b>regular whiskey reviews</b>, and some other spirits, and beers, but <b>mostly </b>whiskey. Part of that's the book support, but some of it is that I found that I <b>missed </b>writing the reviews I was doing for Whisky Advocate. (Yeah, no link. It's the least I can do). And since no one else is really <b>paying </b>for whiskey reviews, I'll do them for myself.<br />
<br />
The <b>first new post </b>-- after this one, natch -- is going to be a chat with Beam Suntory's <b>Freddie Noe</b> and <b>a review of all three of his Little Book chapters</b>, the blended whiskeys from Beam that shook things up a bit. The idea that Beam had some aged <b>malt </b>whiskey*, that Beam was going to <b>admit </b>that they had stocks of Canadian whisky, or that there was <b>12 year old Baker's</b>...well, I found that all pretty exciting. So when the Beam people asked me if I'd like to talk to Freddie about it, I thought, 'Hey! That would be a <b>great </b>first post for the revived blog.' So that's what I did. That's going to be coming <b>soon</b>, couple of days.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRlqQc7xpZ-blK6fslwLJKVAmvp4a-Zg5wxJETJvXRWhZcmzF-mqHnazxdTIQzh_o1Rb0K-qchljS74ZveKkj6qWV78rn2pB_8Fd1qJHyplEfVd5uMFG-9MQx5IPYa_HRf0HNGQrNWjs/s1600/WMC_Jacket2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRlqQc7xpZ-blK6fslwLJKVAmvp4a-Zg5wxJETJvXRWhZcmzF-mqHnazxdTIQzh_o1Rb0K-qchljS74ZveKkj6qWV78rn2pB_8Fd1qJHyplEfVd5uMFG-9MQx5IPYa_HRf0HNGQrNWjs/s640/WMC_Jacket2-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All I can show you for now. Note: <i>no ice</i> in the glass. Fought hard for that, <i>because I know you care. </i></td></tr>
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<br />
Anyway, <b>about the book</b>. It's titled <i>Whiskey Master Class</i>, and it's about the <b>creation of aroma and flavor </b>in whisk/ey. (I promise, I'm not going to make a habit of that 'whisk/ey' construction.) From traditional formulations and the <b>grains </b>in them through malting, milling, mashing, <b>fermentation</b>, distillation, barrel construction and <b>selection</b>, aging, <b>blending</b>, proofing, filtering, bottling, and all the <b>intangible stuff </b>that's so hard to measure...I've tried really hard to cover <b>everything </b>that makes whiskey what it is.<br />
<br />
The book was <b>inspired </b>by something that renowned blender and Scotch whisky innovator <b>Dr. Bill Lumsden </b>said to me one time. <b>“If the barrel gives a whisky 50% of its flavor...that just means that the other 50% doesn't come from the barrel.”</b> To really understand a whiskey then, you have to know where <b>every bit </b>of that 100% comes from, and how it's <b>different </b>from another whiskey. That's what the book is all about. I'm very pleased to say that Dr. Bill agreed to write the <b>foreword</b>.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd9Pdix3MTAMO37_NHVkSCjo9k9W0u-oUeYRxtbcWVdPWgS8cWIlXImOerA-1Zxb_kSvQ06qrlUgknH66ZAhL95VqG2MW9ZPhFcBP-lcvzfsW0pzwp8Vk6l8Cz6e4VByVoQ9sXn_OuJ4/s1600/IMG_20190919_235349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd9Pdix3MTAMO37_NHVkSCjo9k9W0u-oUeYRxtbcWVdPWgS8cWIlXImOerA-1Zxb_kSvQ06qrlUgknH66ZAhL95VqG2MW9ZPhFcBP-lcvzfsW0pzwp8Vk6l8Cz6e4VByVoQ9sXn_OuJ4/s320/IMG_20190919_235349.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pippin's only 10 months old...<br />
but his ears are full-grown!</td></tr>
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It's due out on <b>February 18</b> but you can pre-order now: <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Whiskey-Master-Class-Ultimate-Understanding/dp/1558329811/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9XBD02RRNBWD&keywords=whiskey+master+class&qid=1570649293&sprefix=whiskey+mast%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/whiskey-master-class-lew-bryson/1132628456?ean=9781558329812">Barnes & Noble</a>, <i>your local independent bookstore</i> (assuming someone asked them to order it...<b><i>I'm looking at you</i></b>). You can be sure the <b>blog </b>will run at <b>least </b>that long, and probably up through the 2020 <b>Christmas book-buying season</b>. And I'll probably be <b>fully </b>in the habit by then, and we'll <b>just keep going</b>. My publicist tells me that the<b> blog's good</b>, but I'm going to have to <b>back it up </b>with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lewbryson/?hl=en">Instagram</a> (and <a href="https://twitter.com/lewbryson">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LewBryson">Facebook</a>), so I'll be there as well, hashtagging like a champ.<br />
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I've made a fair number of <b>promises </b>here. I intend to <b>keep </b>them. This stuff is fun. And...pictures of my dog. Promise <b>that</b>, too. Here, take a look at Pippin. </div>
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<b>Little Book</b> is coming soon. And then it's off to the races.<br />
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<i>*I have a really annoying habit of mistyping "whiskey" as "shiskey," so if you see that...I was typing so fast I missed it. I almost did here. Just letting you know. </i>Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-39367261825770398682018-03-07T12:31:00.005-05:002018-03-07T12:31:53.445-05:00This is BIG<b>Hi there. </b><div>
I know, I know: nothing for years. The blog is dead, long live Twitter.<br />But you know? Some things deserve more space. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">And this...is <b>BIG</b>.</span></div>
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No, literally, look at the label. I was digging in my Beer Fridge today, looking for two bottles of proper beer to make <i>carbonades Flamandes</i> (more on that later) on this disappointing snow day, when I found two bottles of <b>Brimstone Big</b>, a Maryland-brewed barleywine from the 1990s that we cherished back in the day. The brewed date on the label: <b>October 1998</b>.</div>
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Actually, there were <i>three</i> bottles, and one, not pictured, was actually <b>older</b>, and had been brewed <i>at Brimstone</i>. See, Brimstone was a great little <b>Baltimore </b>brewery, but things <b>got tough for microbrewers in the mid-1990s</b> (they did, despite what revisionists may tell you), and Brimstone was <b>failing.</b></div>
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They got bought by <b>Frederick Brewing</b>, who made this in their large brewery outside Frederick, Maryland. Frederick also bought long-time Maryland <b>microbrewer</b> (I'm deliberately using period terminology here) <b>Wild Goose</b>, while continuing with their Blue Ridge brands. I visited Wild Goose on the Eastern Shore with my new wife (she's still my wife) back in 1991, when we were expecting our first child. We took a vacation to the Outer Banks to celebrate being just us one more time. It was a great week, though except for that stop at Wild Goose, and a quick stop at Weeping Radish, so-so for beer.</div>
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<b>Anyway, all of this would eventually fail</b>. Frederick was operating on a shoestring, owing back taxes, courting buy-out partners (at least one of which failed themselves, rather spectacularly). They were finally bought by <b>Flying Dog</b> out of Colorado in 2006, who saw the value in this large, sadly underutilized (and again: not a fan of "utilized," but this is an absolutely proper use of the word) brewery. Flying Dog invested in the brewery, and eventually moved all of their brewing operations there in 2010. Last I heard, they were expanding. </div>
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<br />All of that...is just to <b>put this in context</b>. Brimstone, and <b>this bottle of Big in particular</b>, is an American craft brewing <b>fossil</b>, a relic. As is, I suppose, my Beer Fridge (which I got for free from someone who was upgrading back in 1993; it was old then, but has never stopped running), and me, to hear some people talk. </div>
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But I saw this bottle, and then I opened it, and smelled it, and...for some reason <b>I just had to blog</b>. I dunno, old habits, I guess. So let's talk about this fossil. </div>
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As you can see, it poured <b>tremendously bright</b>, largely thanks to <b>sitting upright</b> for at least sixteen years, I suppose. The bottom was covered with a well-compacted layer of, as we always called it, <b>mung</b>. <br /></div>
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It had an <b>oxygen-scavenging cap</b>, but the beer is <b>beautifully oxidized</b>, in that <b>sherry/dried fruit </b>way that barleywines get, not the wet cardboard smell that lesser beers develop. Sherry, dried cherries, a touch of <b>old-school hair tonic</b>, and even some <b>clean malt</b>. Amazing, really, and a testament to <b>Marc Tewey's</b> brewing (and packaging) skills...and maybe that cap technology. There's <b>persistent carbonation</b>; 20 minutes after the pour, there are still small, steady streams of bubbles rising. I kinda wish I'd saved this till I was with <b>Will Meyers at Cambridge Brewing</b>; this is his <i>metier</i> indeed. </div>
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<b>Time to taste</b>. The fruit is big, the malt is subdued. I remember Big as a <b>fruitbowl of a barleywine</b>; this fruit has <b>dried</b>, and soured just a <b>touch</b>. Definitely oxidized, but again, in a good way. There's <b>no cardboard </b>here, though there is a slight puckery <b>astringence</b>. <b>No bitterness </b>at all, but Big never was that bitter. The <b>carbonation is firm</b>, if not fizzy; it's one of the most pleasing parts of this. </div>
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The body is about medium; I think there's been some <b>secondary fermentation </b>going on, because Big used to be, well, <i>big</i> in body as well as flavor. The finish is <b>velvety</b>, but the bubbles keep it from being clingy. </div>
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<b>If I had to ding this one</b>, it would actually be on being a <b>bit too sweet</b>. I like the touch of tart, but there's too much residual sweetness, it's <b>not balancing</b>. Still, I'm looking for trouble, really. <b>This is as solid a 20 year old beer as I've ever had</b>, and I've had the chance to have quite a few. </div>
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<b>Which brings me back to the <i>carbonades</i></b>...you know you're <b>living life right </b>as a beer guy when you go to the fridge to get a bottle of beer for <b>adding to beef stew</b> -- even an exceptionally delicious Belgian version -- and you see a bottle of <b>Westvleteren XII</b>, and you think, '<b>Yeah</b>, that'd be good to <b>pour into a pot of meat</b>,' and grab it without flinching. I'm putting a bottle of <b>pre-AB Goose Island Peres Jacques </b>in there, too. We're eating well tonight.<br /><br />Huh. Might have to come back here more often. I see the lights still work. Just need to dust a few things off. <b>See you around. No promises, but...see you around. </b><br /></div>
Lew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com9